Secondary Regulators

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AnOldUR

fer-men-TAY-shuhn
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Reading the other regulator posts today got me worried. I picked up a used CO2 tank on eBay and didn't want to spend more money on a regulator. I had the secondary regulator pictured below, so I took it to my gas supply place and asked if I could use it. He said that he didn't see why not and sold me the post to screw in the side to connect to the tank.

I hooked it up and nothing exploded, but that doesn't mean it's safe. It is a Tap-Rite regulator, but doesn't have any model number on it. Their website says that their current secondary regulators are good for 3300 lbs, but I don't know how old this one is.

Is anyone familiar with this regulator or have an opinion on using it as a primary regulator?

regulator3.jpg
 
As I mentioned in the other thread, I think the only reason they stamp a low limit on the secondary regs is because it comes with a hose barb on the high pressure port. They don't want anyone thinking they can make up a simple PVC hose set between a tank and the reg. BOOOOM! I'm pretty sure you're OK. You might want to think about changing that gauge out to a 0-30 or even 0-15psi range. You'll like it much better.
 
I'd say from the fact that you hooked it up and nothing exploded that you are safe. If that was a low pressure regulator, I'm pretty sure full tank pressure would have blown it away.
 
I too think its probably fine if it didn't blow up by now. Just watch it to make sure it holds a constant pressure.
 
Thanks for the reassurance. This setup is just for priming in my basement refrigerator and I wanted to keep the cost to a minimum. There is a 30 lb gauge laying around here somewhere. I’ll give that a try.
 
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