On Board Air CO2 Regulators

1973Guppie · 05-31-07, 12:09 AM

I have a diy home co2 system, made up of standard 20 pnd tank, 100 psi regulator and hose. I was out on the trail last weekend and for the first time the regulator froze up on me after about 2-3 minutes of use. Strange as this has never happened before and I have used it quite a bit and for lengthy periods. It got to the point where I had to warm up the regulator a couple times per 35 inch tire to get it filled up.

Question is has anyone had this problem? I looked at several vendors out there and they all sell this same regulator, exact same as I have and claim that it will not freeze? do these regulators go bad over time? Are they servicable? attached is a pic.

If I can fix it I would like to but if not I may go with the ultimate air setup here, spendy but it would be nice to dial in the air output I want for air tools, tires, etc.

http://www.ultimate-air.com/products/murhkit.htm

any help appreciated!

Noah

fj40forlife · 05-31-07, 12:33 AM

its reg on 150 psi. mine has never had a problem. Own was a great guy to deal with him. Would buy it again in a heart beat...

trd55 · 05-31-07, 08:34 AM

Here is the regulator I switched to.

http://store.cyberweld.com/smnirehvpuh1.html

It is used to purge HVAC systems with nitrogen and will regulate up to 450psi delivery pressure. The regulating diaphram(sp?) is made out of stainless. It will not freeze up. I used to use a regular oxygen regulator, but it finally gave out after a couple of years. The diaphram is madeout neoprene in those. The freezing eventually wears it out.

All you have to do to this regulator is change out the bottle adapter, which is only $13-15 dollars at any welding supply house. It is almost identical to the other CO2 kits, except they have added differnet guages rotated at 90*

Darius

rusty_tlc · 05-31-07, 09:56 AM

I, and most of my friends that use CO2 have always used beverage regulators and never had a problem. Of course it's dry as a popcorn fart here so that probably helps. Has it been more humid than usual where you are?

1973Guppie · 05-31-07, 11:40 AM

Ummm, not sure, was up in the socal mountains, big bear, fairly dry up there, it usually gets cold

so is it rebuildable / fixable?

or should I go with the one from ultimate air? I will spend the $$ but I am going to be pissed if it freezes up again!

anyone with good techical knowledge on these things, I would appreciate the help.

Noah

pbgbottle · 05-31-07, 11:21 PM

happy with my ultimate air reg never froze up yet , did you see the pic i posted after running my die grinder in one of the other threads , oh well here is the pic anyways .outside of reg,, hose and die grinder all frosted up but kept working fine .ran this thing for about 10-15 mins continuously .

fj40forlife · 05-31-07, 11:31 PM

hahah thats how mine gets

pbgbottle · 05-31-07, 11:31 PM

are you sure it was the reg or was it the bottle ?.you are suppose to crank the bottle valve wide open to keep it from freezing up . the valve can freeze up on the bottle if not fully opened

" ultimate" use to offer a mud discount and free shipping ,could always just go for the reg for $112 , with mud discount and free shipping
(if still offered ),might not be that expensive ?

http://www.ultimate-air.com/products/uamureg.htm

Pin_Head · 05-31-07, 11:41 PM

Did you keep the tank upright? If liquid CO2 starts flowing through the regulator it will freeze into dry ice as the pressure drops.

1973Guppie · 06-01-07, 01:27 AM

yup, open valve completely, tank upright, I took the regulator apart today and cleaned it thoroughly, put back together. One thing I did notice is that before the tank would flow air right out of the regulator without anything attached, meaning when I turned on the top valve the air would flow completely out of the quick coupler, now it holds air until I attach to the quick coupler. Hopefully it is fixed, going to give it one more try and if it happens again I plan to order another regulator. I think somehow the regulator got gummed up inside and maybe the cleaning helped.

pinhead, to your point, it was a freshly filled tank, not sure if that might make a difference?

Thanks for the help!

Pin_Head · 06-01-07, 10:00 AM

Yes, a full tank is more likely to spit liquid if you are flowing a high volume of CO2 because the gas is boiling off the liquid so fast. Fixed pressure CO2 regulators are pretty simple and reliable, so I doubt that you will have problems with it when the liquid level gets lower.