After taking a one year hiatus I started back into planted tanks and checked over the CO2 regulator and found the coupling gasket deteriorated and the bubble counter acrylic cracked. It appears that CO2 is quite toxic to materials, and in no way inert. If I didn't check my system before starting broken pieces of the screw in seal would have been driven into the regulator.
CO2 cautionary tale
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What is a coupling gasket? Do you mean the nylon washer that is used between the CGA320 nut and nipple and the CO2 cylinder? If so, these are meant to be replaced on a regular basis.
In addition, CO2 is generally not considered inert (unlike noble gases).
In addition, CO2 is generally not considered inert (unlike noble gases).
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I have never used a Permaseal, as I could not justify the cost. As mentioned, nylon washers are cheap and easy to replace. I often get a few free when I take my cylinder in for refills.
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CO2 is not very chemically active, it is about as close to inert as you get, they even use it for a shielding gas with MIG welding because it is not very reactive and prevents the metal from oxidizing.
Your part likely cracked because of a pressure issue. If too much pressure builds up in the bubble counter it cracks. Also, some bubble counter liquids corrode seals.
Your part likely cracked because of a pressure issue. If too much pressure builds up in the bubble counter it cracks. Also, some bubble counter liquids corrode seals.
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I tried those permaseals as well. There's nothing permanent about them. Stick with nylon washers. You can get large packs of them cheap online. Just replace it every other time or so and you're good to go.
Cheap acrylic gets brittle over time and cracks easily. I'm not sure CO2 is to blame for that either. It's true it's not entirely inert, but it's pretty close.
Cheap acrylic gets brittle over time and cracks easily. I'm not sure CO2 is to blame for that either. It's true it's not entirely inert, but it's pretty close.
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You can't beat the cost of the nylon washers. http://www.amazon.com/Nylon-Washers-CO2-Regulators-Set/dp/B000DZFVDS. I too have had bubble counters crack after sitting for a while without any liquid in them. I'd say it has more to do with the quality of the plastic used to make the vile, than it has to do with co2.
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I think this is something that happens quite a bit in hobbies. Somebody notices an item and makes an assumption. The asumption can often be wrong when they don't have the right information or don't think it through correctly.
There is CO2 involved with both items but there are lots of other things involved as well. During storage lots of things happen to plastic/acrilic type items. One that we do know happens a lot in storage is heat. Heat and cracked plastic often go together.
No matter the cause, it is always a good idea to look over any equipment that has been stored. Things often break down when stored.
There is CO2 involved with both items but there are lots of other things involved as well. During storage lots of things happen to plastic/acrilic type items. One that we do know happens a lot in storage is heat. Heat and cracked plastic often go together.
No matter the cause, it is always a good idea to look over any equipment that has been stored. Things often break down when stored.
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