CO2 Regulator won't close fully

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Tall_Yotie

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Howdy folks!

I have a CO2 regulator. It was working fine. Got a new canister of gas. Now, with the regulator closed, the low pressure gauge slowly creeps up and maxes out. When fully disconnected it reads 0.

This is with the regulator not connected to any kegs so there is no back pressure. I pull the pressure release valve to bleed it, but the gauge creeps back up again.

Is there something I may have somehow damaged when putting the regulator back on? I don't think I did anything weird, as I've swapped out many tanks before with no issue.

Thanks for any thoughts!
 
Maybe the needle valve in the regulator is stuck a bit. Could be from an overfilled tank spewing some liquid CO2 into the regulator, and freezing it, or a particle (e.g., dirt, sand) got blown into the needle valve.
I'd connect it to a keg and see if that fixes it.
 
That all makes sense. What would connecting it to a keg do? Just give it somewhere to push particles or just give extra space to blast with gas?
 
That all makes sense. What would connecting it to a keg do? Just give it somewhere to push particles or just give extra space to blast with gas?
Using some of the gas and also to push things around that may cause the problem.
I have the feeling it's a stuck needle for whatever reason.

If it's tenacious dirt that got in there (from a dirty tank nozzle, etc.) you could remove the regulator assembly and use (oil-less) pressurized air or perhaps a bicycle pump to blow out the regulator in reverse, while turning the regulator knob in and out. IOW, connect your air or pump directly to the regulator's "out" side, without any check valves in between.
 
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