[HELP] need help with ASA on/off paintball valve

[Bryanmc1988]

well i was looking at this item http://paintballgate.stores.yahoo.net/trcoretaonas.html and wondering if anyone knows where i can get one with 2 thread holes... if anyone has a link please let me know of if this one has 2 thread holes



i need 2 thread hole, 1 for the gauge and the other for a needle valve,


not sure if the above link has the 2 thread holes i need but if some one knows where i can get one please let me know... a link would be great, sorry for the bad english

[Big O]

ebay!

[Bryanmc1988]

i checked ebay nothing lol nice try tho =) craigslist? nothing to if your wondering

[Big O]

Originally Posted by Bryanmc1988

i checked ebay nothing lol nice try tho =) craigslist? nothing to if your wondering

that's where I bought mine. if you want, i'll give you the one i'm not using,for free. all you have to do is pay for shipping. payment by pay pal only. PM me and we could talk.

[Bryanmc1988]

i just pm'ed you

[btimmer92]

get a regulator, or this could happen to you...
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/eq...ml#post1806014

[samamorgan]

Originally Posted by btimmer92

get a regulator, or this could happen to you...
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/eq...ml#post1806014

[Bryanmc1988]

it could happen if i use this DIY http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/di...etup-tons.html ????

[btimmer92]

Yes... I am very sorry to bash Jaggedfury's setups... I am just making sure you are aware of the danger.

[Bryanmc1988]

what will cause this to go boom? o.0 i dont see 1 bps with an open lid can cause such damage correct me if i'm wrong... wouldnt want to walk up one night with a "BANG" if you know what i mean

[josolanes]

Originally Posted by Bryanmc1988

it could happen if i use this DIY http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/di...etup-tons.html ????

Yes. It's a great DIY overall, very well written. But I really wish atleast the mention of a regulator was in the first post as highly recommended or something. Had I known this I would have waited for a regulator rather than get a lot of parts that would have been replaced later on

I was fortunate enough that, when learning how to control pressure with only a needle valve, the very high pressure blew the hose out of the compression fitting at the ASA on/off. Had it released into the tank there very well could have been a very big mess and an end to this hobby for me

[josolanes]

Originally Posted by Bryanmc1988

what will cause this to go boom? o.0 i dont see 1 bps with an open lid can cause such damage correct me if i'm wrong... wouldnt want to walk up one night with a "BANG" if you know what i mean

If you're controlling the bps with just a needle valve, I'm sure you'll know how very sensitive they are to trying to control 800+ psi (especially since many are rated to a maximum of 400 psi). If not, than I promise you'll learn very quickly. We're not talking actually turning the valve. I adjust my bps by lightly tapping the (stick) handle I have on my needle valve with my finger a few times and seeing how bps is adjusted. Tapping just a bit too hard can go from 1/4bps to 5bps. It's pretty frustrating honestly. And since it's not regulated, room temperature will change the bps also. I've noticed I can set mine to around 1bps in the morning and by night it'll be down to about 1/5bps if I don't adjust it during the day. My bottle pressure will have dropped only very marginally (can't even read the number difference on the gauge) throughout the day though


EDIT: and I believe the sudden increase in pressure causing too much gas to go into the tank (and allowing the gas to expand rapidly) would cause the bang. Enough gas going into the tank will cause a rapid expansion from liquid co2 to gaseous within water, so within a small volume of water the volume would expand rapidly due to the expansion of the gas pushing on the water. Or this is how I understand atleast. This is if the valve slips some or care isn't taken when adjusting it and monitoring it during/after adjusting it for a short while

[samamorgan]

Originally Posted by Bryanmc1988

what will cause this to go boom? o.0 i dont see 1 bps with an open lid can cause such damage correct me if i'm wrong... wouldnt want to walk up one night with a "BANG" if you know what i mean

A blockage anywhere in the line creates a ticking time bomb. If the blockage is underwater there is a good chance that when it finally does go boom there is a chance it will crack/shatter the aquarium glass. Rapid expansion underwater can put a hell of a lot of stress on glass in a very confined area, which is how we "cut" glass. This is my theory as to how that picture happened, anyway.

You have to realize that even though it may only be going at 1 bubble per second, that bubble could be pressurized at 800+ psi. Regulators and Co2 line aren't designed to withstand pressures that high.

[Bryanmc1988]

dam lol a regulator will run me about 60-100$ which ends in a problem lol... i know trying to cut corners are never a good thing but its going to be my first time with co2 idk what to do xD

Originally Posted by samamorgan

A blockage anywhere in the line creates a ticking time bomb. If the blockage is underwater there is a good chance that when it finally does go boom there is a chance it will crack/shatter the aquarium glass. Rapid expansion underwater can put a hell of a lot of stress on glass in a very confined area, which is how we "cut" glass. This is my theory as to how that picture happened, anyway.

You have to realize that even though it may only be going at 1 bubble per second, that bubble could be pressurized at 800+ psi. Regulators and Co2 line aren't designed to withstand pressures that high.

so what would you recommand me start off with for a co2 setup for a 15 gallon shrimp / plant tank

[josolanes]

Bryan,

Atleast with my short time with pressurized co2 (about a month or so now) I feel that using a needle valve only is somewhat of a gamble. Definitely can be doable, but it will require more monitoring and more adjusting than a regulator setup. Initially, it scared the heck out of me, then I kind of got the hang of it and gained confidence. This was an issue as I was dropping my fiance off somewhere and saw the bubbles weren't running (night time) so I tapped the valve a couple times to open it a hair. Watched it for a couple minutes and saw no bubbles come through. So I figured that I'd tinker with it when I got back 20 minutes later. By the time I got back all the fish were at the surface gasping for air and it was doing an easy 15+ bps, just pouring co2 into the tank. I nearly cleared my livestock without knowing about it and thinking it was fine

Because of this incident and accidentally blowing the lines off early on I decided to put the regulator as a high priority. Honestly my ASA on/off and gauge cost me $50. At the time, though, I didn't know that a regulator was the more correct way of doing this and thought I was doing it the way it was supposed to be done. That could have been $50 toward a regulator instead

At least price out the parts and compare then decide if the price difference is worth while to you. If it won't take you too long to save the additional amount than I highly recommend it. Yes, the paintball setup works but it has me so nervous and frustrated with it that I've lost trust it in the setup and can't wait to get a nice regulator now to ease my mind


Ya it was somewhat of a long post but I went somewhat on a tangent I felt lol