Equipment Needed For Fire Extinghuisher Co2

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aaronnorth

www.ukaps.org
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Here is a how a typical set up goes:

FE > Regulator > Solenoid (optional) > Needle Valve > Check Valve > Bubble Counter > Diffuser/ Reactor. CO2 Airline is also needed.

A check valve is only needed before the bubble counter if yours does not have one built in, the bubbble counter from aquatic magic (which comes with the redulator) has a built in check valve so therefore only 1 is needed before the diffuser or reactor.

We will start of with the Fire Extinghuisher, they can be founded Here

Next along the line is the regulator. These bring the pressure of the bottle down to a useable level. 2 Gauges are needed. The left gauge measures the bottle pressure, usually 50-65bar. This will start to decrease as soon as the bottle is getting empty. The right gauge measures the opertaing pressure (the pressure at which the gas is coming out). This should be around 2 bar. Here are some options for regulators:

CO2 Regulator
CO2 Regulator, with solenoid, bubble counter, check valve and needle valve - The connection between the bubble counter and regulator is not very good and in most cases people find them leaking. A good way around this is to put some PTFE tape around the join and the problem is fixed :D
CO2 Regulator, with solenoid, bubble counter, check valve and needle valve - I can't comment on this one so maybe someone else can help. But from looking at it everything is connected via the CO2 airline which can be more secure.

Next is the solenoid, unless you go for one of the full kits above then you may want a solenoid. This allows you to turn the CO2 off at night when plants dont use it, therefore stretching out your supply of gas by almost half. Some people prefer to run it 24/7.

Solenoid - I have heard good reviews on this German solenoid

Needle valves (or thumbwheels) allow you to change the amount of gas injected. This can be measured by bubble counter. Basically if you turn the wheel one way, it either makes the hole bigger or smaller thus allowing more, or less CO2 injected. Again unless a full kit is bought, then a needle valve will have to be bought seperate.

Needle Valve

When you are changing the needle valve, using a buble counter can help you measur the amount of CO2 Being injected, the vary in all different shapes, sizes materials etc so i will leave it up to you on which model you would like, i will give a few as examples.

Bubble Counter

bubble counter

A check valve is essential in order to stop the water returning down the ipe and into your regulator or solenoid. They are very cheap and again come in different shapes and materials.

Check Valve

You have to decide how to diffuse the CO2 in the water - reactor, diffuser or other.

You can get internal or external reactors they are a 'box' in which the CO2 passes through and it get dissolved as it is in contact wih the water. These are ideal for larger tanks, also if you have an external reactor (attaches to outflow of filter pipe) It is less equipment in the tank!

Internal Reactor

External Reactor

Another option is via a ceramic diffuser. These have extremely small holes on a ceramic plate, the gas is pushed through and small micro bubbles are produced. It is a good idea to have this in the flow of the water so the bubbles get pushed around the tank.

Glass ceramic diffuser

another option sto run it through a powerhead or your filter. This may make your filter slightly noisy and it is still undecided wether it can damage your filter although it is rarely heard of.

You will need some CO2 airline to connect everything up. It needs to be CO2 otherwise regular airline will crack & leak.

See Sam's Excelent guide on how to put this all together here

CO2 also needs to be measured, a good way to do this is via a Drop Checker

which is filled with 4dkh Solution

I hope this helps you all get your fire extinghuishers set up and running smoothly!

Thanks, Aaron :D
 
i know but this offers a wider choice of equipment. Sam just gave a few links to what he used. I am not trying to show you how to set it up like Sam's, just what equipment is needed. That is why i provided the link at the end as the 'second' stage of development.
 
What I am asking is do all regulators work on the same bottles?

I remember someone saying you cant use some on non disposable bottles
 
The are refillable and disposable bottles (both different threads although you can buy converters which allows you to use disposable regs on refillable bottles.
 
Anyone know roughly how long one of those ebay extinguishers last at 1.5 bar?
 
Roughly?

Or anyone care to share roughly how long theirs lasts, along with tank size, plant biomass & lighting levels. ;)
 
Anyone know roughly how long one of those ebay extinguishers last at 1.5 bar?
Hi
These will last a lot longer than even 500g disposable bottles and cheaper in the long run months even a good year if used twice a day in a smallish aquarium say 10/15 gallon in well planted tank.
I can only vouch for the 500g bottles, but Ive just purchased a 1kg fire extinguisher bottle fully charged it is 3.4kg in weight approx.From www.safelincs.co.uk
Cost is £33.00 approx including postage considering a 500gram cost anything from £15/18 that's not including postage theres no contest
Reason i purchased this 1kg is just the size of bottle.

It all points to what size of aquarium you intend to use it on and the plant coverage and various other factors mentioned earlier.
Also fish stocking levels you don't want to stress your inhabitants with to much C02.
Regards
hogan53
 
If you look in the yellow pages you will find someone, or if you have any local welding suppliers etc.

my 60l tank is high tec, it uses lots of CO2 & ferts with a lot of plant biomass (see journal). It has a 2kg which should last me 1yr+

Another tank that i know of... 125l high tech again with high plant biomass and a 2kg which lasted 4months.
 
Just to let people know, i got this reg:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CO2-Regulator-Electr...4634.m351.l1262

and its now broke. I used 1 2kg fire extinguisher in a couple of months (probs a leak on it, didnt test for it) and then forgot about it, couple of months later (had been empty for a couple of weeks/months) i got another FE and hooked it up, the gas would just blow out of one of the gauges and it looked a bit wet in there.

So all in all, £80 wasted :(
 
As an eBay Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
sorry, you are the first person i have heard having a problem with the reg itself, usually it is the solenoid that tends to buzz, but this can be fixed by tightening up a component insode the solenoid.
thanks for the feedback.
 

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