"new" Clarke gauges broke

admin

I bought these gauges with my welder about 8 months ago and just now got around to using them. Its blowing all the gas out a little hole near the knob. Is this an easy fix or do I need decent quality gauges?
Reply:The seal could be bad. Maybe got dried up or deformed while sitting around.If the guage is made for inert gas NOT (I repeat) NOT oxy-actyelene you can remove the knob by unscrewing all the way and removing, Then the next part is the seal cover which can be unscrewed. It unscrews the regular way. Not left handed. DO NOT PUT the guage in a vise!!! NEVER PUT LUBRICANT ON ANY PARTS.After you have unscrewed the cover you will see the diaphram, spring, and small disk that the control knob pushes against. Visually inspect for any kind of damage.The only thing left is the needle valve and that can be unscrewed with a socket.It is delicate, do handle with care.I have had trouble with some guages and just taking them apart and putting them back together got results. But i did not see WHAT was causing the problem. Sometimes I think the needle valve gets stuck.Any way if you are going to buy a new guage, it wont hurt to take it apart so you can learn something about it how it works.The brass is always worth somthing so you can save that for your brass collection bucket.Last edited by Donald Branscom; 06-09-2008 at 01:37 PM.