Blew up my regulator!? Want to use it for CO2 and N2

admin

I found a western enterprises "RC SERIES HEAVY DUTY, SINGLE STAGE,CARTRIDGE STYLE REGULATORS" model rc-7-4.  http://www.westernenterprises.com/en...s/PDFS/wi7.pdf I want to use it with a CO2 tank at the moment... changed it to a CGA320 fitting, connected to a 20# co2 tank, eased the tank valve open... and  I hear hissing - seems to be leaking from around the know somewhere... I wait and see ice on the outside.  I wait for half an hour, tighten my connections, turn it back on, and the output gauge jumps past the 200psi mark and I hear a loud Pop!  The safety disk is blown...Help!  I'm not sure what to do:1)  First... can I use this to regulate CO2?2)  Should I get this rebuilt? I'm guessing it's "busted" now.3)  I just need something that will output 0-200psi from a 0-4000 psi (nitro), or c02 tank.  Maybe I should just get 2 regulators, but funds are limited at the moment.What I'm trying to do, is use it power an air chuck... I have a 20# Co2 cylinder, I also have SCBA tanks that I might use it for in the future... but at the moment  I really want to use it to regulate co2 at 60 psi to fill / make my own carbonated beverages like this: http://www.popsci.com/diy/article/20...onation-system.  I also use CO2 to pressurize spray bottles since my air compressor won't pump past 125psi at best.attached is a picture of the regulator as it sits now. Attached Images
Reply:New or used reg? My 1st thought if it was a used reg, is that the HP seat failed. Because the reg was leaking it allowed the pressure to relieve itself. As soon as you got everything 100% tight there was no outlet for the gas and as soon as the LP side pressure got high enough, the safety let go.  It's possible to get it rebuilt, but I'm not sure if it would be cost effective. I'd check with these guys to see what they think it will cost to rebuild the reg. http://www.regulatortorchrepair.com/repairservices.php As far as using that reg for HP air, note that none of the regs shown in that link are rated above 3K. That means if your SCBA cylinder is a 4500 psi unit, the reg really isn't designed to take that much input pressure. Also remember that CO2 and HP air use different CGA fittings as does nitrogen. In fact there are 2 different CGA fittings for HP air CGA 346 and CGA 347. There really isn't a cheap easy way to hook up all three types of gases to the same reg.One other thing to keep in mind, pressure is not volume. Most air tools want a lot of volume of air flow even though the pressure is fairly low. The average reg isn't really designed to flow large volumes of gas. Large gas volumes also add up to large drops in temp and often result in reg/tool freeze up under the right conditions. Even after you get everything hooked up right you may still find there are issues depending on what tools you want to try and run..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Off road guys use the Hyperflo CO2 regulator.  They are rated for high flo rates and have an adjustable 0-200 psi for $137 and a non-adjustable 150psi for $55.http://www.wheelersoffroad.com/co2systems.htmDave J.Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~ Syncro 350Invertec v250-sThermal Arc 161 and 300MM210DialarcTried being normal once, didn't take....I think it was a Tuesday.