How Should I Connect The Co2 Solenoid?

[dingweding]

i bought another CO2 set, which comes with a Solenoid, as shown in the pic

how should i connect it(let us call it way A), if i connect this way, there is a short tube between them, i think the tube possibly can not stand for the pressure.

or should i connect like this(let us call it way B)?

or get rid of part of it and connect like this(let us call it way C)?

meanwhile, i guess the top gauge on the regulator shows the bottle pressure, the right gauge shows the exit pressure, which is the pressure after the regulator, am i right?

it also come with a CO2 reactor, as shown in the pic, as it is quite long, there are not much distance the CO2 will travel once it out of the reactor to reach the water surface, can i fix it almost horizontal, instead vertical?

many thanks

 

[Mikaila31]

I think all those ways will work, but I would go with option B. If I'm looking at the pics right, the part you want to remove in option C looks like it might be a check valve. If it is, you should leave it. You should also have one after the solenoid to protect it from any back flow. Option A would work, but your solenoid would be hanging off the regulator, personally I don't like this. Which ever way you pick, make sure it is hooked up in the right direction. The arrow on the metal part, point the direction the co2 should be flowing.

You are correct about the gauges

The ceramic diffuser needs to be vertical I believe. If your tank is short, place it as far down as you can. I have some 6" from the surface and they keep my co2 levels up just fine. Though they are probablymore efficient the deep down they are. If you want a smaller one, check ebay. Aquatic Magic usually sells them for a good price.

 

[dingweding]

MANY THANKS, i guess the arrow on the metal part means the direction of CO2 flowing, thus A is right direction. If i use B, i should turn the metal part around, otherwise it will point to the wrong direction?? does that mean it just like a switch, no matter which way you connect, as long as the arrow point to right way , it should be fine?

as for the disffuser, i do have a small one, but it does not have the spiral part which the bubble can travel inside the disffuser. So which one will be better, the big one which have long travel distance inside but short distance outside, or the small one which bubble can travel long distance outside the disffuser? thanks

 

[Thommo]

Hi,

The diffuser in the picture i sjust a diffuser. The long spiral part is just a bubble counter. The lenght of the tube actually doesn't aid in diffusion in any way so you could use either diffuser if you like but the long spiral wiould assist in keeping trak of the bubble rate.

Mikaila is right. The metal part of the regulator is the check valve. This stops water gettin into it which would be an issue. I would leave it where it is. I personally would hook it up as per the secon pic but have a check valve after the solaniod to avoid water getting in to that also. Water in the solaniod wouldn't be detramental for the short term but would cause it to clog up eventually. I wouldn't worry about the pressure being too high for the hose part on the solaniod as it will only see a small pressure as that is what the regulator is for . Should be set around 10-20psi depends on what yiou read. So the hose will only see that pressure. I work with this solaniods etc. all the time (just chucked that in if it makes you feel any better )

CHEERS
Thommo

 

[dingweding]

Hi,

The diffuser in the picture i sjust a diffuser. The long spiral part is just a bubble counter. The lenght of the tube actually doesn't aid in diffusion in any way so you could use either diffuser if you like but the long spiral wiould assist in keeping trak of the bubble rate.

Mikaila is right. The metal part of the regulator is the check valve. This stops water gettin into it which would be an issue. I would leave it where it is. I personally would hook it up as per the secon pic but have a check valve after the solaniod to avoid water getting in to that also. Water in the solaniod wouldn't be detramental for the short term but would cause it to clog up eventually. I wouldn't worry about the pressure being too high for the hose part on the solaniod as it will only see a small pressure as that is what the regulator is for . Should be set around 10-20psi depends on what yiou read. So the hose will only see that pressure. I work with this solaniods etc. all the time (just chucked that in if it makes you feel any better )

CHEERS
Thommo

thanks, so u mean option A is ok,even solenoid would be hanging off the regulator. the hose between them should be ok?

another problem is about the pressure reading. on the top gauge which shows the bottle pressure, now shows about 50, the gauge on the right only can show pressure range from 0 to 4 (which said one bar is 100k pa) thus how can i read 20psi? does it mean the it should point to 0.2?

 

[dingweding]

guys i have another question. i notice i only have reading on the top gauge, which is about 65. the other gauge basically no reading, the hand point to nearly 0.

Last time, the reading of the top gauge gradually reduced , from day one, from 65 to 0, only last 2 weeks .

after i bought a new bottle CO2, i checked all the leak, but i notice the bottom gauge does not have reading, last time it has a little reading, although very close to zero as well. meanwhile, the bottom valve seems not affect?? i can adjust the top valve for the bubble rate.

but last time, the bottom valve does affect.

what is wrong with this CO2 set?? i am kinda scared and confused.

 

[Thommo]

Sorry Ding,

I must have missed your last post.

Yes the hos will be fine as long as the regulator is only set at around 10-20PSI(69-140Kpa)(0.7-1.4Bar).

I'm assumming that your gauges must be in bar which is fine just set it around the pressures indicated above. (1 Bar = 100 kpa, 1 PSI = approx 7 kpa)

How long your bottle lasts depends on how large it is, if it is only small it will only last a short time(around 2 weeks) but if it is a large one it will last longer. It also depends on how much you have to put in to get the correct C02 levels.

If you havent already, get some soapy water( dish wash detergent works well with water) and rub it on all the joints. If you get a bubble there is a leak. No bubbles = no leaks which is good news.

CHEERS
Thommo

 

[dingweding]

Thanks a lot Thommo

my CO2 bottle is 500g, and the tank is only 35L. i do have a bubble check, mostly it is green color.

so which means the bottom gauge should stay nearly 0, as 0.7 bar is even smaller than the smallest reading i can get ( 1 bar).

However, why the bottom vavle does not work this time? last time , i can use it to adjust the bubble rate, very sensitive. This time, no matter how i adjust it, there is no response. eg. i totally turn it off, the bubble still come out. and i turn it to largest , the bubble still come out as the same rate

 

[SuperColey1]

I use option A but only have about 2" of hose between needle valve and solenoid. It is also the rock hard type tube so that it doesn't kink due to the solenoid hanging.

AC

 

[Thommo]

It's a bit hard to see but your gauge is in bar but the gauge starts at 0 and then 1 if you get the gauge set at 1 it should be fine. The other gauge is obviously the contents of the bottle.

You might find that when you close the valve fully it can take a fair while 5-10mins to actually sop bubbling and then will stop. With the pressure a little higher you might get a larger range of BPS. If it is too high just reduce the pressure on the reg or increase it until you can get the right BPS that you want.


I would have thought that the bottle should have lasted a lot longer on only that size tank. You deffinitly had a leak or a part filled cyclinder.

CHEERS
Thommo

 

[dingweding]

Here is a pic for the reading

as you can see, the top gauge reading is about 60, yesterday is about 65.

The bottom gauge is almost 0.


For my last bottle, the reading of top gauge reduced from 65 to 0 gradually within 2 weeks. But most ppl said, their top gauge should stay at the reading for quite long time, then only days before it runs out, the reading will dramatically reduced. But why mine reduced from day one?

meanwhile, why the bottom gauge does not have reading ?

 

[Thommo]

Turn the knob on the regulator clockwise until you get a reading of 1 BAR. Then adjust the needle valve until you get your desired rate. If you do not have enough pressure you will not be able to get a good adjustment and that would explain why your rates are the same, they actually probably are different but just to small to notice at the moment.

A regulator reduces the pressure out of the bottle to a given range depending on the regulator. Different regulators have different ranges. Your range is 1-4 BAR so if you turned the knob clockwise all the way you would end up somewhere around 4BAR or higher. So just keep turning until it hits 1 then adjust.

CHEERS
Thommo

 

[dingweding]

Thank Thommo, does 1 bar in the bottom gauge means the hand point to 1? not 0.1? i adjust the top valve to make it point to 1.

but the CO2 was rush out too much, it blow out the lid of my bubble counter. I try to use the bottom valve to slow it down, which seems should be a needle valve, however no response,(when it was used for last CO2 bottle, this valve is very sensitive). does that mean i broke my needle valve???

 

[Thommo]

Yes that is correct 1 BAR the needle should point to the 1 on the gauge. 0.5Bar the needle would point halfway between 0 and 1. If it is too much pressure you can reduce the pressure from the reg as much as you need.

If you turn the needle valve fully clockwise it should totally stop the flow of CO2. If it doesn't (after a few miutes remember) it is probably stuffed. What I would do is turn off the CO2 bottle, close the needle valve fully clockwise, turn the regulator fully anti-clockwise. This will get you back to the start.
Turn on the CO2 bottle(should read pressure on the larger pressure gauge and 0 on the other), Wind in the regulator clockwise until the smaller pressure gauge reaches 0.5BAR, open the needle valve a crack and then slowly keep opening the needle valve until you get the desired rate.

If you have gas getting out before you touch the needle vavle it isn't working as for it to be affective it needs to only pass a small amount of gas not lots. The needle valve is what you use to set your BPM. If your BPM is too low with the needle valve fully open bump up the pressure on the reg until you get what you need. Give it a little extra pressure on the reg and close the neelde valve more. This will give you some adjustment.

CHEERS
Thommo

 

[Mikaila31]

When setting up a co2 system or replacing a bottle, always start with everything off. Close the regulator and needle valve all the way. Attach the tank, then open the regulator and set to 1 bar. Then adjust the needle valve. Sometimes it helps to take the diffuser off, especially if there is water in it. Find the correct setting of 1-2 bubbles per min. then reattach the diffuser. If the diffuser has a habit of coming off. Heat the ends of the tubing with a lighter till it is soft then attach the diffuser. Now it will stay on, but may be a real pain to get off .