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Help CO2 not working

lstratton

Member
Joined
28 Jan 2008
Messages
100
Location
London
I set up my pressurised CO2 system on wednesday and on friday there were no bubbles coming out, so I looked at the regulator and both the gauges are on 0, what does this mean? Did my tank empty after 2 days? What do I do?
 
what size bottle and system do you have?
It could be that you have a faulty bottle which has been leaking or that you haven't tightened the regulator onto it enough again causing leaking.
 
thankyou, I'll try all the above, hopefully it is just a leak, would be a pain to have a faulty regulator.
Thankyou
 
ok, have checked for leaks and can't find any. The bottle definately feels a lot lighter.
It is a 2kg bottle and I have a dual gauged reg with a solenoid. I got it off ebay.
So I undid it all, redid it and still nothing. Do you think that I could have been sold a bottle that wasn't fully full or do you think that the regulator is dodgy?
 
If you have a tap on the bottle you could try taking the regulator off and cracking the tap to see if there is any gas left?
 
lstratton said:
ok, have checked for leaks and can't find any. The bottle definately feels a lot lighter.
It is a 2kg bottle and I have a dual gauged reg with a solenoid. I got it off ebay.
So I undid it all, redid it and still nothing. Do you think that I could have been sold a bottle that wasn't fully full or do you think that the regulator is dodgy?
How are you checking for leaks? Soapy water or propriety leak detecting fluid? It's the only way (and how are you checking for leaks when the bottle is already empty? If you've replaced the bottle then you could have cured the source of the original leak (i.e. the join between the bottle and control)).

I had a leak on the connection to one of the guage dials - had to screw it so tight the dial was facing down :rolleyes: .
 
I was looking for leaks in soapy water. The only bubbles that came out were when the face of one of the dials filled with water but surely there shouldn't be CO2 there, so that can't be the leak can it?
I have ordered a new bottle just to check that, always good to have a spare anyway, so until then i'll have to wait.
Thankyou for the advice, I'll keep you posted.
 
Just to go over tracing for leaks with soapy water, get a cup, a small paint brush, a very small amount of washing up liquid, add a small amount of water (about an 1/8 of a cup), then mix this together until a froth has emerged. Then apply this froth all over the regulator, tube joints, gauges, bubble counter, etc.

ANY bubbles from the mixture will indicate a leak.

Then wipe off the mixture as can be corrosive to metal if left to dry.

I had 2 leaks on my dennerle regulator, i wondered why i was doing 2KG each month. Put the old JBL one, and hey presto, no problem.
 
oh thankyou for that. I didn't do it that way. will do that when I get home from work this evening.
thankyou very much
 
Just to add...

Do the soap test with the kit all in situ. Try moving the pipework small amounts to stress the joint a little (as would normally occur under normal use) as you apply the soapy water.
 
well I just did that and I still can't find a leak. My only guess is that the bottle has emptied so I'm not picking up a leak, so when I get my new bottle in a couple of days I'll put the reg etc on that and try it again, hopefully that'll turn up something.
 
If it's an inline solenoid (fixed on the reg as opposed to after the needle valve with tubing) be careful the solenoid is not on backwards.

Anyone with an Aquamas reg will know what I mean.
There is a arrow indicating co2 flow and it's possible to fit it the wrong way around.

If so, everything will work fine for about two days, then there will be zero on the gauges, a very light bottle (i.e. empty) and, in my case, the solenoid loosely swinging about the connection.

Persevere though, it will come right eventually :)
 
Oh god this is so frustrating. Just got the new bottle, attached the reg, have reading on both the dials now, did the soap test - still couldn't find any leaks, but there isn't anything coming out now. Argh! What do I do now? Do you think that it is a faulty reg?
 
Hi lstratton,
Sorry to hear you are having so much trouble. I read quickly through the posts and I couldn't see where you specified the regulator brand or model. Perhaps if you posted a picture it would calibrate us so we could see what we were dealing with.

Now don't get upset if I ask some really obvious questions because I'm having to use my imagination OK?

Is the knob on the bottle neck in the fully open position?
Did you plug the solenoid in?
Have you rotated the needle valve fully open and fully closed to see if the output gauge changes readings?

If both gauges show a reading it means that pressure is available at the regulator up to the solenoid. The bottle gauge may read something like 50 Bar and the output gauge may read something like 1 to 2 PSI.

With power applied to the solenoid attach one end of the CO2 hose to the solenoid outlet and the other end into a cup of water to see if bubbles are coming out. If no bubbles come out cycle power to the solenoid several times. When you apply power to the solenoid listen carefully for a "click" or "clap" which tells you that the solenoid valve has changed position. If there is no sound this will indicate that the solenoid is faulty.

Depending on your model, you may be able to remove and replace the solenoid. However, a solenoid which fails stuck in the closed position does not explain the loss of gas you had previously unless it has an internal leak. If it is possible to remove the solenoid try using the regulator without it.

That's really all I can think of right now. As I said, if we could see a picture of the installation it would be better than a thousand words.

Cheers mate,
 
Hi,
Thankyou so much for all of your help. The answers to your questions are -
1 Yes
2 Yes, but I then unplugged it to see if it worked without, but haven't had any change
3 Yes but the gauge dial doesn't change when I do this.

Here is the link of the reg that I got off ebay -
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Dual-Gauged-CO2-R ... m153.l1262

I have the CO2 tubing (from Aqua essentials) leading from the reg to a check valve, then onto a bubble counter (I have 2 a glass one and a plastic one, am using the plastic at the moment as changed over from the glass), this then leads up and into the tank and I don't have diffuser because I managed to break a bit off it, so am going to buy one from Aqua essentials once I get this all sorted.
I have tried to take the solenoid off, but it doesn't come off, unless I unscrew it with a wrench (think that is the right term). I'll take a picture this evening when I get home.

Also how do I cycle the solenoid?

Thankyou once again, I will get it sorted, but up until a week ago i was petrified about putting the whole lot together (convinced I'd get it wrong and it'd blow up), now I've got that sorted, it is another thing. At least I'll be an expert by the end. Oh and the CO2 source is a fire extinguisher from ebay.
Hope this all helps
 
Looks like your reg came with the solenoid already fiitted, so it will be on the right way.

"cycling" the solenoid is AFAIK plugging in and out a few times.
I know it's a hassle, but could you make sure the socket/plug board it's plugged into is getting power ?

If you have dial readings, it leaves either the needle valve, the solenoid, the non return valve, or the tubing (very unlikely as AE are pretty good)

If there are no click like sounds when the solenoid is switched on, I would suspect that.

If that goes OK, you could try a different non return valve ?
 
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