CO2 regulator

[trigun]

Well I was bored and looking around looking at this site and saw this > http://www.launch-tek.com/index.php?mai ... age&pID=20 This looks like a homemade CO2 regulator to me maybe im wrong.

[pharmboy]

If you're looking for an affordable way to go portable w/ CO2, I found this setup at Harbor Freight.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=99901

It actually seems quite well-made, and is rated to 150 PSI. Not bad to make your gun portable, right?

[daberno123]

Could be.
Looking under custom parts in their categories it says they have access to a lathe and mill so they would definitely have the means to make one. Try contacting them about it.

[trigun]

I didn't realize the one at harbor freight was the same price as that one. I'll talk the harbor freight one for one of my smaller guns. Maybe my co-axial gun. Stupid sdr-21 taking forever to get here.

[daberno123]

I personally wouldn't trust something from Harbor Freight to last that long. Remember, you get what you pay for. I personally would recommend a Palmer's Stabilizer. It's about twice as much as the Harbor Freight one, but its top-notch and is fully adjustable from 0-800 psi. Your choice, but here's the link for the Palmer's Stabilizer. Long link

[pharmboy]

I got a bit curious. I know Harbor Freight isn't known for selling the highest quality products, so I took off the plastic casing to get a better look at the insides of this regulator. What I saw didn't look bad. Not quite as pretty as Palmer's, but it certainly appears solid and well made. The brass parts appear to be off-the-shelf, and the body is machined aluminum, probably 6061. I've posted pictures of the internals for your perusal.[/img]

[Lentamentalisk]

Wow, it looks so much better without the covering!

[daberno123]

I'll admit, that looks better than I thought it would. I wonder why they put that stupid blue plastic shell on it?

I still have to recommend the Palmers, but if money's an issue and you don't need any more than 150 psi then I suppose the Harbor Freight version would suffice.

@pharmboy
Any pros/cons you've found using this model?

[pharmboy]

Well, the plastic shell includes a belt clip so you can hang it on your belt and use it to operate air tools w/ the included coil hose, plus it shields the sides of the gauge. I'm actually considering using this to run a mini-sandblaster to clean some things I've been working on.

Pros - Cheap, easy to use, warranteed for 3 years, solidly constructed, has a belt clip, should be easily modifiable

Cons - goofy looking in stock form, only rated to 150 psig, if you don't degas in the correct sequence, it will trash the tank O-rings when you disconnect the tank...

[KingMob3]

Its the Kobalt/Cobalt reg that is sold at Lowes/home depot etc. Just from harbor freight for $15 less.

KM

[pharmboy]

Well, I got a CO2 tank filled today, and hooked it up to the regulator, following the instructions. Well, when I First turned the knob, something happened that shouldn't, and the coiled air hose attached to it promptly exploded. To say the least, I'm not pleased by this(and my ears are ringing), so I'm going to exchange this tomorrow afternoon and see if I got a bad one, or what. I also lost about half a tank of CO2 in the process because the bursting hose knocked the regulator off the table, and by the time I got things under control, it'd sent more than enough liquid through the reg to freeze everything up but good. Ahyway, hopefully the replacement I get tomorrow will work properly. Wish me luck

[Lentamentalisk]

Ya, thats why you buy palmers... Harbor Freight stocks nothing but cheap plastic crap. Still, it is cheap, and for somethings, that is all that really matters, such as the 15lb anvils that I got for $15 each (that was almost exactly the price of so many lbs of scrap iron at the time)

[pharmboy]

***UPDATE***

Well, I went to Harbor Freight today to exchange my regulator that catastrophically failed. I received an identical replacement, and decided to NOT follow the instructions when I tested it this time. It works. As it turns out, the directions include one step that is inverted, regarding what direction to turn the knob to adjust the output pressure. It would appear that my intuition was right, and the instructions were wrong. The new unit works like a charm, adjusts from 0-150 PSIG w/out issue, and nothing blew up. So that's it, no more instructions for me...

[daberno123]

Wow... A faulty instruction that causes it to blow up. How safe.

Seriously, invest in a Palmer's Reg and you won't be disappointed.