# CO2 regulator not working?



## Texan78 (Nov 17, 2013)

I have done some research on those regulators last night. I have a Aquatek regulator currently which is acting funny which I think mainly because it's controlled by my Apex. I didn't know if my controller was making it act funny or not. So until I had time to play around with it and check some things I looked into the Milwaukee MA957 just in case as it seems to be rather popular. I have read mixed reviews on it. Some people swear by it and have never had problems and then there was others who had nothing but problems. Reporting that the needle is junk (Which I head A LOT even from the people who swear by it). I also read that those solenoids to go out often too. It seems to be a mixed bag though of reviews. It is also to be mentioned that they only offer a 6 month warranty on them which seems kind of strange and says a lot about the quality it has. 

Did you buy this off eBay or did you pick it up from someone? If you got it from eBay it sounds like you may have been taken. It's hard to say exactly what is wrong with it but I would start with the needle since it is junk and seems to get the most bad reviews even from those who swear by it and go from there. It is possible the solenoid works but you would never know unless the valve works and it could be stuck closed. Also it is the cheapest part to replace. Then from there if that doesn't work you can probably replace the solenoid. Another thing to try is to thump it a few times. I know that sounds strange but I read some people having to do that to unstick the needle. Hope this helps!


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## NCSteve (Dec 17, 2012)

I've got the same regulator. (Milwaukee) and the solenoid is very touchy. Try unplugging it, turn the main adjustment valve open (counterclockwise) until it's loose. Plug the solenoid in and slowly close the main valve (clockwise) until you get the bbs close to where you want it. Then try to fine tune with the needle valve.


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## kevmo911 (Sep 24, 2010)

Milwaukee said it didn't matter that the working pressure gauge was blown? That's crap. It sounds like you might have multiple problems with that rig.

Go with NCSteve's advice, but it's very worrisome that you won't be able to see what the working pressure is.

If it were me, I wouldn't have bought the thing in the first place (but then, I know better because I've been through that already!). But, having bought it, and realizing that there are issues, I'd probably just trash it. You probably didn't pay more than $50 for it, so it's a relatively minor loss.

And, next time, stick with a quality rig. You got bitten on the hindquarters by one of the cheapo rig. Time to upgrade!


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## Lab_Man (Dec 7, 2012)

Texan, I bought it off a Simply Discus sponsor for 30 dellars. I know that when you buy something used but I thought I'd try it and hope I was lucky and someone was honest. I'll try hitting it with a hammer method first. Then I'll trash it.
Steve, I will dig into it to see if I can figure out what is wrong with it. It might be because it was sitting around for a couple years?

Kevmo. I totally agree with you. The supplied pressure needs to be know. 

What are some good CO2 regulators?


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## Lab_Man (Dec 7, 2012)

Just one thing that might affect the operation of the regulator. I don't have the complete system yet. I have the diffuser coming on the 27th so right now I have a length of hose off the end of the bubble counter. I don't know if that matters but either way the bubbles are very, very tiny and the fastest I can get is 2 bps. 

I can hear the solenoid click when I plug / unplug it.

Grrrrr

OK, it's not the solenoid. I unscrewed the bubble counter from the solenoid and plugged in the solenoid. A blast of CO2 came out of the valve. So that means that the problem is in the needle valve.

No matter what I do, I can't change the size or rate. Even when I unplug the solenoid. and close the needle valve. The bubbles will just bubble for hours.

I will take this apart today and try to see if there is anything that I can do with it. If not I will order another needle valve.

What do you think?


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

Sounds like you'at least got the logical mind to sort through this. Congrats on that as it is sometimes hard to find. 
If you've gotten this far, I would say you have a 50/50 chance of making it work. Maybe not great but cheap and work. The meter is not terribly expensive so you may/may not want to replace it later. 
For now I might suggest taking the needle valve off to soak it. It may be a case of getting water and setting so that minerals have it stopped up. Minerals are often limestone so soaking in a bit of light acid may help. Does local water have lots of limestone? I might try soaking in vinegar for a start. 
The blind hog does really find an acorn now and then! No personal insult intended, I've been the blind hog so many times....


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## Lab_Man (Dec 7, 2012)

Rich, thanks I like to think that even a blind dog gets lucky every now and then, LOL. I am actually an engineer, so I work analytically on a daily basis. The funny part is that I used to get into trouble for taking things apart to see how they worked. Sometimes I got them back together, sometimes I didn't LOL. Now I get paid to break things and find out the root cause.

Yes, I will be replacing the metering gauge next week.

I will try to soak it in CLR today and see if that frees it up. Otherwise I will take it apart and see what the problem is.

I have read so many bad things regarding the needle valves, I might buy a better one to replace it.

Thanks again.


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

Man I miss the days when I got paid to do what I do now for free! NOT!

My whole theory on fixing things is that if it is broken there's no way I can break it so I might as well try to fix it. I find weed eaters that don't start in the spring are a good value if you clean them!


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## Lab_Man (Dec 7, 2012)

Rich, I take it as a challenge to fix things that are broken. It is easier though if I'm not pressed for time. Like the time I trouble shot my wife's oven igniter. What frustrated me about that one is that I knew it was the igniter and that the broiler igniter was the same and I could have used that one, EXCEPT that the connector was different!!! No reason for the different connector except that you had to go out and buy a new one!!!


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## pwu_1 (Oct 28, 2013)

There are some instructions from Milwaukee floating around about cleaning the needle valve. Basically you open the needle valve all the way and remove the bubble counter then you use a small drill bit and drill into the hole to try and dislodge whatever is stuck in there. I forget the size drill bit they tell you to use but if you look around on milwaukees website you can probably find it. 
I'm in the same situation as you are. I did replace the needle valve with a better one but now I'm finding that any time I adjust the needle valve the output pressure bounces around for a while until it eventually settles down. At night when the solenoid is unplugged the output pressures creeps up by about 10 psi... So yeah I'm building my own regulator... Just waiting for all the parts/fittings to arrive then I will probably throw the Milwaukee in the trash or give it away or something


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

I've never torn a Milwaukee needle valve apart but drilling in to clear it really sounds like a last resort type thing. Wow! They must not be too proud of the precision tooling if they suggest drilling any where near the opening. 
Blast air in, soak or blast air in reverse all sound like things that are likely not to do any harm but drilling?


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## Lab_Man (Dec 7, 2012)

I've actually cleared orifices using pwu's advice. 
Rich, you are right, drilling would not be advisable. What pwu is eluding to is backing out the check valve out all the way. That would move the check back away from the drill. Then using a very small drill bit and rotating it by hand to clear the hole. You want to be very careful while doing this. Because if you hit the check with the drill bit you may scratch the check seat and causing a leak.


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

I missed the hand drilling part and jumped straight to power!


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## Lab_Man (Dec 7, 2012)

Boy, do I have egg on my face. I got some CLR today and soaked the needle valve for 2 hours. I blew into it with compressed air, nothing. Poked the orifices with a small wire, nothing. 
Then I went on the internet and looked for this "drill bit procedure." 
Here is what a found:

MA957 Clogged Needle Valve Repair Procedure
Over time dirty CO2 gas flowing through the regulator will start to deposit dust and dirt in the small gas line located inside the needle valve. When these deposits become large enough the gas flow becomes restricted and eventually will stop. When you add more gas pressure, forcing the gas pass the inline restriction, the flow will start back but as the backpressure subsides the gas flow and bubble count will also diminish and will again eventually stop. This yo-yo effect causes the operator to apply even more pressure from the large black main regulator knob (Macro adjustment) until the backpressure is so high that the solenoid will not close, even when power to the solenoid is turned off. This high backpressure in the solenoid piston chamber will allow gas to continue to flow through the regulator dropping the pH to 5.5 causing a catastrophic effect on all biological life in a tank.

Field repair procedure - Turn the tank off and take the regulator off the tank. Take the bubble counter off the regulator needle valve. Open the needle valve all the way open by turning the knob counter-clockwise until it stops.
Use a 1/16” drill and go through the top hole of the needle valve and drill through the base of that hole until you feel the drill pass through into the main chamber. Drill time is only about 2 seconds at full drill speed. Turn the regulator over and tap the needle valve on a table to knock out the drill filings. Remount the regulator. Note: If 1/16” drill is not available then go to next size which is a 5/64” drill bit.”

Guess what? The 1/16" drill bit worked like a charm!!! I flushed the needle valve and installed it on my CO2 regulator. I screwed the needle valve in 1/2 way and then opened the tank valve, 800 lbs. Next, I slowly screwed in the supply knob. Water actually shot out of the bubble counter to the ceiling!!!! How many bubbles per second is that???? LOL 

After a little adjusting, I got it at 1 bps. Then I unplugged the solenoid. Low and behold the bubbles stopped! Plugged it in and the bubbles started at 1 bps.

I am so pleased that I got this working! Thanks everyone for your help. PWU, Thanks for the advise on drilling the needle valve. I owe you one!!!


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## Lab_Man (Dec 7, 2012)

I have a buddy that had a low pressure gauge that owed me a favor. Now when my CO2 diffuser gets here I can dial the pressure to 35 psi and away I go.

I have to say thanks to everyone who helped me and gave advise.


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