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Is it worth the buy Reg & Canister Used

630 views 4 replies 4 participants last post by  Carpathian 
#1 ·
Local cl listing and was considering the purchase.
GLA reg - Works, but needs glass bubble counter. Also it needs to be cleaned, it leaked co2 when the solenoid was off. Selling it as is. $80
5lb canister - $50
10lb canister - $70

I was going to offer a price on the canisters and reg but wondering what I would be getting myself into buying a leaky reg. Thinking it could be a simple fix with re-wrapping threads but what is the worst case scenario. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
#3 ·
I would thing the leak is more likely to not be in the regulator itself. We often miss when we speak of the reg as a single item when it is a set of parts with the reg being one item. I might guess the leak is a solenoid that does not close off the flow correctly. This type reg set is semi-famous for having the "black box" type solenoid and they do fail. Quite common for the solenoid to stick, either open, closed or part way.
So how do you feel about repair/ replace on the solenoid? You might be able to take a few screws loose and clean and lube the moving parts to make it usable again. Just some simple petroleum jelly ( Vasoline?) and some time. But for my use, I would not bother and go straight for a major improvement by junking the black box, adding some fittings and using a Clippard Mouse series solenoid. Same with the broken bubble counter as I don't like that style anyway. It puts the liquid directly over the parts that I want to keep dry so that a failing check valve will let the liquid go straight down into the parts I want dry. I like the cheap plastic Fluval bubble counter stuck out inline away from the rest.
My favored way:
 
#5 ·
I would thing the leak is more likely to not be in the regulator itself. We often miss when we speak of the reg as a single item when it is a set of parts with the reg being one item. I might guess the leak is a solenoid that does not close off the flow correctly. This type reg set is semi-famous for having the "black box" type solenoid and they do fail. Quite common for the solenoid to stick, either open, closed or part way.
So how do you feel about repair/ replace on the solenoid? You might be able to take a few screws loose and clean and lube the moving parts to make it usable again. Just some simple petroleum jelly ( Vasoline?) and some time. But for my use, I would not bother and go straight for a major improvement by junking the black box, adding some fittings and using a Clippard Mouse series solenoid. Same with the broken bubble counter as I don't like that style anyway. It puts the liquid directly over the parts that I want to keep dry so that a failing check valve will let the liquid go straight down into the parts I want dry. I like the cheap plastic Fluval bubble counter stuck out inline away from the rest.
I love taking things apart and a bubble counter is no issue(my diy bc is below). l could try the clean and lube. Roughly whats a new clippard and fittings going to cost? Could I also split this after the reg and run two outputs like the first pic?


If it is your first regulator, and you are not looking into a project, I would skip it. Regulators are pretty simple, and parts are not hard to find, but there is a bit of a learning curve. Even getting the fittings properly tight took me a few tries, and this is not really new to me. I wouldn't be discouraged by used regulators, I would just look for something in great shape, again, unless you actually want a project and may want to improve upon it.
Not my first reg, but still new and some things I may not see that the veterans could spot a mile away. Looking for a second or third opinion on low-high offers if in fact certain components need replacing.

Not mine, this is just what i'm wanting to do.
 

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#4 ·
If it is your first regulator, and you are not looking into a project, I would skip it. Regulators are pretty simple, and parts are not hard to find, but there is a bit of a learning curve. Even getting the fittings properly tight took me a few tries, and this is not really new to me. I wouldn't be discouraged by used regulators, I would just look for something in great shape, again, unless you actually want a project and may want to improve upon it.
 
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