Fire extinguisher CO2

DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK. I accept no responsibility for any loss, damage or injury suffered if you follow this 'manual' and something goes wrong, that's YOUR fault not mine.

Hi all 🙂

Before I start a BIG word re safely, these cylinders (read the other posts) are potential killers, but if you are sensible and treat it with respect you shouldn't have anything to worry about.

There have been several threads recently about pressurised CO2, so I thought as I was setting up a new system I would show everyone how to do it cheaply using a fire extinguisher. So first you need a cylinder, these do vary in size but this 2kg cylinder is 23" tall (that is a DVD case next to it) and I got it on eBay for £22 including delivery.



Then you need a reg, again I got mine on eBay, you can spend as much as you like on a reg but these are cheap and I've found them to be excellent, with a very easy needle value built in.



You'll need to remove the horn, which was easier to do than I had expected, just use a variable wrench. On a safety note it's a good idea to keep the safety pin in to prevent the lever from accidentally being squeezed whilst the horn is removed. Once the regulator is safely attached then remove the pin. If the extinguisher were to accidentally go off without the horn attached it can do a fair bit of harm as liquid CO2 comes out very fast. (Thanks James)







The reg didn't actually fit quite as snug as I had expected however its working find so no problems 🙂 and this might be the same with all regs and cylinders to ensure a secure fit.



Tighten it well with the wrench, as if you don't it could cause you problems when you 'fire' the FE and we don't want people getting hurt now do we!





Now take it outside in order to 'fire' the FE to release the CO2. I was expecting an explosion or something when I did this, but I had tightened the reg nut well and a short hiss was all I got, good actually I don't want to lose my arms! The needle on the reg should go to around 50 bar and the other gauge is set using the larger black dial on the front of the reg. I don't think it really matters what you set this to, I just went for 1.5 bar for no reason at all!



You'll need to keep the handles closed to keep the CO2 flowing, I used gaffa tape.



Next check for leaks using soapy water



Now link it up to a bubble counter with check value to protect the reg from back flow.



The attach a diffuser. I'm a hugh fan of ceramic glass diffusers as they look the business and work a treat and really aren't that expensive. I love eBay and got mine from there.



And some CO2 tubing

Then set the bubble rate and add to the tank 🙂





Once install, be sure to secure the cylinder carefully, either by chaining it to the wall or similar, anything to stop it being knocked over. In the words of James, if the reg gets knocked off the cylinder could take off, through the roof by the sounds on things! Better to be safe 🙂

This whole kit cost we around £70-75 quid and should last at least a year before I need a refill.

Hope that's of help to people

Sam

Cheers. Yeh some PTF tape couldn't hurt 🙂

MOD EDIT 24/2/11

See thread below regarding the use of PTFE thread.

http://ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=14844

Sam

Sorry I should have explained. The comments were posted when I did this thread on TFF

http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=212550

Re the other questions, they only do 2kg cylinders, but that should easily last you a few months if not 6 or 7. You used to be able to get 5kg cylinders but not seem any of those for a while. 2kg will be fine, but get to then you have a spare for when the other one runs out 😉

I cant seem to find anything re bioplast systems, but it if ran off a refillable cylinder then the reg should fit any cylinder, they are generally made to a set size.

Hope that helps

Sam

I think it is as if it isn't upright liquid co2 could get out. I lean mine against the wall as the cabinet isn't tall enough. If you have kids a few wall screws and bit of chin would secure it.

Sam

Cant say I have, but I think it would be possible if/when you get an FE refilled. I think it is suggested in order to reduce the possibility of liquid CO2 being released from the cylinder. I.e. when used normally such as to put out a fire (!) the tube to the bottom of the cylinder ensures that liquid co2 is released and thus a lot of CO2 can be expend in a short space of time in order to put the fire out. This is why the horn gets so cold when the FE is fired.

Now I will add that I've used two FE's now and touch wood Ive not had or heard of any problems of liquid co2. But I can see the dangers were the reg to be faulty, which would likely kill all the fish. However if the reg is doing its job the tiny amount of co2 released means that it had sufficient time to turn to a vapour and warm up a bit before getting added to the tank, so its not an issue.

Removing the internal tubing would reduce the risk 🙂 And whilst I suspect its a tricky thing to do it would be worth an ask were you ever to get one refilled rather than just replacing the empty one with a new, full one 🙂

That said I could be wrong!

Sam