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Cylinder Running Low?

Coys

Coys

Member
Joined
28 Oct 2015
Messages
160
Location
Basildon, Essex, UK
My CO2 system has been running since the end of August; I have a CO2Art dual stage regulator and a 3.15kg cylinder.

The high pressure gauge has been stable at around 750 psi (slightly higher during the summer probably due to the higher ambient temperature) since installation and the working pressure is set to 43-45 psi.

I have noticed in the last week or two that the bubble rate has slowed considerably and that predictably the pH takes longer to drop to the required level. Opening the needle valve speeds up the bubble rate for a short time, but it then drops again soon after.

Is this likely to be a sign of the cylinder running low and needs a refill or could it be something else?
 
If your bottles running low, the high pressure gauge should drop, unless it's faulty and jammed, but unlikely.

What size is your tank and what bubble rate do you have it set too?
 
Mark Allen said:
If your bottles running low, the high pressure gauge should drop, unless it's faulty and jammed, but unlikely.

What size is your tank and what bubble rate do you have it set too?
Click to expand...

I agree that the HP gauge should drop once the cylinder is almost empty.

CO2 cylinder is a 3.15kg. Bubble rate is subjective, but I have mine set to something like 6-10 per second, dropping to maybe 1-2 per second or less now.

I'll give CO2Art a call tomorrow to see if they think that the regulator could be faulty.
 
Last edited:
has your atomiser blocked? that will make it hard for the CO2 to escape.

Seems really odd that the gauge is still on 750psi if the bottle is emptying.
 
You have a CO2 leak ? Thus gas is escaping rather than going into the tank.

Basically the bottle pressure stays at 800psi / 55bar when there is still liquid CO2 left in the bottle. Once all the liquid has gone and only gas is left, then the bottle pressure will start to drop. On my 2Kg FE it means I have a couple of days left, maybe a week. (but as I have a garage full of 2Kg FE's I just change it !!!).

If you have a single stage regulator once the bottle pressure starts dropping you may find that your output pressure starts dropping as well. My single stage regulator starts dropping output pressure (and obviously bubble rate) once the bottle pressure drops below 500psi / 35bar. I can either adjust the bubble rate up (needs doing every day !!) or just replace the FE. Some "cheaper" single stage regulators suffer from end of tank dump, where when the bottle pressure drops (usually quite low say 300psi) they lose pressure regulation completely and end up dumping the remaining CO2 into the tank (at bottle pressure so horrendous bubble rate), generally asphyxiating things like fish & shrimps. If CO2 bottle is an aerosol size or welding bottle size this extra CO2 is b*gger all, so not a problem, but if a 2Kg FE (or above) the amount dumped is significant. I know my CO2Supermarket single stage regulator doesn't do this but the bubble rate basically drops to zero as the bottle pressure falls below 500psi.

If you have a dual stage regulator, these maintain output pressure as the (empty) bottle pressure starts to drop. They work by dropping the pressure to say 14bar (200psi) in first stage, then regulating from this to say 3 bar (or variable). Thus as bottle pressure falls the output pressure does not change. However some people have reported end of tank dump with dual stage regulators (they might be confusing dual gauge of course). Also can suffer the disadvantage that if you are not paying attention to bottle pressure the CO2 will just suddenly stop one day, rather than slow down as in a single stage, and the first you will know about it is a monster algae attack !!!.
 
ian_m said:
You have a CO2 leak ? Thus gas is escaping rather than going into the tank.
Click to expand...

I doubt that is the case otherwise I would have expected the tank to be empty by now or at least showing a pressure drop on the HP gauge, but I'll check the connections anyway just in case.

ian_m said:
If you have a dual stage regulator, these maintain output pressure as the (empty) bottle pressure starts to drop. They work by dropping the pressure to say 14bar (200psi) in first stage, then regulating from this to say 3 bar (or variable). Thus as bottle pressure falls the output pressure does not change. However some people have reported end of tank dump with dual stage regulators (they might be confusing dual gauge of course). Also can suffer the disadvantage that if you are not paying attention to bottle pressure the CO2 will just suddenly stop one day, rather than slow down as in a single stage, and the first you will know about it is a monster algae attack !!!.
Click to expand...

It's a dual stage. Once the liquid is depleted I would expect the HP gauge to start showing a continuous drop in pressure. I check the pressure daily and use a pH controller so I'm not concerned about gas running out or a potential fish killing tank dump.

It seems odd to me; I'm going to call CO2Art this morning to see if they have any ideas.
 
I've just conducted a leak test with bubble solution and can't find any leaks so I'm pretty sure that isn't the issue.

One other thing I've noticed is that the water level in the bubble counter gradually drops over a couple of weeks. I understand that it is possible that water from the bubble counter could leak into the regulator overnight when the CO2 is switched off, but in my case there is a length of hose between the bubble counter and the regulator which loops lower than the regulator so I don't believe that is happening. Is it possible (or even quite normal) that the bubble counter water is being pushed up the hose by CO2 pressure and into the atomizer?
 
I'm still having the same problem and can't seem to find a solution. The HP gauge is steady reading and 750 psi or so. If I up the WP to 50-60 psi the bubble rate speeds up and then slows down within a few seconds; the needle valve no longer has any effect on bubble rate. I have checked the joints with bubble mixture and can't find any leaks.

Any other suggestions?
 
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