Helium regulator

[eagle83]

I have been thinking about kegging, and was researching a little at work. I asked the maintenance man about a regulator I was looking at on Northern Brewer, and he said "I got one like that you can have". The one he gave me is made by VMR scientific. I'm pretty sure the gauges are what I need (0-60 psi). I looked it up with the catalog number and it's supposedly a $195 Helium regulator. I'm not too familiar with all this stuff, but I'm guessing the only thing that makes it a Helium regulator is the valve fitting. This should be easy to replace right? I'll post a pic and the website below.

https://www.vwrsp.com/catalog/product/index.cgi?object_id=0012035&class_id=5035474

 

[david_42]

As long as the inlet port is a left-handed thread, you'll be able to change it.

 

[eagle83]

I was just googling a few things, and read some regulators can't work with pure co2 because the co2 will freeze it up. Makes sense to me. Do you think I will have any problems with this one?

 

[malkore]

very possible. Google how much psi Helium has at room temperature. CO2 will have close to 1000psi at 70F, so the helium should be near that, or the regulator may not work.

i.e. if helium is only 200psi, that regulator will probably instantly fail when 1000psi of Co2 hits it. but if its used to 1200psi of helium, the CO2 might work...IF it has enough pressure to move the internal valve...

 

[eagle83]

I don't think this will have any trouble holding the pressure. What I'm worried about is when the co2 changes from liquid to gas and absorbs heat if this regulator is going to freeze up. May not be any way of knowing except to try it out. Gotta get a keg first though. It seems to me kegging beer there isn't going to be enough flow through to give it time to freeze up really, but like I said I've never kegged so it is just speculation.

 

[triethylborane]

Determine what sort of gas or gas-mix this regulator was designed for. You have to find the part no on the regulator. Each gas and gas-mix requires a specific regulator. There is a safety precaution here and while I doubt a catastrophic hazard, CO2 requires specific regulator types to prevent freezing which can cause regulator freeze and a skin hazard.

 

[david_42]

Looking at the specs, I doubt there is any difference between the various regulators other than the connectors and low-pressure gauge. Freezing is strictly the result of expansion and the heat capacity of the gas. CO2 can be a bit of a hazard only because the expansion process can form dry ice. Expand helium through the same regulator at the same rate and it will be just as cold, but still a gas.

 

[SweetSounds]

Remember, too, that you're not going to drain a 5# CO2 tank in an hour through this thing. Freezing shouldn't be an issue at the slow flow rates that pass through our regulators...

Even a CO2 regulator will freeze if you open it up and drain the tank quickly.

 

[eagle83]

This is along the same lines as what I was thinking. I just wanted to double check with some brewers with kegging experience before I bothered to adapt this regulator. Thanks for the reassurance.