It just stops the co2 flow, similar to what happens when you turn the needle valve all the way down.
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What happens when the CO2 solenoid shuts off?
So I just got my CO2 tank up and it appears to be running okay. Quick/dumb question in regards to the solenoid and what happens when the power goes off at night. I assume pressure won't start building up in the cylinder and explode or anything, so what happens? If it is worth anything, I am using the CO2Art dual-stage regulator.
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It just stops the co2 flow, similar to what happens when you turn the needle valve all the way down.
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Yes, so what happens when you turn the needle valve all the way down? There would still be pressure registered on the guages. Apologies for the paranoia, just want to understand things better.It just stops the co2 flow, similar to what happens when you turn the needle valve all the way down.
Keep in mind the point of the regulator. It is to regulate the pressure so that does not allow for pressure to build up beyond the setting. No harm done.
However the mention of closing a needle valve is one that can get us in trouble. Good needle valves are made for flow control and not for shutoff. If we close a needle valve, it presses the needle against the metal around it and each time it will make it more likely to from a groove in the needle. Eventually that will ruin a turn a good precision needle into a piece of junk that we can't get adjusted. Don't use a needle valve to close off flow, use a cutoff valve if that is needed.
However the mention of closing a needle valve is one that can get us in trouble. Good needle valves are made for flow control and not for shutoff. If we close a needle valve, it presses the needle against the metal around it and each time it will make it more likely to from a groove in the needle. Eventually that will ruin a turn a good precision needle into a piece of junk that we can't get adjusted. Don't use a needle valve to close off flow, use a cutoff valve if that is needed.
Therefore a solenoid is necessary...
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Apparently it's a basic on/off valve / switch
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/9...noid-how-does-work.html#/topics/487473?page=1
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Apparently it's a basic on/off valve / switch
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/9...noid-how-does-work.html#/topics/487473?page=1
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Yes, so what happens when you turn the needle valve all the way down? There would still be pressure registered on the guages. Apologies for the paranoia, just want to understand things better.
The regulator itself stops allowing CO2 to flow when the pressure on the downstream side reaches your setting. It will immediately reach and begin to exceed (hence, the regulator shuts) when your solenoid valve closes. Pressure in both areas will stay the same.
Therefore a solenoid is necessary...
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If it's a paintball tank, larger tanks come with a manual valve.
So I just got my CO2 tank up and it appears to be running okay. Quick/dumb question in regards to the solenoid and what happens when the power goes off at night. I assume pressure won't start building up in the cylinder and explode or anything, so what happens? If it is worth anything, I am using the CO2Art dual-stage regulator.
Yes, so what happens when you turn the needle valve all the way down? There would still be pressure registered on the guages. Apologies for the paranoia, just want to understand things better.
The pressure in the tank is always the same (well its the same or lower depending on how much gas is left); but it cant get any higher (if we ignore temperature differences for the time being anyway). You have the pressure of the tank being "regulated" by the regulator. That takes the extremely high pressure of the tank (in that 750 -1000 psi range) and lowers it to whatever you might set it to (typically 10-40 psi or so) which then flows through your solenoid (an on/off valve as mentioned) and into your needle valve which is "lowering" the pressure even more (really just slowing the dispersion rather than lowering pressure I guess) into bubbles per second. When the solenoid closes it simply closes and no longer allows the gas to flow into the needle valve. But its not changing the pressure of anything behind it in the system. The gauges are still registering the pressure because its still pressurized but its never changing in a properly working system.
This is a good explanation for most of us. but if we look really close we may notice some small change as the solenoid valve opens and closes. Like in using a water hose in the yard. Open the valve at the end and there is a little change but mostly nothing we speak of as a problem. Point is that we are turning off the flow after it comes through the regulator so that there is not a lot of pressure there. Main idea of the regulator is that it DOES cut the pressure down to what we can work with much easier. You can see the tank and valve on it are big heavy duty stuff while we can get away with using cheaper stuff like tubing for the low pressure.The pressure in the tank is always the same (well its the same or lower depending on how much gas is left); but it cant get any higher (if we ignore temperature differences for the time being anyway). You have the pressure of the tank being "regulated" by the regulator. That takes the extremely high pressure of the tank (in that 750 -1000 psi range) and lowers it to whatever you might set it to (typically 10-40 psi or so) which then flows through your solenoid (an on/off valve as mentioned) and into your needle valve which is "lowering" the pressure even more (really just slowing the dispersion rather than lowering pressure I guess) into bubbles per second. When the solenoid closes it simply closes and no longer allows the gas to flow into the needle valve. But its not changing the pressure of anything behind it in the system. The gauges are still registering the pressure because its still pressurized but its never changing in a properly working system.
Normal CO2 tanks have a pressure relief valve that will "vent" if the tank exceeds its rated pressure (due to a tank getting HOT, which would be very uncommon in a house short of a fire).So I just got my CO2 tank up and it appears to be running okay. Quick/dumb question in regards to the solenoid and what happens when the power goes off at night. I assume pressure won't start building up in the cylinder and explode or anything, so what happens? If it is worth anything, I am using the CO2Art dual-stage regulator.
first gauge tells you the tank pressure.
Regulators usually have a safety valve that will vent if its internal pressure exceeds its set point (100-300psi approx) so the regulator won't blow apart..
Second gauge tells you the "working pressure" inside the last chamber of the regulator..that is what everything "downstream" sees..
TECHNICALLY there should also be a pressure relief downstream of this (say in the 50-60psi range) to protect everything downstream in the event of a second stage failure .. i.e solenoid/tubes/atomizers ect.
Few bother..
At worst you blow a bunch of hoses..
Everything is built to handle what it needs to handle.. esp pipe..
thought I'd add this for fun:
https://youtu.be/UfaucxS5rIc
https://youtu.be/Kf3xc1BGYGo
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