Geez, another noob question, regulator seal?

admin

I ordered one of those flowmeters from usaweld, and got it hooked up, and leaked, it was leaking at the bottle and leaking where the hose connects, so I tightened it up hulk tight on the line because that connection won't be going on and off alot, and it stopped leaking, But how tight should it be on the bottle? I don't want to strip out the threads, it looks like it's brass or copper, I went around the smooth part of the nipple with some 500 grit paper, it had a couple nicks in it, that helped alot, but the only way to get it to completely stop is to tighten the FK out of it, do they "form" to the bottle after the first use? or am I going to have to get it retard strong tight every time I swap the bottle? (I have a bad habit of getting stuff too tight, I've broken bolts before because of that. Don't want to strip anything out)The flowgauge that came with the welder didn't leak at all just snugged up, I tried to swap the nipples out, but couldn't get it loose off the oem one.
Reply:Yeah, any gouges, nicks, or scratches are bad.Ifn' it were me, I would polish everything real smooth and make sure everything is REAL clean. Be careful.Also,  tighten the fittings medium tight, not real tight.  Loosen fittings, rotate a little bit, tighten medium tight again.  This will burnish the seating surfaces.Or you can do what the PhD students at my former employer did and wrap everything with teflon tape (yes, they wrapped the NIPPLE, not THE THREADS)!!
Reply:I put a very, very, very and I mean very small drop of Teflon thread sealant on the rounded portion on the stem that seats into the bottle.I wipe it around the ball with my finger, avoiding the area right by the opening.Ive been able to stop tightening to eyeball popping tightness by doing this.TA Arcmaster 300CM3XMT 304S22P12 suitcase feederX-Treme 12VSOptima pulserTA161SMaxstar 150STLHypertherm PM45OP setupStihl 020AVP, 039, 066 Magnum
Reply:Inert gas connections should not have to be "hulk tight" in order not to leak. If I got a regulator that did that I would send it back.JohnA few weldersA lot of hammersA whole lot of C-clamps
Reply:So leaking where the line goes into the regulator? I have a few of these and no issues ever. Hand tighten to the bottle and use a adjustable wrench and give it a 1/8 of a turn and tight.On the gas inlet, hand tight, grab my 17mm and 1/4 turn at most. There is a female to female adapter on there as well, see if that was tight or loose.Torchmate 2x2 CNC with Flashcut CNC controlsHypertherm Powermax45 Esab ET220i Razorweld 195 MigRazorweld 200ac/dc TigTormach 770, Tormach xstechRazorweld, Vipercut/Vipermig, SSC Foot Pedal Dealer
Reply:Originally Posted by jsinarI ordered one of those flowmeters from usaweld, and got it hooked up, and leaked, it was leaking at the bottle and leaking where the hose connects, so I tightened it up hulk tight on the line because that connection won't be going on and off alot, and it stopped leaking, But how tight should it be on the bottle? I don't want to strip out the threads, it looks like it's brass or copper, I went around the smooth part of the nipple with some 500 grit paper, it had a couple nicks in it, that helped alot, but the only way to get it to completely stop is to tighten the FK out of it, do they "form" to the bottle after the first use? or am I going to have to get it retard strong tight every time I swap the bottle? (I have a bad habit of getting stuff too tight, I've broken bolts before because of that. Don't want to strip anything out)The flowgauge that came with the welder didn't leak at all just snugged up, I tried to swap the nipples out, but couldn't get it loose off the oem one.