What pressure to use?

[jsiegmund]

So I've got a new dual stage regulator from co2art and I was wondering: what would be the best value for the first stage? The range is .5, I've got it set at 0.25 at the moment. My bubble counter requires at least .2 to start bubbling, anything lower won't give me any CO2. I have seen that it has some trouble starting: when the solenoid comes on the pressure drops to ~ .2 and then takes some time to build again. Eventually it comes back to .25 at set.

So in general; would you recommend a high value, or a low one? What's the pro's and con's?

 

[Andy Thurston]

it is fairly normal for some regs to lose pressure when solenoid opens and you should set working pressure when the system is running. if your co2 system has fittings like the ones on the up inline diffuser, that screw down to hold tubing in place, then .3 should not be a problem. if you have equipment that does not have screw down fittings eg glass diffusers/bubble counters etc. the tube can blow off at higher pressures.

if you have the precision smc needle valve the push in connector on this is capable of taking the higher pressure.

 

[john dory]

i run my reg at 36 psi.
this was enough to blow the bubble counter off of the needle valve when used with an inline up atomiser.i`ve since changed to a bazooka,and had no problems since.
as for slow starting...water can back syphon down the co2 tubing,which then takes a while to clear.i solved this by fitting a check valve as close to the top of the tank as possible.
hth

 

[Rahms]

As people have said, the lower you can get away with the better, so things don't pop off or start leaking. You basically just want something that is still high enough to start your diffuser back up (preferably without a massive delay), and other than that it just changes your flowrate. I decided to aim for 1bps, set my needle to ~50% then altered my reg til I got that. Means I can now alter bps up or down without having to play with the reg

The pressure drop when solenoid is opened is because the line is losing pressure overnight. Its reading the pressure at the outlet.

 

[jsiegmund]

Thanks all. I indeed have the SMC needle valve with push in connector, so high pressures should be an option. I think I'll up the pressure just a bit to prevent the check valve from sticking too much, up to .3 sounds good. All the components I have are screwed on so it shouldn't be a problem. Don't like the idea of the co2 hose popping off my reactor at night without me noticing