Regulator question??

[bratrules]

Well i recently purchased a kegerator and it came with a dual gauge regulator. but the gauge that tells how much co2 is left in the tank doesn't seem to be working. I've tried it with 3 different co2 tanks and nothing its stuck at the same place. Is there any way to fix it? BTW the other regulator gauge seems fine. Anyway here is a pic.

 

[scsnick]

That high side gauge is virtually useless. It dos not show the amount of co2 in the cylinder like your gas gauge in your car does. It only shows pressure. The pressure inside of the cylinder will remain the same right up until it is almost empty. Pressure inside of a co2 cylinder is temperature dependent. It will show a lower pressure in a colder environment like in your fridge than it would at room temp, but you will still have the same amount of co2. Five pounds of co2 will always be five pounds of co2, regardless of temp, it will just have a different pressure.

edit- the only way to know how much co2 you have left in the cylinder is to weigh it. Take the regulator off of the cylinder. Look at the side of the cylinder towards the top for a stamp that says "TW10" or something along those lines. The TW stands for tare weight. That is the weight of the cylinder itself when it is empty with no regulator or anything else on it. So if your TW is 10 and you place it on the scale and it reads 14.5, then you have 4.5 pounds of co2 left.

 

[bratrules]

that high side gauge is virtually useless. It dos not show the amount of co2 in the cylinder like your gas gauge in your car does. It only shows pressure. The pressure inside of the cylinder will remain the same right up until it is empty. Pressure inside of a co2 cylinder is temperature dependent. It will show a lower pressure in a colder environment like in your fridge than it would at room temp, but you will still have the same amount of co2. Five pounds of co2 will always be five pounds of co2, regardless of temp, it will just have a different pressure.

edit- the only way to know how much co2 you have left in the cylinder is to weigh it. Take the regulator off of the cylinder. Look at the side of the cylinder towards the top for a stamp that says "TW10" or something along those lines. The TW stands for tare weight. That is the weight of the cylinder itself when it is empty with no regulator or anything else on it. So if your TW is 10 and you place it on the scale and it reads 14.5, then you have 4.5 pounds of co2 left.

Really haha the reason i laugh is because i just told overstock.com about it (that's where i bought it) and they told me they are going to send me another regulator to replace it. but they also told me to keep the one i currently have. so i might have 2 regulators which it really cool!!!

 

[scsnick]

Really. Haha

On another note, if you keep your reg and cylinder inside the kegerator, the diaphragm inside of the regulator will be slower to adjust to your pressure adjustments. Its known on here as "pressure creep." Basically what that means is that if you set it to 12psi, the gauge will go right to 12 like normal, but you may find that when you come back in an hour, it may be at 14 or so. People adjust for this by usually setting it at 10 or so, and letting it "creep" up to 12 all on its own. If this happens, it is completely normal. It is just a result of the material inside the regulator being cold.

 

[bratrules]

Hey thanks for the info it really helps!!!!