Empty Co2 Bottle After A Week!

[don_kihotis]

Hi guys,
 
i have recently purchased a UK type, 2,35kg bottle that takes 1kg of pressurized Co2 inside.
 
Today when i opened it i realized that the bubbles were coming in the bubble counter in a slow rate. After puzzling my mind and trying several things, i was surprised to see that the bottle was completely empty.
 
What have i done wrong? The system operates only if the solenoid is plugged on and that's how i was switching it on and off every day. I was leaving the main shut off valve and needle valve open, just switching off the plug of the solenoid. Is it possible that the gas was leaking during the night from the system since the main valve was still open?
 
Has anyone had this problem before?
 
Thanks in advance for any help.
 
Chris
 
p.s By the way what is that part that i have marked with the red arrow? I am turning it right and left but i can't see what it's usage is.

 

[techen]

I donno what that is on the front, Probs a exit? It also sounds like your reg is leaking. Soapy water, wait for bubbles and find the leak.

 

[KirkyArcher]

It looks like you've cracked open the regulator housing, the part you have indicated by the red arrow, tighten it back up fully shut, looks like you have a pre-set unit, and just us the needle valve to control flow rate.

 

[don_kihotis]

I donno what that is on the front, Probs a exit? It also sounds like your reg is leaking. Soapy water, wait for bubbles and find the leak.

That's a clever idea
It seems that you have a solution for everything mate. Thanks a bunch.

It looks like you've cracked open the regulator housing, the part you have indicated by the red arrow, tighten it back up fully shut, looks like you have a pre-set unit, and just us the needle valve to control flow rate.

Hi Archer, that frontal part is not fully turning. Just a little bit on the left or right. It also has a tiny hole on the side (visible on the photos). Someone told me that is an exit for the gas in case of an emergency.
Somehow what you say makes sense but If it was on the open position and the Co2 was escaping from there wouldn't i be able to hear a hissing sound? Or it would just go out silently and continuesly little by little resulting in an empty bottle without even noticing?
By the way the left gauge meter shows the pressure in the bottle? At first it was 1000 but later it got to zero. Maybe it was after i turned the frontal knot and the gas was coming out from there? The right gauge was showing 40psi and today that it emptied it dropped to 20 and then zero.

 

[Dandyman3]

What did your drop checker colour show in the tank? Did that show any signs of excess co2?

 

[KirkyArcher]

opening the reg cover would just vent the majority of the cylinder contents to the atmosphere and not entered the tank

 

[don_kihotis]

Hi guys, after several hours and the help of a technician friend the problem was found.
The frontal valve had nothing to do with this. The problem was the gauge meters. Both of them were leaking gas from inside. This is what happens when you get cheap Chinese stuff that are being sold at the price of the professional ones.
 
Of course i have nothing to do with such equipment and i couldn't possibly know that's why i did this bad choice. 
I went to a local company which deals with all kinds of gases for hospitals etc and they have all the professional equipment. I spent 90 euros and i have a professional system which i attached to my 2kg bottle.
Now everything is perfect and the color of the checker is lime green as it should be. With the junky defective system the color was light blue even at 4.5 bubbles per second.

 

[DrRob]

That'd do it.
 
Always the way that you get what you pay for. My experience with cheap regulators is limited as I managed to pick up a few German made ones when Sterling was good against the Euro, so they worked out cheaper than usual, but overall the experience is that they're generally ok, but there's the risk of what you're describing.
 
For reference, I agree with Techen on the leak testing with the soapy water, and with Kirky on that being a fixed pressure reg and that the bit on the front really shouldn't be moving. The small hole is indeed probably a pressure release valve in case of over pressure.
 
As for the way the gauges dropped, CO2 is stored under pressure as a liquid, until fairly close to the end of it's supply. As a result the pressure in the bottle tends to stay up around the same level for ages, as released gas is slowly replaced by more evaporating from the liquid, until the liquid runs out. Then you're on a fairly short time frame for a new tank as there's actually not a lot of CO2 left.

 

[don_kihotis]

Hi Dr.
This is the thing. the saying "you get what you pay for" is not the case here as i obviously paid for something good but it wasn't.
I got the junky one from a UK dealer for 80 euros excluding all fees (shipping, currency conversion, paypal) and i got the professional one for 90 from a local store.

 

[DrRob]

Ouch. Then that hurts even more.
 
I know the chances are slim, but have you considered approaching the sellers of the original for a refund?

 

[don_kihotis]

I am thinking about it although there is a problem.
 
To get a refund i will have to send it back and cover the shipping costs but all this struggle with the unit opening, closing valves, removing parts, adding special adhesive glue/sealers have caused some damages/scratches on the outside appearance so it wouldn't be possible to send it back as he couldn't fix the problem and resell it. 
 
The only solution would be to send me 2 replacement gauge meters and then it will be ok but after all the trouble and frustration i had these last 2 weeks i would rather smash the damn thing on the floor

  
 
p.s. This fluctuation of CO2 in the tank caused me algae problems as well