Regulator from princess auto

DandyMason · November 17, 2011, 10:02:21 PM

Hey guys, I was in moncton today and I went to princess auto and bought a regulator for my dad... Upon further inspection, one of the guages measures cubic foot per hour, instead of PSI... Hows does this work? Will this only measure the CO2 when he pours beer?

I figure he could play with it and make it work, but maybe I should just replace the guage?

Any suggestions?

fakr · November 18, 2011, 08:19:22 AM

You don't happen to know the model number do you? I've played with quite a few regulators from princess auto. Is it an inline regulator or one that hooks up directly to a gas tank?

They have various gauges at princess auto to fit regulators though most of them are 1/4" thread and the regulators take 1/8" so you just need a reducer.

I'll be up next weekend from Moncton so if you did need a gauge and reducer, I could bring one up for you.

Dean · November 18, 2011, 08:30:22 AM

it's regulating volumetric flow rate, similar to the gas or water meter on your house. The short answer is no, you can't convert that to pressure. take it back and get the right regulator.

Remember Fakr and I were were messing with each other the other day about complex formulas ...you'd need a very complicated formula to do what you're after, you'd need too many unknown variables to do so, and the relationship between flow and pressure is not linear.

an example of why you can't do it - you can have zero flow yet still maintain a pressure, as inside your keg when the desired pressure is reached

Dean · November 18, 2011, 08:30:47 AM

heh ....nerd I am :oops:

JohnQ · November 18, 2011, 08:36:39 AM

Quote from: "Dean"heh ....nerd I am :oops:

I think SOMEBODY has been hanging around RB a
LITTLE
TOO
MUCH!

Dean · November 18, 2011, 08:43:33 AM

I'm thinking you're right John ...sigh

this is fluid dynamics and waaaaay too uncomfortably close to what my job description says I'm supposed to be able to do for a living :oops:

DandyMason · November 18, 2011, 08:44:53 AM

Yeah thats sort of what I figured, that it will only read flow when he cracks the handle. I might as well replace the guage either way. I was just thinking my dad could play with the regulator to find a pressure hes happy with and leave it for good, the flow guage would obviously be useless to him but oh well, and he wouldnt know what pressure in PSI he was dispensing at....hahah

Fakr that would be GREAT if you could get what I need. This is the regulator I have.

http://www.princessauto.com/workshop/we ... -regulator

and I had picked up one of these adapters...

http://www.princessauto.com/workshop/we ... o2-adapter

Let me know!

Dean · November 18, 2011, 08:51:29 AM

yeah that regulator is for a mig/tig welding machine

fakr · November 18, 2011, 10:42:26 AM

That's the exact same "backup" regulator I have. I picked it up for $40 on sale several months ago. You can definitely use it to dispense or carbonate, but you can't trust the gauge. The CO2 also comes out very very slow, so it takes a long time to get a keg up to set pressure.
When I set the regulator to 20, it will pressurize to around 28-30psi. I think I've been serving with it at around 8...which is probably somewhere around 13-15psi.

I actually used this regulator for about 3 weeks while I waited for my new regulator.

fakr · November 18, 2011, 10:46:47 AM

I originally bought this regulator as a backup, and got everything hooked up before I realized the regulator was for cfm applications and not constant psi....but after trying it anyway, I realized that it will keep a contstant pressure, but you can't go by the gauge. I went by how long it would take to fill a 12oz glass with beer...

DandyMason · November 18, 2011, 11:49:29 AM

Sounds like exactly what I did hahah... And thats what I initially thought might work. I can just adjust until im happy wiht the pressure and leave it, correct? I just wont know what PSI I am serving at? or are you saying you set the CFH at 20 and it works out to about 28-30 PSI?

fakr · November 18, 2011, 01:44:57 PM

To be honest, I used the regulator for so much (carbonating beer, serving, pressurinzing empty kegs for spunding valve stuff) that I was constantly messing with it. I can't say for sure what I had it set at for serving, but it was hooked up for days at a time and didn't over carbonate...and pushed the beer out just right. I THINK somewhere between 5-12 cfh...its something you have to play with. Not recommended unless you don't mind playing around.

It's good for a backup...got me out of a pinch for sure.

DandyMason · November 18, 2011, 01:46:57 PM

Okay, I dont mind messing with it for sure... Appreciate the info!

Richard · November 18, 2011, 08:38:39 PM

Just be damn careful you're not overpressurising anything - make sure there's a PSI gauge somewhere in that system.

DandyMason · November 19, 2011, 09:44:57 AM

Well the only PSI guage reads what is in the tank... Think I should just replace the CFH guage Richard?