Acetylene Regulator

admin

I have a problem with my regulator I have never seen before. The problem is when I turn the tank on I get a reading on the pressure gauge of 100 psi. as I adjust the output side to 5 psi the input stays at 100. When I open the valve on the torch both the input and output gauges both drop to zero. I can maintain a flame on the torch but not a strong one. I changed the gauges and got the same result. I set the regulator up and then shut the tank off and opened the torch and the tank gauge stayed at 100 psi without dropping which tells me the diaphragm does not have a hole. The tank is full. Before I replace or have the regulator rebuilt, is it the regulator or do I have another problem. It is a Harris single stage.
Reply:you say tank is full, i say 100 pounds is almost empty.
Reply:the regulator takes at least 50 pounds to drive it, correctly.Acetylene tanks are only supposed to be cracked open, not fully open like an oxygen.  that being said ive seen tanks that take 2 or 3 FULL TURNS on the valve just to maintain the pressure, or the situation you are describing occurs.  Not sure how far you open up that valve but its something to think about.
Reply:I opened the tank wide open and the problem still exist. The reason I assume the tank to be full is that I just exchanged it. My original tank was empty and reading 0 on the gauge.
Reply:it could be a bunch of things, do you have a second regulator you could try?
Reply:I will get one from work and try it on Monday.
Reply:impretty sure that when i get a  full tank the  high gauge on my regulator shows 12 or 13 hundred..
Reply:if it shows 12 or 1300 something is wrongacetylene is normally filled to around 250-300psi