What do you guys think of this regulator?

I was browsing around on Harbor Freight and i saw this http://www.harborfreight.com/digital-air-flow-regulator-98426.html
What do you guys think? Would it be dangerous to use this? It's probably (read: definitely) not designed to be near food but is that a concern? I thought I might pick up 3 of them for each of the cornies in my keezer...

that's pretty cool. For $15, I say it's worth picking at least one up and seeing how things go with it.

The main body is aluminum, so that's OK. No info on what the rest of the materials are, but I bet if you called the manufacturer, they can tell you.

edit: the manual does say that it's meant for air only and that bottle gas should not be used. But.... I think I'd still try it out as a $15 experiment.

Why?
Seems that it controls flow RATE, not pressure: two different things.

TheCHICompany said:

Why?
Seems that it controls flow RATE, not pressure: two different things.

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The manuals says it can control the pressure.

2. Turn the dial on the side of the regulator to change the regulator pressure setting

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TheCHICompany said:

Why?
Seems that it controls flow RATE, not pressure: two different things.

Click to expand...

That is the same concern I have. Someone please prove me wrong! I would love to find a cheap way to specifically carb each of my kegs. 6-8 regs just for cornys gets kind of pricey..... I looked for something similar in my local HF with no luck. Keep us posted!

DeBrewer said:

That is the same concern I have. Someone please prove me wrong! I would love to find a cheap way to specifically carb each of my kegs. 6-8 regs just for cornys gets kind of pricey..... I looked for something similar in my local HF with no luck. Keep us posted!

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is that you james?

He he he he he..... I mean noooooo.....

how would you connect it to the co2 tank, or would be be a secondary reg. i can tell you that tank pressure would probably blow that thing apart. if its used for air, like an air comperssor they are only a few hundred psi. a co2 bottle sits almost 1000 psi, and if it gets warm can go as high as 2000 or more.

if you use it on mixed gas the bottle pressure full is about 2000 psi.

if you use it as a secondary reg, and you take the gas down from tank pressure to a safe pressure i am sure it would be fine.

it would be a secondary reg in the set up i have imagined in my head. i may order one from the website. apparently they aren't in stock at my local HF...

it seems like it would work but i am concerned with the shutoff after 45 seconds. i am assuming it will shut off just the screen. this thing isnt advanced enough to shut down the gas flow. i say go for it. if its used for air you wont have any problems.

some of the older beer systems i have worked on in old bars have air compressors pushing their beer instead of co2.

jonp9576 said:

it seems like it would work but i am concerned with the shutoff after 45 seconds. i am assuming it will shut off just the screen. this thing isnt advanced enough to shut down the gas flow. i say go for it. if its used for air you wont have any problems.

some of the older beer systems i have worked on in old bars have air compressors pushing their beer instead of co2.

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I was worried about that at first but after reading the manual, I'm pretty sure it's just the screen that goes off.

BTW, compressed air pushing my beer sounds like a recipe for cardboard flavored beer...

This is the cheapest scenario that I can come up with (in a few minutes of looking) that would be a true regulator and a gauge that is precise enough. Granted there are cheaper gauges from SC but that one is stainless and fits... $14 total including shipping if I order 6. I have ordered a ton of things from them so I trust their product and service.

Regulator

Gauge

Grab some ChiCompany secondary regulators. $20 and you know it is designed for this use.

jonp9576 said:

...some of the older beer systems i have worked on in old bars have air compressors pushing their beer instead of co2.

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neumann said:

...BTW, compressed air pushing my beer sounds like a recipe for cardboard flavored beer...

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I suspect that the air compressor was feeding into a nitrogen generator. The 99.8% pure nitrogen is stored in a tank which then feeds into a gas blender along with CO2. Since bars may have really long beverage lines they may use a nitrogen/co2 blend to push all of their beers.

http://www.micromatic.com/nitrogen-generators-dispensing-draft-beer-aid-371.html

no, it was an air compressor pushing the beer. i followed the lines myself because i didnt believe it either. a few of my customers had them. these systems are all very very old.

We have been experimenting with these too along with various models of large body digital primary regulators - that will control your pressure much like a thermostat controls temperature in your house.

Digital primaries are defenitely around the corner. - These little guys ..........the jury is still out, but we will keep you informed.

I just bought this from keg cowboy on friday, thinking it would be a great cheap alternative to another regulator.. but after 20 min. of messing with it, I couldn't get it to do what I thought it was gonna do. No hard feelings on Keg cowboy though, he said straight up they just got one in and he had no idea if would work or not.. I've been buying a lot of stuff there lately, so I said sure I'll take it home and give it a shot, knowing that I can return it, which I will do today and just get a secondary regulator.