[angyles]

I have a Sumo Primo regulator that's about 8 years old. I've always run it at about 20-25. Lately, I've been finding my bps slowing down a lot so I've had to push it up to 35. Now, if I turn it down to 25, I get about .5 bps even if I crank the needle all the way up. The tank still says it's full. What could cause this? The room temp is the same as its always been. Is the regulator failing?! I know it's old but it wasn't a cheap unit so I'm not happy about this but I'm nervous running it now. It maxes out at 40 psi soooo...

Any thoughts? TIA

 

[roostertech]

Have you checked for leaks along the connections?

 

[PlantedRich]

Since the reg is a pretty simple thing that balances spring tension against pressure from gas (simple answer?) I would not expect the flow to change while it is in operation. I would be more inclined to expect the diapham to stick in place so that the pressure could not be adjusted?
But a leak might explain why there is less and less gas getting to the tank. A point that you may know but I want to mention is that the tank pressure will not start moving down unit all the liquid gas has boiled off so the high pressure staying level may not be giving you the news of a leak until it gets quite low.
A good slow, though, leak check with soap would be my move.

 

[angyles]

I just did a leak check and found nothing. Ill try taking it off and putting it on again so everything can reset and the washer can get re-seated. Maybe there is leak I'm just not finding. That does sound like a good reason...just wish I could find it!

Any other ideas though? I'm not sure what would be failing exactly. Maybe the tank really is low and the gauge isn't working? But this has been happening for over a month. In the past, running it at 20-25, it never really slowed down even when it was running out.

 

[roostertech]

You can test the gauge by dropping working pressure all the way to 0 (by decreasing and releasing the air) and bringing it back up.

 

[angyles]

I figured it out! It's the diffuser I've been using.. I always used to run the line into the filter intake. A few months ago I got little fluval diffuser. I don't know if it's from algae buildup or what, but the diffuser is creating so much extra pressure, you have to crank the pressure up to push through. I'm now running it back into my canister intake. The bummer is, while messing with it, my brand new replacement bubble counter appears to have cracked again. Now I'm wondering if the increased pressure isn't what made my old one crack about a month ago. Anyway, mystery solved!

 

[angyles]

okay turns out that wasn't it. While that did noticeably slow down the bubbles unless I cranked it up, today it's slow again and had to be turned back up to 35.

Out of curiosity, what does everyone else run theirs at? I'm totally stumped