Electronic regulator not delivering

[Rodney]

Hello,

I recently got this 2nd hand as my first CO2 rig:



The tank was empty and there was no AC adapter.
I filled the tank today and bought an adapter that made the light come on (so it would seem the adapter is appropriate).

I started it up using this method:

1. Plugged in the electronic part and turned to 1b/10 sec.
2. Turned the gauge knob counter clockwise until there was no resistance.
3. Opened tank (high end pressure registered).
4. Dialed gauge knob down slowly to get it to 10.
5. Turned up electronic part to 1b/1 sec.

The only problem is no CO2 comes out.
Has anyone experienced this? Maybe someone has the same system and would be willing to tell me how they get theirs going.

I would appreciate any insight, thank you!

**Edit: scroll to the end to find out how well Aquariumplants.com handled this situation!

[gsjmia]

I bought one of those when I first started out about 4 years ago and it stopped working after 12 months. The replaced it under warranty. As I remember it was either the vinyl hose got kinked on the inside or the intake inlet got clogged with crap.

You can take it apart and probably see for yourself what is wrong, here is a picture:

http://www.aquaticplantenthusiasts.c...gutted-up.html

However, my tank would do fantastic for 3 months, good growth and lots of pearling. But then it would crash for 3 months and bga city--over and over, I almost threw it all out.

As a last resort, I gave up on this thing and got an ideal needle valve and a 2 stage requlator and the crashing went went away.

[Tom Barr]

I bought one of those when I first started out about 4 years ago and it stopped working after 12 months. The replaced it under warranty. As I remember it was either the vinyl hose got kinked on the inside or the intake inlet got clogged with crap.

You can take it apart and probably see for yourself what is wrong, here is a picture:

http://www.aquaticplantenthusiasts.c...gutted-up.html

However, my tank would do fantastic for 3 months, good growth and lots of pearling. But then it would crash for 3 months and bga city--over and over, I almost threw it all out.

As a last resort, I gave up on this thing and got an ideal needle valve and a 2 stage regulator and the crashing went went away.

I would likely suggest this route as I have friends and a coupe of valves/regs for 15 years now.........no issues.
Check the link provided about though.

You might have an easy fix and get more life out of it or modify the parts.

[Rodney]

Thanks for the response.

My model has no screws and the back to the electronic box is glued on really securely.
So I ended up calling aquariumplants.com and the rep said that whatever was wrong could probably be fixed or replaced for little to nothing.
I'll ship it to them Monday and let everyone know how they respond for those of you who may be curious.

I think this is an early model as my box isn't even labeled with the current "carbon doser".

In either case I've got another 10lb. canister so I am going to do my own build on that one.
The DYI sticky thread is super helpful so that shouldn't be too big of a deal.

[Tom Barr]

If they offer to fix it, do it! Good customer service warrants support. You are not the original owner, however, it is their product just the same.
There are several massive CO2 regulator threads here, any ??'s and then some...........

[Rodney]

I just wanted to update this thread and let everyone know about my experience with Aquariumplants.com.

I foolishly mailed my regulator to them without tracking. So there was no way for me to know if it ever arrived for service.

After 5 days I began calling the company to see if the regulator had landed. For whatever reason we kept getting our wires crossed and after two weeks I still didn't know if the regulator arrived to their shop. I sent an email letting the company know I was frustrated.

I recieved a call back from the company and they said they looked all over the shop and it appears the regulator never arrived. So it would seem I was just screwed and it took two weeks to find out.

Wrong. Aquariumplants.com offered me a BRAND NEW regulator (current model) with the 3 YEAR WARRENTY for well under wholesale cost.

I have to say I am very impressed with the way my issue was resolved.
If you are in the market for a new CO2 rig or any aquatic plants / supplies please give this company a try.
These are the type of people you want to work with!

[Tom Barr]

That's good news. I've bought plants from them here and there, no issues, good service etc.

[maknwar]

Dang, that's more than you deserved, lol.

I am always glad to hear of companies going out of their way to make a customer happy.

[Kerry Gaston]

I have one of these units also, it's really good for low pressure output like a reactor but since they max out at 15psi they aren't really designed for atomiser out, I was able to get mine to work with a atomiser but I had to turn the pressure up to max and then just keep turning it up! The low pressure gauge needle has never worked correctly since and I only did it for a couple of weeks until I got a co2 pro instead. Don't know if the unit would fail eventually or what but I feel better not to push it.