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I have a few set up questions...

JAX3000

Member
Joined
18 Jun 2015
Messages
87
Location
Surrey
Hi, I'll try to keep this brief, but I have a few issues, maybe I can wrap them all into one thread...

1) My bubble counter looses water - fast.
It's a standard issue co2 art "with built in check valve". I removed it while full of water the other day and water literally drips from the bottom of it. Not sure if that is normal, but also, in normal use, it will go from full to empty in 3 days. Am I going to ruin my solenoid? Should I add a second check valve higher up the system, or do I need a new bubble counter...? Or what...?
Thank you

2) My reg leaks - in three places!
Again, I'm not co2 are bashing, they're fantastic, but it is a co2 art dual stage reg, I bought about 5 or 6 years ago and didn't use for the majority of that time and moved house twice since then, so I may have ruined it somehow... Anyway, it leaks where the arm that connects to the cylinder enters the centre of the reg, where the first guage enters the centre of the reg and where the needle valve enters the solenoid!
They are minor leaks, but I don't want to waste gas. Can I repair this? Should a professional? Do I live with it? Or bin it and buy a new one...? (Its a bad time, finanially, for investing in a new reg for me.)
Thank you.

X marks the leak...!
20201123_194226.jpg



And finally
3) I bought a new Camozzi valve, like this... https://www.co2supermarket.co.uk/precision-camozzi-flow-controller-customiser-p331.html for better control over bubble count, but I bought it with all the wrong fittings - my fault, but now I want to make sure I get it right...
The extension arm is too short and it clashes with the reg when screwing on and the male output doesn't seat properly into the bubble counter, as it has no nipple and the bubble counter requires the small o-ring to seal.
So, I need new connectors. I could get the long extension and nipple connector and go direct from old needle valve to new valve to bubble counter and away... OR, I could put the new valve in-line AFTER the bubble counter. Or is that stupid?
Solenoid/old needle valve/bubble counter/co2 tubing/new valve/co2 tubing/check valve/co2 tubing/diffuser...???
Or I could also replace the old 90 degree needle valve with a direct 90 degree bend arm piece, as it's leaking there anyway...???

Sorry, so many questions, but I'm in a bit of a pickle...
Many thanks
 
The bubble counter issue is easily fixed by adding glycerin, it will not evaporate.

Your gas leaks are caused by space in between the threads. Every threaded joint should have Teflon tape or the equivalent to keep the gas from escaping. I’d remove all of them and tape them up. When taping, tape the threads counter clockwise so when you screw into the ports, the tape doesn’t unravel. Make sure to only put tape on the threads, no more, no less.
 
Hi, thanks for the reply...

I’d remove all of them and tape them up.
Perfect! I can do that, no problem.

The bubble counter issue is easily fixed by adding glycerin, it will not evaporate.
Brilliant, but... as I don't trust my bubble counter not to allow back flow, (I have read the built in check valves CAN fail) I'm concerned the glycerine would not have to travel far before gumming up my reg. Am I worried about nothing, or would I be better off with a check valve before the bubble counter? This would mean a new bubble counter, but I'm also toying with revising the running order of the equipment in the line anyway...
 
Hi, thanks for the reply...


Perfect! I can do that, no problem.


Brilliant, but... as I don't trust my bubble counter not to allow back flow, (I have read the built in check valves CAN fail) I'm concerned the glycerine would not have to travel far before gumming up my reg. Am I worried about nothing, or would I be better off with a check valve before the bubble counter? This would mean a new bubble counter, but I'm also toying with revising the running order of the equipment in the line anyway...

I wouldn’t use glycerin either I think the non return valve is leaking water in a bubble counter doesn’t evaporate. It might a tiny bit but not the whole lot
 
I wouldn’t use glycerin either I think the non return valve is leaking water in a bubble counter doesn’t evaporate. It might a tiny bit but not the whole lot
Yeah, I would definitely replace, should get minimal loss and certainly not empty in 3 days.
 
Thanks guys, this makes sense... I was thinking I'd like a check valve immediately after the needle valve and before the bubble counter, but I really want the bubble counter in a fixed possition, not in-line, as such...
So, I think I'll buy a new bubble counter with built in check valve and arrange as follows...
Old needle valve/New needle valve/New bubble counter (with built in check valve)/tubing/another check valve/ diffusor. I may even put another check valve in there at some point...

I'll also dismantle and reassemble the reg with new PTFE tape and hope it all works out...
 
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