# co2 regulator stopped working



## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

I'm going to bet that one of your 2 stages is messed up. I don't think a blown low pressure gauge is going to cause you not to get any working pressure. (that was my 1st thought...)

How old is the regulator? You may have rebuild the inner workings of the thing.

I will admit that I am new to 2-stage regulators and could be way off with my assumption. lol


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## elmatth1 (Jun 26, 2007)

Yeah, I think a pressure gauge isn't going to make a difference. The regulator is only a few months old, maybe late summer or early fall of last year. I really hope it's something simple that i'm messing up, but i'm sure it's not. It's kinda odd that it would be working fine since I switched out tanks last week and suddenly stop. The co2 cylinder is a 5lb, but it usually lasts me about a month and a half or more. 

Any other suggestions?


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

It does not sound like the gauges are the problem.

When you have the regulator disconnected from the CO2 cylinder, both gauges read zero for pressure?

It is after you connect the regulator to the CO2 cylinder that the low pressure gauge slowly creeps up until it reaches the maximum, and then the regulator stops delivering gas?


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## elmatth1 (Jun 26, 2007)

When I disconnect the regulator from the cylinder, the high pressure gauge drops to zero immediately, but the low pressure gauge stays at the max for a while before pressure is released somehow from inside of the cylinder. I can hear the pressure release, then watch the gauge drop back down to zero. It does that on its own while sitting disconnected on the table. After I reconnect everything, it'll work for several minutes, then yes, the low pressure gauge creeps back up and stops again.


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Could be the solenoid. Mine was doing this a few days before it went totally out. You could try to removing the solenoid and hooking everything up else to see if this is the issue. It's a lot cheaper to replace this than a whole regulator.


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## elmatth1 (Jun 26, 2007)

sewingalot, excellent idea. I was trying to troubleshoot the regulator, and didn't even think to try the solenoid. I'll give it a shot and hope that works.


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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

sewingalot said:


> Could be the solenoid. Mine was doing this a few days before it went totally out. You could try to removing the solenoid and hooking everything up else to see if this is the issue. It's a lot cheaper to replace this than a whole regulator.


yes, it could be a solenoid issue, but that wouldn't explain the working pressure gauge climbing all the way up though. would it?


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

My pressure gauge was bouncing all over the place. Since removing it and fixing the leaks, it's holding steady. It's a long shot, but it doesn't hurt to try. Just offering up a solution that worked for me.


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## Jim Miller (Dec 24, 2002)

Sounds like your regulator is kaput. It could be any number of things wrong inside it. Is it a retail one or rebuilt one from Ebay?

Jim


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## elmatth1 (Jun 26, 2007)

Well, I took the solenoid off and connected the co2 tubing back to the regulator without the solenoid. It's been working for the last hour so far, which is alot longer than it had been. 

I wonder if the solenoid was failing and would close after several minutes of operation. That would probably then stop the co2 from getting out of the regulator, maybe building up pressure inside of the regulator causing the low pressure gauge to shoot all the way up. I'm just speculating, but that did seem to do the trick. I'm going to wait and see, but i'm hopeful that was the problem. 

If that is the problem, i'm going to go ahead and say that sewingalot is a genius!


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## Jim Miller (Dec 24, 2002)

If your low pressure creeps up when your solenoid is closed then you have a stage leaking in your regulator. I'm guessing it is the second stage from the symptoms. It could be a worn seat or a bit of crud in the seat.

I'd keep a close eye on the pressure to avoid a dump and losing livestock.

Good luck

Jim


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## elmatth1 (Jun 26, 2007)

After removing the solenoid early this morning, the regulator has been working fine all day and the low pressure gauge stays where it is supposed to. Time to get another solenoid to replace the failing one. 

The solenoid I'm replacing is a Parker model #15-200339-003 "D". Anyone have any suggestions on a different solenoid that won't break the bank?


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

The Burkert 6011 is quite good.


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## elmatth1 (Jun 26, 2007)

Darkblade48, thanks for the suggestion. I did a bit of research on the Burkert 6011 last night. Looks like it's the way to go. Ordered the solenoid and cable plug from freshwatersystems now just have to wait for it to arrive. 

Thanks everyone for the help.


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## elmatth1 (Jun 26, 2007)

Got the solenoid yesterday. Can't believe how fast it got here. The regulator has been working great all week without the old solenoid. Now just gotta get the new burkert wired up and hopefully I'll be good to go. Thanks again to everyone here for your help.


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## kevmo911 (Sep 24, 2010)

Awesome. Hopefully that'll fix everything, and I'm surprised that nobody pointed out that a month and a half for a 5lb tank is a surprisingly short amount of time to last unless you're supplying CO2 to a massive amount of tank water. Anyway, I hope the solenoid fixes that too.


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## Cbwmn (Nov 30, 2007)

I have a Milwaukee regulator/controller/solenoid set up.
Awhile back it started acting erratically. It turns out the needle valve was clogged.
Before I discovered the problem, I raised the output pressure to “force” the gas out.
When the output pressure is too high, the solenoid CAN’T close.
I cleaned the NV and adjusted the regulator according to Milwaukee instructions.
Now everything is working perfectly.
Charles


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## elmatth1 (Jun 26, 2007)

kevmo911, I was just taking a guess about how long the tank lasts me. I really haven't paid that close of attention to how long it lasts. It might be a bit longer than that, maybe two months... I think i have some loss at my diy bubble counter though, so that could explain it. I check all of the connections at the tank and regulator w/ soapy water and all is usually good. 

I'd like to get a bubble counter that attaches to regulator after the needle valve, but i've got a fabco nv that is in-line so i'm going to have to get a different needle valve for that to happen.

Cbwmn, I ruled that out in my setup, because I actually took my needle valve off and tried it without and still had the problems. Thanks for the suggestion though.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

elmatth1 said:


> kevmo911, I was just taking a guess about how long the tank lasts me. I really haven't paid that close of attention to how long it lasts. It might be a bit longer than that, maybe two months... I think i have some loss at my diy bubble counter though, so that could explain it. I check all of the connections at the tank and regulator w/ soapy water and all is usually good.
> 
> I'd like to get a bubble counter that attaches to regulator after the needle valve, but i've got a fabco nv that is in-line so i'm going to have to get a different needle valve for that to happen.
> 
> Cbwmn, I ruled that out in my setup, because I actually took my needle valve off and tried it without and still had the problems. Thanks for the suggestion though.


The jbj bubble counter easily fits onto the nv55 with a fitting. No need to get another one. I had to get my jbj's from over seas however. Took about two weeks.


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