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Regulator Recommendations?

Frustrating... CO2 Supermarket checkout is not working and no telephone contact on their website :mad:
 
If you are lucky you may be able to get (or luck if draw for me) get an FE with a locking pin hole that allows the handle to be locked close.
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Or drill one :).....

FWIW - Found out what the problem was with CO2 Supermarket. In short, they only take a certain number of orders each day to ensure they meet their service level for despatch. In reality it seems you have to place your order the day before (i.e not by "3pm") to get "same day" (actually next day) despatch. 3pm is the deadline but apparently the order threshold is normally met by 7pm the night before. You can't even place the order - checkout simply goes to a blank page. So... plan ahead!
 
Great idea @ian_m !
Only did this, because as you know, the pressure of the tank stays 800psi/55bar odd during its "life". This is because pressure above the liquid CO2 stays constant, so you cant use tank pressure to gauge how much CO2 you have left.The tank pressure only drops when liquid has all gone, in which case I have a couple of days usage left. Weighing means you have much greater notice tank is getting empty and you can pre-empt and change during water change time. I find 100-200gr left is when I change the tank. Easy peasy.
 
Or drill one :).....

FWIW - Found out what the problem was with CO2 Supermarket. In short, they only take a certain number of orders each day to ensure they meet their service level for despatch. In reality it seems you have to place your order the day before (i.e not by "3pm") to get "same day" (actually next day) despatch. 3pm is the deadline but apparently the order threshold is normally met by 7pm the night before. You can't even place the order - checkout simply goes to a blank page. So... plan ahead!

Also, take a look at CO2 Art - one of our sponsors...their customer service is second to none.
And they offer quality products at very reasonable prices https://www.co2art.eu/
 
I have now placed my order but did consider Co2Art. Unfortunately they do not sell any regs without solenoids.
 
I bought one from personal recommendation from ebay, the label on it says Aqua Labs, and I set it up yesterday. I am worried that it only has one dial on, and some have 2, some have none. I am presuming that the reading on the dial I have is the pressure that the gas is at in the FEcylinder. Have I understood this correctly? If so, do I need to watch it for drops in pressure, and would a drop signal the end of the cylinder and time to buy another?
 
I bought one from personal recommendation from ebay, the label on it says Aqua Labs, and I set it up yesterday. I am worried that it only has one dial on, and some have 2, some have none. I am presuming that the reading on the dial I have is the pressure that the gas is at in the FEcylinder. Have I understood this correctly? If so, do I need to watch it for drops in pressure, and would a drop signal the end of the cylinder and time to buy another?

Normally if a regulator has only a single gauge it would be the working pressure gauge - essentially the pressure coming out of the regulator not the tank pressure. A quick look would confirm which one it is:
  • If the PSI numbers are in the hundreds to thousands the gauge is tank pressure.
  • However if the PSI numbers are in the tens to hundreds the gauge is the working pressure.
In this case one option is to use the handy trick ian_m mentioned by measuring the cylinder weight as it progresses, most cylinders will have a imprint of the empty weight of the cylinder, once it gets relatively close to this value you should consider replacing the cylinder.

As far as a drop of tank pressure this would signal the cylinder is coming to the end of its supply, depending on your bubble rate you could expect anywhere from a few hours to a few days remaining. This is because as mentioned by ian_m again that tank pressure will remain stable until the liquid runs out, only then will it begin to drop and you're left with the gas remaining in the cylinder. Without a second dial reading tank pressure it is hard to use this method though.
 
most cylinders will have a imprint of the empty weight of the cylinder
They do have the weight stamped on them, but this is the weight without a regulator (or horn if an FE) and is used for filling as they fill by weight not volume. Obviously once a regulator is attached it is much heavier than the stamped weight, which is why you have to write your own values.
 
They do have the weight stamped on them, but this is the weight without a regulator (or horn if an FE) and is used for filling as they fill by weight not volume. Obviously once a regulator is attached it is much heavier than the stamped weight, which is why you have to write your own values.

Very true, apologies the extra weight completely slipped my mind.
 
Normally if a regulator has only a single gauge it would be the working pressure gauge - essentially the pressure coming out of the regulator not the tank pressure. A quick look would confirm which one it is:
  • If the PSI numbers are in the hundreds to thousands the gauge is tank pressure.
  • However if the PSI numbers are in the tens to hundreds the gauge is the working pressure.
In this case one option is to use the handy trick ian_m mentioned by measuring the cylinder weight as it progresses, most cylinders will have a imprint of the empty weight of the cylinder, once it gets relatively close to this value you should consider replacing the cylinder.

As far as a drop of tank pressure this would signal the cylinder is coming to the end of its supply, depending on your bubble rate you could expect anywhere from a few hours to a few days remaining. This is because as mentioned by ian_m again that tank pressure will remain stable until the liquid runs out, only then will it begin to drop and you're left with the gas remaining in the cylinder. Without a second dial reading tank pressure it is hard to use this method though.

The gauge starts at 500 then goes up in thousands, so I guess its tank pressure. The needle is just past the 1000 mark. I need to weight it I suppose.

As this is my first CO2, when your bottle does run out, do you need to unfasten the tape on the tank handles and then unscrew the regulator, just in case there is more in there than you thought? Or do you just unscrew the regulator and nothing happens?
 
The gauge starts at 500 then goes up in thousands, so I guess its tank pressure. The needle is just past the 1000 mark. I need to weight it I suppose.

As this is my first CO2, when your bottle does run out, do you need to unfasten the tape on the tank handles and then unscrew the regulator, just in case there is more in there than you thought? Or do you just unscrew the regulator and nothing happens?

If the tank is truly empty then nothing will happen, it's safe to unscrew the regulator.

That being said it's very good practice to ensure the valve on the tank is completely closed (i.e. remove the tape and ensure the handle isn't depressed at all) before unscrewing the regulator, regardless of whether the gauge does or doesn't say 0. Hardware can fail at times - the last thing you want to do is over rely on the gauge and find out the tank isn't truly empty.

When Co2 discharges from the cylinder it's extremely cold - cold enough to cause heavy burns to skin so you want to avoid contact completely.
 
I've recently gone high tech and purchased a co2 art dual stage regulator.

Only about 3 days shipping from Germany, so not bad.

Really good quality and absolutely no problems.

Cheers.
 
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