[Wet Thumb Forum]-Milwaukee MA957 Regulator installation mishap?

[trace_lynn]

Okay I am miffed. I ordered the Milwaukee MA957 regulator w/solenoid, bubble counter attached. Got the regulator thursday, got the 10lb CO2 bottle today, came home and started setting it all up.

Followed the directions included and they were just flat wrong! It states (shortened version) fill bubble counter 1/2 full water but make sure the needle valve is closed before filling with water.

Below on their directions is says that to open the needle valve you turn it clockwise so I turned it counter-clockwise to close the valve (makes common sense).

Anyhow, after trying to get a reading on my low pressure gauge of 10 lbs, I kept having gas escape and bubbles show (even though the needle valve was suppose to be closed). Therefore, I turned the needle valve immediately all the way back the other way (clockwise which was opposite what the directions said) and the needle valve closed stopping the bubbles and gas flow.

Now, my question is, did water get into the solenoid and regulator during this time and should I request a new one (because their directions are wrong)?

Also, what pressure psi should the low side be set at. I have it at 15 now because everytime I set it at 10 (those darn directions again), I end up with no bubbles after about 30 minutes running into the bubble counter.

I looked up on the internet and found where they had incorrectly "re-typed" the line that caused the needle valve clockwise/counter-clockwise discrepancy here Automated Aquarium Systems

So, do you think I totally messed this regulator up or not?

Thanks,
Tracy

Tracy
Ummm, Is it suppose to do that!?

[trace_lynn]

Okay I am miffed. I ordered the Milwaukee MA957 regulator w/solenoid, bubble counter attached. Got the regulator thursday, got the 10lb CO2 bottle today, came home and started setting it all up.

Followed the directions included and they were just flat wrong! It states (shortened version) fill bubble counter 1/2 full water but make sure the needle valve is closed before filling with water.

Below on their directions is says that to open the needle valve you turn it clockwise so I turned it counter-clockwise to close the valve (makes common sense).

Anyhow, after trying to get a reading on my low pressure gauge of 10 lbs, I kept having gas escape and bubbles show (even though the needle valve was suppose to be closed). Therefore, I turned the needle valve immediately all the way back the other way (clockwise which was opposite what the directions said) and the needle valve closed stopping the bubbles and gas flow.

Now, my question is, did water get into the solenoid and regulator during this time and should I request a new one (because their directions are wrong)?

Also, what pressure psi should the low side be set at. I have it at 15 now because everytime I set it at 10 (those darn directions again), I end up with no bubbles after about 30 minutes running into the bubble counter.

I looked up on the internet and found where they had incorrectly "re-typed" the line that caused the needle valve clockwise/counter-clockwise discrepancy here Automated Aquarium Systems

So, do you think I totally messed this regulator up or not?

Thanks,
Tracy

Tracy
Ummm, Is it suppose to do that!?

[gsmollin]

I think you should ask automated aquarium systems this question. It looks possible that water gets into the valve. It also looks possible that water gets into the valve when the gas runs out of the tank and the pressure drops off. Also, the other directions to put Teflon tape on the threads of the cylinder connection is also wrong. The sealing surface is on the "O-ring" between the cylinder valve and the regulator. You should also have a plastic or fiber washer betwen the tank valve and regulator.

[farm41]

A little water backing up in the regulator is no big deal, co2 contains some moisture, and the regulator is built to handle it. Did you have the solenoid plugged in and open when that happened? If the solenoid was closed, no water could have gotten into the regulator. Is there a check valve on this system?

Matt
If you're not making any mistakes, you're not doing anything

[trace_lynn]

This regulator was purchased from Ebay. The one at Automated Aquarium Systems is the exact same one and so is the regulator/solenoid/bubble counter at Floridadriftwood.com as well as AquaBotanic selling an exact one, but they are not the distributor/seller (just wanted to make that known as I am not questioning their products).

FDW regulatorsite shows that the solenoid does have backflow protection.

I did receive two O-rings and one was placed between the regulator and the cylinder valve at that connection which is also where the only teflon tape was wrapped around the threads. The other O-ring is a spare as there was just no where to place it and no mention of placing it anywhere else except the connection at the regulator/cylinder valve.

The only check valve that I have added is between the top of the bubble counter and the internal reactor on the tank. Other than that, the solenoid is suppose to have "backflow protection" which I am assuming is just another way of saying a checkvalve.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>gsmollin: It also looks possible that water gets into the valve when the gas runs out of the tank and the pressure drops off. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
If the solenoid is plugged in (which has backflow protection) and the gas runs out (which I'll suppose is best prevented anyway by changing tanks prior to this), water would not get in would it?

The low pressure gauge was suppose to be set at 10psi. In my previous post, this was originally set at 10psi, but after aprox. 30 minutes, the pressure had dropped to 0 and there was no gassing moving through the bubble counter. This was then readjusted to 15 psi and I have not had a problem with it dropping again. Anything below 20 would be okay right?

farm41: The solenoid was not plugged in when the water was placed in the bubble counter. Then before the solenoid is plugged in/opened, the cylinder valve was completely opened to seal the valve packing (per original instructions I followed) and the high pressure gauge registered the tank (confusing here too 10 lb tank registered 50 on the outside ring = 700 psi on the inside ring of the high pressure gauge although I have no idea if it should have read any differently ).

Thanks yall for helping me out with this

Tracy
Ummm, Is it suppose to do that!?

[Momotaro]

Funny,I was told by the people at Custom Aquatics that the solenoid should be plugged in during set up.

Here is a question: Why would the bubble counter need to be filled during setup of the equipment? It seems like filling the bubble counter should be one of the last steps in setting up this system.
I have the same regulator and will be putting everything together next week, and I will fill the bubble counter last, not first. I'm sure that some amount of CO2 can be detected with the bubble counter empty. I will fill it once everything is OK, and then fine tune.

Does this make any sense at all, or am I fooling myself?

[farm41]

When to fill the bubble counter is insignificant, as long as it gets filled so you can monitor adjustments.

Matt
If you're not making any mistakes, you're not doing anything

[gsmollin]

tracelynn,
If the gas never runs out, then no water gets into the needle valve. I don't know that you can guarantee that in the long run, so its an issue. Besides, you will disoconnect the tank to refill it, so then the water can back up into the needle valve. I'm concerned with mineral deposits getting into the needle valve, so use distilled water in it. On the other hand, how is it working now? If you have the whole thing settled in, than it may be OK.

[trace_lynn]

gsmollin
I guess then the question I need to find out is if the needle valve has a check valve then or to just solve the whole issue, unplug the solenoid to close the connection, siphon out the water in the bubble counter, and refill with distilled water.

Its running just fine so other than replacing the water, I'm leaving it alone.

Tracy
Ummm, Is it suppose to do that!?