# co2 system quick assemble pictures



## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

Been busy currently, no time to build systems, but made one last night, spend three hours(spent more time on sourcing parts).

the pictures only show the parts, will be more details on how to build.

Another Parker IR6000 in progress:
new in the original bags.

















Parker Hannifin SS CGA320, not the western Enterprise or Superior product SS CGA set.









Digital handle extremely high precision metering valve, Brooks instrument, and it is an angle pattern.

























sweet swagelok, especially the stainless steel gauges.










pictures of a quick put-together, will take at least three hours to connect every piece and many more hours to test:


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

*Parker IR6000, Burkert 2822 solenoid, Brooks instrument series 1 metering.*

Enlarge the picture look much better.

Finally, done. Picture were taken this afternoon.
Now this system is mounted on CO2 tank under testing, more testing hours ahead before it is ready to join the service.


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## sarahspins (Sep 24, 2012)

Absolutely beautiful


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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

Really? 3 Hours? Now that's dedication to being careful. lol

EDIT - Please, for all that is good in this world, REMOVE that brass check valve. That Parker deserves better.


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## gnod (Mar 24, 2011)

dang... not only are the photos looking sharp as heck but that regulator looks real great! 

whoever gets this is mighty lucky!


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

Actually two and half hours, have to be extremely careful to avoid scratch(even a single scratch would ruin it), all parts are new out of the original box/bags.
And normally it takes less than half an hour if no custom modification required or avoiding scratch is not the main concern.

The check valve is brass, but it is parker hannifin, an $40-$50 stainless steel spring and poppet valve door just like the full stainless steel body counterpart.


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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

Bettatail said:


> The check valve is brass, but it is parker hannifin, an $40-$50 stainless steel spring and poppet valve door just like the full stainless steel body counterpart.


When you build something of that caliber, aesthetics matter... haha - how's that saying go? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

gnod said:


> dang... not only are the photos looking sharp as heck but that regulator looks real great!
> 
> whoever gets this is mighty lucky!


Thank you, it is enough light to make it look sharp, plus a DSLR really come in handy,


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

oldpunk78 said:


> When you build something of that caliber, aesthetics matter... haha - how's that saying go? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.


Josh, need parts let me know, I have full line of VCR components on hand but keep pushing back the VCR pressurized system project because I need to build a panel for VCR pneumatic parts, the VCR connection/fitting are not designed to holding itself because the weight of the components.


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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

Really? I would think the weak point would be the welds in the tubing. I'm pretty sure the actual VCR connection is strong enough. I wonder what the weight limit is on the welds in the tubes. And thank you for your offers and advice. There aren't many folks around here as wound up with these things as we are .


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## WATduh (Feb 27, 2011)

My hats off to you. If I were to put that many pieces together- it would surely explode at some point.


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## hunterlook (Feb 21, 2013)

WATduh said:


> My hats off to you. If I were to put that many pieces together- it would surely explode at some point.


Haha this made my day, thank you.


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

oldpunk78 said:


> When you build something of that caliber, aesthetics matter... haha - how's that saying go? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.


unfortunately, I only have one 1/8 npt stainless steel Parker Hannifin check valve left, that will be for another better regulator, a matheson 9400 series reg.


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

WATduh said:


> My hats off to you. If I were to put that many pieces together- it would surely explode at some point.


it is alright, takes a little bit time but attention to detail is what count the most.

another one:

Matheson 9400 stainless steel.


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

new project, a chiyoda seiki


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## ryu1 (Aug 26, 2011)

Beautiful regulator. One question, am I seeing liquid inside the SS gauges??


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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

A lot of industrial gauges will use glycerin (I think... or some other oil) in the gauges for dampening reasons.


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## acitydweller (Dec 28, 2011)

omg, that's JDM awesomeness!


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## Conrad283 (Dec 10, 2012)

oldpunk78 said:


> A lot of industrial gauges will use glycerin (I think... or some other oil) in the gauges for dampening reasons.


Is it brand specific?



Beautiful reg's Betta, just like the one I bought from you


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## kevmo911 (Sep 24, 2010)

The higher end gauges (check WIKA and Ashcroft, for example) have variations of each model that are dry or liquid-filled. For us, the only reason to go liquid-filled is if we find them at a good price. Other than that, it's an aesthetics thing.


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

*swagelok regulator.*

The work from last night, swagelok regulator


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

*Messer, rare left handed regulator*

Messer, In Deutschland hergestellt

also the work from last night.


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

*Victor HPT 100*

Victor HPT100

last night.


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

all three rare systems made last night, rare night, went to bed at 4AM....


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

something just accomplished recently:


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## trix25 (Apr 26, 2013)

beautiful regulators, i am drooling just looking at them. i see some red stuff on the connectors on the last pics, is that red loctite or is plumbing tape good enough?


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## devilduck (May 9, 2012)

What solenoid is that round silver one? Is it NPT sized threads like the burkert? 

Aquariumplants.com is out of stock on burkert solenoids and I need an alternative place to get one.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

trix25 said:


> beautiful regulators, i am drooling just looking at them. i see some red stuff on the connectors on the last pics, is that red loctite or is plumbing tape good enough?


The only red thing I see looks like some tape (?) on the regulator body. There does not appear to be any red Loctite at any of the joints.

In general, teflon tape is good enough for our purposes.



devilduck said:


> What solenoid is that round silver one? Is it NPT sized threads like the burkert?


Looks like a Clippard mouse solenoid to me. It has #10/32 ports, but you can tap 1/8" NPT holes.


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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

Bettatail custom taps those manifolds to accept the tube fitting threads of those metering valves. From what I understand, tapping those to 1/8npt is difficult and has a high fail rate. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2


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## FlyingHellFish (Nov 5, 2011)

devilduck said:


> What solenoid is that round silver one? Is it NPT sized threads like the burkert?
> 
> Aquariumplants.com is out of stock on burkert solenoids and I need an alternative place to get one.


That a numatic solenoid, I wanted one so bad. I think it's 10/32 like the Clippard. Bettail changes the manifold to 1/8 NPT, I'm sure it works fine. BUT, there is another solenoid that already has 1/8 NPT and is the same size.

Bettail, what happen to that japanese regulator you were making?


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

trix25 said:


> beautiful regulators, i am drooling just looking at them. i see some red stuff on the connectors on the last pics, is that red loctite or is plumbing tape good enough?


Your regulator is broken, damage by high pressure because the improper initial startup.
to replace damage reg with a stainless steel regulator, I need to scratch my head a little.:icon_conf



devilduck said:


> What solenoid is that round silver one? Is it NPT sized threads like the burkert?
> 
> Aquariumplants.com is out of stock on burkert solenoids and I need an alternative place to get one.


send me your 15490-2, I will put a 1/8 male npt as outlet. and the silver looking one is the 1.5 watts Numatics stainless steel solenoid.



Darkblade48 said:


> In general, teflon tape is good enough for our purposes.


+1, teflon tape is good and economy, easy to find from any hardware store.

loctite, very good but a 10ml bottle is about $20, hard to find too.



oldpunk78 said:


> Bettatail custom taps those manifolds to accept the tube fitting threads of those metering valves. From what I understand, tapping those to 1/8npt is difficult and has a high fail rate.
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2


it is easy to mount a 1/8 male npt fitting on the manifold as outlet port, but to make a 1/8 female npt port on the manifold as outlet, is difficult.


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## mwuf15 (Aug 3, 2010)

regulator porn. 

betta, where can i find the fittings you use on your regulators? like the 90 elbows.


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

mwuf15 said:


> regulator porn.
> 
> betta, where can i find the fittings you use on your regulators? like the 90 elbows.


304 grade stainless steel is low price, you can find it on evil bay for $2-$5, but 316/L grade is far more expensive, you can order it from swagelok or deals appear on evil bay, grab it fast.



FlyingHellFish said:


> Bettail, what happen to that japanese regulator you were making?


on hold, too many things going on in life... 
and it is summer again, more work, but decide to stay not like last year that I took a 6 months break from TPT.


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## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

Hey Bettatail, I just found a place and will move out by end of this month. I'm going to start a 150 gallons tank. Do you have any free time in mid July? I can bring all of the parts that I have been hogging on fleabay  to your house.


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

:icon_excl


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## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

Bettatail said:


> :icon_excl


Don't tell me you bought that machine just to extract 2 brooks valves lol

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

Quote" loctite, very good but a 10ml bottle is about $20, hard to find too."

I had not read this in some time but just found this item. Are you looking for the specific Loctite brand? If not, I find red threadlocker is very common in auto supply shops. Not expensive and the brand is Permatex but it seems the same.


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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

He's talking about the purple type I think.



PlantedRich said:


> Quote" loctite, very good but a 10ml bottle is about $20, hard to find too."
> 
> I had not read this in some time but just found this item. Are you looking for the specific Loctite brand? If not, I find red threadlocker is very common in auto supply shops. Not expensive and the brand is Permatex but it seems the same.


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

In a quick search, I can't find any mention of purple type but I can't imagine any of our uses needing more than either the common blue or red. They are used in car engines and such where things are under major stress so they should find anything on a reg to be an easy deal. I've never found a use for anything more than those two.


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

AlanLe said:


> Don't tell me you bought that machine just to extract 2 brooks valves lol
> 
> Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk


thought about it, didn't do anything :icon_mrgr


PlantedRich said:


> Quote" loctite, very good but a 10ml bottle is about $20, hard to find too."
> 
> I had not read this in some time but just found this item. Are you looking for the specific Loctite brand? If not, I find red threadlocker is very common in auto supply shops. Not expensive and the brand is Permatex but it seems the same.


Brand name Loctite, but if Permatex works the same and cheaper, will try it.


oldpunk78 said:


> He's talking about the purple type I think.


I use red, blue, or the 500 series thread sealant(100,000psi rating), still have the purple but only apply it on 10-32 sealed ports.


PlantedRich said:


> In a quick search, I can't find any mention of purple type but I can't imagine any of our uses needing more than either the common blue or red. They are used in car engines and such where things are under major stress so they should find anything on a reg to be an easy deal. I've never found a use for anything more than those two.


the red loctite secure and hold the threads, and the pressure rating is up to 10,000 psi if enough threads and properly installed, the blue is 1,000 psi.
also need to mention blue loctite is commonly used in paintball or (mid-power) air gun applications.


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## etbarry (Feb 22, 2009)

Do you only use loctite for your joints instead of Teflon tape? Is it better? The blue is fine for the entire post body correct?


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

etbarry said:


> Do you only use loctite for your joints instead of Teflon tape? Is it better? The blue is fine for the entire post body correct?


Teflon tape is good if you apply it the right way.
I only use teflon on CGA stem to regulator connection, the rest of the pipe fittings connections, I use loctite, because it save me time.

recommend teflon tape for average co2 system DIY, cheap, less problem to damage the threads if you don't have much experience, especially when you have to assemble/disassemble the pipe connections multiple times to make things right.


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## Solcielo lawrencia (Dec 30, 2013)

etbarry said:


> Do you only use loctite for your joints instead of Teflon tape? Is it better? The blue is fine for the entire post body correct?


It also depends on the material. If it's SS, you must you tape. Brass doesn't matter.


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## FlyingHellFish (Nov 5, 2011)

You know what I always wondered? Why they couldn't make clear teflon tape? You know, as an option at least.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

FlyingHellFish said:


> You know what I always wondered? Why they couldn't make clear teflon tape? You know, as an option at least.


I think this is because PTFE is naturally white; you can add other colourants to it to make it yellow, pink, etc, but you cannot make it transparent.


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## Solcielo lawrencia (Dec 30, 2013)

FlyingHellFish said:


> You know what I always wondered? Why they couldn't make clear teflon tape? You know, as an option at least.


It's clear once it's compressed between the threads. Otherwise, just remove the excess tape. I've seen very few builds where the excess was removed.


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

To make removing the excess tape, just ring it with a sharp knife or razor blade and it peels right off where it has not been chewed by threads. 
Probably one reason for not being clear is that there is very little demand for not seeing it! 
Most inspectors want to see that a material has been used so we may be the only group who would not want to see the tape.


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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

The best way to deal with the excess white tape is to not cover the threads that will be left exposed. Folding the tape in half is usually all you need to do to achieve this.


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## Solcielo lawrencia (Dec 30, 2013)

For NPT threads, only the half of the thread will be screwed in so only the bottom half needs to be taped. Leave 1-2 threads exposed on the bottom, though.


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## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

I had a chance to play around with the Brooks Instruments needle valve. I must say it's a very fine needle valve.


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## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

Another HPT500 with S series needle valve.


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

AlanLe said:


> Another HPT500 with S series needle valve.
> View attachment 275930


Nice!



oldpunk78 said:


> The best way to deal with the excess white tape is to not cover the threads that will be left exposed. Folding the tape in half is usually all you need to do to achieve this.


+1, and save more tape


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

good night...


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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

No!!! I was going to do that first. lol

I'm working on a unit right now that will have a plug in for the dc adapter. Good show.

edit - never mind. I did it last year. I forgot about a unit I did with a 24vdc 6011. I found a plug for a indoor water pump and it fit the plug on the converter. i totally forgot about that one. It was my first veriflo 6000 series.


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

reached home at 11pm last night, went to bed at 1AM, almost two hours work on the "GO".
now away from home again(work 80 hours this week ), have to wait until Monday to take some good pictures of this system, under full spectrum day light.

"GO" line regulators are from HOKE, this is my first stainless steel "GO"(had several brass version "GO"), but anyone remember the 5 stainless steel regulators I acquired 3 years ago? I had a thread showing the all five regulators with broken glasses gauges which were damaged during shipping. They are the same regulators, I still need to find out who is the design pattern holder of this reg, probably Harris Group, because the Scott has this regulator also, and Scott is sub-brand under Harris Group.

BTW, I broke a non TC handle angle pattern Parker H2A, savage the valve body and use a H3L valve cartridge, so have an angle pattern H3A with 1/8 npt port, and it goes with the "GO",
the Parker HR valves are inter-changeable valve cartridge, so any H0 to H6 model, you can switch the valve body and cartridge.


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

here are the pictures.


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## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

Very nice!


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## FlyingHellFish (Nov 5, 2011)

Whoa, that a smart idea on those connecters for the SMC solenoid. Why didn't I think of that? Does it matter if the metal parts are exposed? Can you just cover them with electric tape? I would love to try those connecters out, it looks way better than the clump connecters I'm using.


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## neilshieh (Sep 6, 2010)

Forgive me if this has been asked before but what takes up 2 hours in assembling the regulator? does that time include planning or purely just build time? I recall you saying something about making sure there's no scuff or wrench marks but I don't really understand how one avoid that by doing things slowly. For me, when I'm wrenching in solenoids and needle valves I use a thickly folded piece of paper so it doesn't leave any wrench marks or dirty residue on the finish, but i mean going slowly doesn't stop this does it?


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## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

neilshieh said:


> Forgive me if this has been asked before but what takes up 2 hours in assembling the regulator? does that time include planning or purely just build time? I recall you saying something about making sure there's no scuff or wrench marks but I don't really understand how one avoid that by doing things slowly. For me, when I'm wrenching in solenoids and needle valves I use a thickly folded piece of paper so it doesn't leave any wrench marks or dirty residue on the finish, but i mean going slowly doesn't stop this does it?



In reality it only takes him 20 minutes to assemble and the other hour and 40 minutes to sit there and stare at the complete system.


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## flowerfishs (May 6, 2009)

Bettatail said:


> here are the pictures.


 
are those 2.5" gauges? They look just perfect.


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## jrman83 (Nov 22, 2010)

AlanLe said:


> In reality it only takes him 20 minutes to assemble and the other hour and 40 minutes to sit there and stare at the complete system.


lol

Sent with my Samsung S4 via Tapatalk


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

AlanLe said:


> In reality it only takes him 20 minutes to assemble and the other hour and 40 minutes to sit there and stare at the complete system.


Actually it took me a little bit more than half an hour to put it together, rest of the time was on cleaning/polishing, also adjusted the handle of the regulator, modified the metering valve and worked on some other small details here and there.


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## neilshieh (Sep 6, 2010)

Bettatail said:


> Actually it took me a little bit more than half an hour to put it together, rest of the time was on cleaning/polishing, also adjusted the handle of the regulator, modified the metering valve and worked on some other small details here and there.


yeah polishing and cleaning takes forever for brass units :icon_mad:. less so for chromed or stainless steel units but still a formidable task nonetheless having to get the brasso out of the ridges and little holes and cleaning the gauges take a while too haha.


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

80 hours a week work schedule will end in a couple days, will have time to build some nice systems, what you guys want to see? 
Name a specific reg that you like the most, I will build if I have it.


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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

Got any Japanese stuff?


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## FlyingHellFish (Nov 5, 2011)

oldpunk78 said:


> Got any Japanese stuff?


Like a Hello Kitty brand regulator?


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

FlyingHellFish said:


> Like a Hello Kitty brand regulator?


Lol, for almost three weeks on the 80 hours schedule, I develop bad temper again, feel like "kill, kill, kill!!" back in San Diego boot camp, and your joke of hello kitty brand regulator cracks me up good.

How about I build a multiple output Matheson 3810, your favorite regulator?


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## FlyingHellFish (Nov 5, 2011)

Bettatail said:


> Lol, for almost three weeks on the 80 hours schedule, I develop bad temper again, feel like "kill, kill, kill!!" back in San Diego boot camp, and your joke of hello kitty brand regulator cracks me up good.
> 
> How about I build a multiple output Matheson 3810, your favorite regulator?


Challenge:

What about a 3810, with two solenoid, two output and the needle valve must be facing the front.


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

Easy, lol.


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## FlyingHellFish (Nov 5, 2011)

Actually I think someone already did that, probably you or Josh, but has anyone EVER made a build with *3* solenoids and *3* needle valves.

Who will be the first to control 3 tanks with different bps and time?


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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

FlyingHellFish said:


> Actually I think someone already did that, probably you or Josh, but has anyone EVER made a build with *3* solenoids and *3* needle valves.
> 
> Who will be the first to control 3 tanks with different bps and time?


I've seen one that someone had gla make like that. It was actually pretty cool. Probably 3 years ago.


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

FlyingHellFish said:


> Actually I think someone already did that, probably you or Josh, but has anyone EVER made a build with *3* solenoids and *3* needle valves.
> 
> Who will be the first to control 3 tanks with different bps and time?


doable, it is not a hard task, 
do need to find the right fittings.
there are several ways to make three independent outputs, and not only limited to 3 independent outputs, there can be 4, 5, 6, ....
they look good in my head at the moment, but to process need days to get the parts ready and some extra hours work.

To build is easy, but after, I don't know who can afford such, two(or more) extra set of stainless steel solenoids with high precision metering valves, very expensive. 



FlyingHellFish said:


> Whoa, that a smart idea on those connecters for the SMC solenoid. Why didn't I think of that? Does it matter if the metal parts are exposed? Can you just cover them with electric tape? I would love to try those connecters out, it looks way better than the clump connecters I'm using.


 forgot to answer you this question.
the expose metal part is ok, because the solenoid is 24V DC, and they are the 5x2.1mm-5.5x2.5mm female plug/socket/jack, you can get a ten pieces order for $3, free shipping, from evil bay.


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## FlyingHellFish (Nov 5, 2011)

Low tech - Medium tech - High tech ..... and the 4th output for beer.


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

FlyingHellFish said:


> Low tech - Medium tech - High tech ..... and the 4th output for beer.


the 4th output is the most important, :icon_excl


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

done, still need some touch up, and day time pictures.


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## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

Bettatail said:


> done, still need some touch up, and day time pictures.


I don't think anyone in here is as creative as you are. This is where tubing adapter comes into play. 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk


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## jrman83 (Nov 22, 2010)

Very nice! Will this one be used or sold?


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## FlyingHellFish (Nov 5, 2011)

Bettatail said:


> done, still need some touch up, and day time pictures.


Wow, good stuff! That one of the few regulator build that looks sexy from the back and front. It's like a MiG fighter jet with Swagelok missiles.


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

Can't see my own pictures now.....
Anthor photobucket account or upgrade, any suggestion?


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## AaronT (Apr 11, 2004)

Bettatail said:


> Can't see my own pictures now.....
> Anthor photobucket account or upgrade, any suggestion?


Does TPT still allow hosting? If not, you can always just attach them in the thread.


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## flowerfishs (May 6, 2009)

I use this one to upload all my pictures.

http://imgur.com/


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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

A ton of bettatail's pics show up on Google when you search regulators. That's probably the problem. Not space. Too much bandwidth usage. I'd just open another photobucket account and not title the pics.


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## jrman83 (Nov 22, 2010)

Why not just go and remove all the titles on the current account?


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

oldpunk78 said:


> A ton of bettatail's pics show up on Google when you search regulators. That's probably the problem. Not space. Too much bandwidth usage. I'd just open another photobucket account and not title the pics.





jrman83 said:


> Why not just go and remove all the titles on the current account?



I don't put the title on the pictures, they are all original camera file names.

the bandwidth is 10G, I believe the problem is indeed google, google put all the popular search results/pictures in the front, and require large data transfer from hosting servers. now after photobucket cut off the data flow, a google search "CO2 system", non of my photobucket pictures showing up in the google result/pictures.



AaronT said:


> Does TPT still allow hosting? If not, you can always just attach them in the thread.


yes, but it will be a huge burden for TPT if everyone start doing this, plus some of the pictures, can be showed multiple times in different posts or websites if there is an external host.


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## jrman83 (Nov 22, 2010)

How many pics do you have linked on this site? People search CO2 system at google and the title of the search comes here and all threads you have these photos in get downloaded if the person searching goes through all the results. Think i remember searching and seeing pics you had up from 4 to 5yrs ago. Lower res photos may help.


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

here is the final version of the Matheson regulator system, two outputs, two separated timers control.


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## jrman83 (Nov 22, 2010)

Nice setup!

How are those Swagelok metering valves? Retail they are pretty expensive.

On your bubble counters, do you use the O - ring that comes with them? I know where they go, but is the sealed connection sufficient at the bottom?

Sent with my Samsung S4 via Tapatalk


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## Nanoful (Dec 28, 2012)

Toooooo sexyyyy! I don't need it but I hope I can afford it! ;( just to look at


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

Tom Barr said:


> Adding 2 solenoids on the same system is not a common feature.
> 
> This can be used the following way on a single planted aquarium:
> 
> ...


good thinking, post it here for now.


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## FlyingHellFish (Nov 5, 2011)

Bettatail said:


> good thinking, post it here for now.


Or you know, you can just get a light fixture that supports ramp up and ramp down. You set it low in the morning, ramp up to 100% afternoon and ramp down later when your solenoid timer stops. Where you quote that anyways?


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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

FlyingHellFish said:


> Or you know, you can just get a light fixture that supports ramp up and ramp down. You set it low in the morning, ramp up to 100% afternoon and ramp down later when your solenoid timer stops. Where you quote that anyways?


Tom posted that in this sales thread on the Bar Report. 

That's an idea that I never would have come up with. Pretty cool actually.


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

FlyingHellFish said:


> Or you know, you can just get a light fixture that supports ramp up and ramp down. You set it low in the morning, ramp up to 100% afternoon and ramp down later when your solenoid timer stops. Where you quote that anyways?


For large tanks, if you are not going to use Tom's EI method to push max plants growth, there is no need to push co2 to 30ppm, a steady co2 injection(steady co2 level below 30ppm) is good enough, but there is a problem: a small tank with steady co2 input, fast to reach steady co2 level due to small water volume(and co2 level hold steady afterward), but a large tank require much longer time, and if trying to push more co2 to reach a certain level in large tank in shorter time, the co2 injection flow has to be lowered or the fast injection rate will continuously pushing up the co2 level.

a two independent outputs system on two timer can solve this. in a large tank, two inputs initially pushing co2 to reach a certain level then one shut off, the second one continuously injecting co2 to hold the co2 level steady.


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

anyone wants to see a Concoa stainless steel 432 series system?


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## Thenoob (Jan 15, 2014)

Sure sound like nice looking reg


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

ehh, I have to put this here so fellow members trying to build their own system, have better idea what they are getting into.

this is the msg that I answered a fellow hobbyist:
_the custom made double stage holds its value well, and I set the price [censor] for this system, the parts, material cost seems low if only focus on single component.

here is the list of the parts and cost for a typical chrome plated double stage system:
chrome double stage regulator, normally purchase price $50-$70, but have to mark the cost up for the regulators because there is risk getting a defect/broken unit, about 30% defect rate(defect regulator, gauge, ....), so the cost is around $70-$90 per regulator.
bubble counter, $10
Chrome CGA 320 stem and nut $15
solenoid and manifold, about $15-$20
brass fittings, about $10-$15
power adapter, $5
metering valve, $30-$60
material to build, test the unit, (Tools installation fee, loctite pipe sealant, tape, CO2...) about $5 per unit
paypal fee, about $10-$15
packaging material for shipping, about $2-$5
...

the time to learn, labor, logistic work for the parts all are cost to build a complete system. me and others still doing it, is much like another hobby.
I like to build if I do have enough spare time.
_

my cost of the mouse solenoid and manifold is $15-$20, a lot of logistic work and pure luck so I could lock the low price, but much more if anyone trying to get one or to get a different solenoid. even for myself, a different type high quality solenoid, sometimes the cost triple or quadruped.


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## FlyingHellFish (Nov 5, 2011)

^ Very true.

I think the majority of the sellers do it because they love to build. It's a weird feeling, and it's hard to describe to others. For me, the saddest part of the process is when it's done. 

It's very addicting, like a form of bargain hunting except you're getting $900 items for $60- $100. 

Anyways, I think it's great that GLA is selling a retail dual stage regulator set up. They should give you an Josh a thank you, or a shout out at least.


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## Joshism (Nov 26, 2015)

Bettatail said:


> The work from last night, swagelok regulator


Didn't mean to bring this old thread back up, but I see that you took off the tube nuts and just stuck the metering valve into the manifold. Can I get the part numbers, and sizes for that? I want that adapter under the bubble counter. And that is the Clippard manifold right? I don't like tube fittings. They extend my final build way, too much.


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## Joshism (Nov 26, 2015)

AlanLe said:


> Hey Bettatail, I just found a place and will move out by end of this month. I'm going to start a 150 gallons tank. Do you have any free time in mid July? I can bring all of the parts that I have been hogging on fleabay  to your house.


So this is why it's so hard to find anything good on fleabay


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## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

Joshism said:


> So this is why it's so hard to find anything good on fleabay



Lol this was 3 years ago buddy. I didn't buy the whole store. Evilbay still have many good parts. You're just not looking at the right listing. For example, the machine in the below picture has 2 brooks needle valves. You can ask the seller to sell a specific part. Sometimes they will part it out. 









Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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