[HELP] CO2 regulator acting weird, is it broken?

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Frozen

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Hi,

I have a newish regulator which I've been using for about 2 or 3 weeks for carbonating soda. I set it up to the correct PSI and made sure it wasn't leaking and begin using it. It worked for about 3 weeks and now it won't output any gas. I know that the taking is filling up the regulator, but the "out" is completely empty.

Any advice or feedback would be appreciated!

Thanks,
Frozen
 
Can you give us a little more background? How do you know the tank is filling up the regulator?

I don't mean to belittle you, but I think that we've all made stupid mistakes by just overlooking little things:
Are you sure your tank isn't empty?
Is there a shufoff valve between the regulator and the gas disconnect? I hooked up a keg to carb and couldn't figure out why it wasn't carbed at all after a few days then discovered my valve was closed.
Are you turning the regulator the correct way? It's backwards from a faucet, turning to the right actually opens up and increases pressure.
Is your disconnect properly seated on the keg?
Is the dip tube in the keg clogged with something?

Hope that helps.
 
Thanks for the response!

I have a gauge on my tank and also on my regulator for tank pressure. They both indicate that they tank is fine. Also I have to manually unscrew the regulator to release the pressure.

I checked all the shutoffs and they were open at the time!

The regulator was set at the correct PSI a few weeks ago and I haven't changed it. I checked all the lines for clogs and I didn't see any.

Let me know if you think of anything else.

-Frozen
 
Hmm. That beats me. I guess it may very well be broken, but I don't know how to tell for sure. If it's newish I'd say to check with the vendor you purchased it from.
 
I bought it online (ebay). Its made in china, I don't know what brand it is. Says "SRF YQT-731A" on the regulator.
 
Unless the vendor is going to replace it, it may be time to open it up and check the guts.

One of my newer regulators was acting up about a month ago and I took a look inside. didn't see anything obvious, but I cleaned an dried everything. Put it back together and the darn thing started to work properly again.

It's easy find a guide on-line for cracking one open, and it's pretty simple design inside so don't let it scare you to disassemble the thing.

pb
 
Unless the vendor is going to replace it, it may be time to open it up and check the guts.

pb

I was arriving to this conclusion myself yesterday. I watched a few instructional videos about how to open and repair regulators. I think I have a basic understanding of how the regulator should work and what to look for since its not working.

The one thing that stoping me from doing it today is I don't know how to open my regulator. In all the videos I watched were using taprite style of regulator with the four screws holding it together. Mine looks like the front was twisted like a screw onto the body. I'm not sure how to get it open yet.

-Frozen

PS: what did you use to clean the internal parts?
 
So I was able to take apart my regulator and I think I found the problem!

oS12Mim.jpg


I contacted the seller and got an immediate refund! I can't believe anyone would sell this as a "kegging / soda" regulator. Gross!

Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced regulator for a reputable company?
 
Sorry for not getting back with you sooner. My e-mail is counting my HBT notifications as spam.:mad:

Anyway, I'm glad you got to the bottom of things.

And to answer the other question. I used sanitizer to clean, then made sure everything was real dry before I put it back together.

pb
 
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