DIY Air Distributor w/ individual regulators

[AnOldUR]

im not expecting the precision of a $50-70 regulator from a $10 one. . . At $10 it's hard to say no.

Yeah, but those nickles and dimes add up when you have to replace stuff.

For the future, keep your eyes open. I bought this three regulator Taprite set with all the splitter and check-valves for $75 from someone here on HBT.

 

[weathejx]

I use both types in my shop and know the difference. All I know is that none of the F types ones I was using passed the soapy water test when the female end was pushed sideways. Maybe yours are better quality, but I'd still suggest a thorough soapy water test if you haven't already done one.

Soooooooo, I got home all pumped to prove you guys wrong and put this thing together and have it be awesome. Unfortunately, you guys get to say 'I told you so' because those stupid QD's were loose like my high school girl friend and leaked all over the place.

I did hook up one of the actual regulators that lustreking suggested. it seemed to work fine. so tomorrow ill be grabbing one of those manifolds (which are now 1.99, saw them earlier) and attaching the regulators to that, and the manifold to the tank with some barbs and tube I have laying around.

Live and learn, right?

 

[JuanMoore]

Soooooooo, I got home all pumped to prove you guys wrong and put this thing together and have it be awesome. Unfortunately, you guys get to say 'I told you so' because those stupid QD's were loose like my high school girl friend and leaked all over the place.

I did hook up one of the actual regulators that lustreking suggested. it seemed to work fine. so tomorrow ill be grabbing one of those manifolds (which are now 1.99, saw them earlier) and attaching the regulators to that, and the manifold to the tank with some barbs and tube I have laying around.

Live and learn, right?

I don't think anyone wanted to say "I told you so", we were just pointing out some potential issues to look out for. One of the best things about these forums is that we can all use our past blunders and bad purchases to help each other out. Hope the new set-up works awesome for you.

One last thing to look out for..... on one of the $2 manifolds I bought, the threaded plug leaked. It sounds like you'll be using all 4 ports (1 in and 3 out) so it shouldn't be an issue, but if not make sure to do the soapy water test on the plug.

 

[AnOldUR]

. . . so tomorrow ill be grabbing one of those manifolds (which are now 1.99, saw them earlier) and attaching the regulators to that . . .

Here's another a heads up.

The threaded adapters in your new regulator have 1/4 NPS thread and the manifolds have 1/4 NPT. As you probably know, one is a straight thread and the other is tapered. It's not a good idea to join these two. You might get away with it, but it's just not right.

The thread in the regulator body is listed as being a 1/8-14M. I don't know what that is since the standard for an 1/8" pipe is 27 tpi. Good luck finding something to thread directly in. (Although it may be a mis-print or something I'm not aware of.)

It looks like the holes in the manifolds are too close together for you regulators. You may consider chaining a couple together with an adapter and plugging the holes you don't need.

Personally, I've never seen a need for QD's at the tank. You can disconnect your gas lines at the kegs and when filling the tank you remove the whole assembly. What I use coming from the out side of the regulator is a barbed shut-off valve with a check valve built in.

 

[weathejx]

Thanks for all the info. We'll see how it all turns out. If the current plan doesn't pan out I'll have to sort out something else.

I'll report back tonight with more info.