Moment of Idiocy, how screwed am I?

[TipsySaint]

So last night was a night that shouldn't have been playing with co2 apparently! I ended up shooting cider back into my regulator. Both a primary and a secondary. So what I was hoping to hear was 1. how bad is that? 2. is there anything I can or should do to clean it out?

As of right now, i just turned them back on and have co2 going through them again.....




any info is very welcome!

 

[ArcaneXor]

Open it up and clean it out ASAP. May be salvageable, may not be.

 

[TipsySaint]

It's still pushing co2..... How do I tell if it's salvageable?

 

[GilSwillBasementBrews]

I would assume if it still holds pressure properly you should be fine once cleaned out. I would recommend back check valves on your keg co2 lines to prevent it from recurring.

 

[ArcaneXor]

Yes, there are inline check valves that you can screw directly onto your gas QD - they cost about $12 a piece. Here is an example. Or, for not much more money, you can get a gas manifold with shutoffs that have integrated check valves.

The inline valves look like this:

http://www.homebrewing.org/Gas-Disconnect-Check-Valve-14-FFL-x-14-MFL_p_2156.html?AffId=160

 

[TipsySaint]

further dumb question...how do you clean it out?

 

[IslandLizard]

Yes, there are inline check valves that you can screw directly onto your gas QD - they cost about $12 a piece. Here is an example. Or, for not much more money, you can get a gas manifold with shutoffs that have integrated check valves.

The inline valves look like this:

http://www.homebrewing.org/Gas-Disconnect-Check-Valve-14-FFL-x-14-MFL_p_2156.html?AffId=160

^ This

Those loose check valves are ridiculously priced. Instead, follow his advice and get yourself a multi-valve manifold, with an integrated shutoff/check valve for each keg you want to keep online at a time at the same pressure setting. 4 kegs ==> 4 valves.

 

[day_trippr]

further dumb question...how do you clean it out?

Save for maybe the tank coupler and the high pressure gauge, you need to take the entire regulator apart - both of them, if I get you right (seriously, how the heck did you manage to flood beer straight back through a secondary regulator into a primary regulator?)

If you don't have one already, find an exploded-view parts diagram for the regulators, then break them down (without losing any parts!), clean everything, and reassemble...

Cheers!

 

[TipsySaint]

Day,

It was two seep rat screw ups in the same night. They are taprite and appear to be unable to come apart beyond the gauge....

 

[day_trippr]

Taprite sells rebuild kits, so there is a way to break their regs down. Use the model number and Google that beyotch...

Cheers!

 

[JuanMoore]

Day,
It was two seep rat screw ups in the same night. They are taprite and appear to be unable to come apart beyond the gauge....

They come apart the same way as most regulators. Not sure which model you have, but looking at the taprite in the pic below, you'll want to unscrew the gray part of the housing on the front. See how it has a hex shape to one of the shoulders? That's for putting a wrench on it to unscrew it from the body. Once that's off, you should be able to see how the diaphragm and other components come out. As mentioned, keep careful track of every part you remove, and how it was oriented, so that you can get it back together properly.

And FWIW decent check valves to prevent this type of thing are really cheap.
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=24234&catid=489

 

[TipsySaint]

Juan,

Thanks for the info.