let's say you have a solenoid triggered by a ph controller, regulating the co2 level in your tank. does this make the needle valve obsolete, or do you still want the needle valve to avoid rapid injection?
co2 question: is a needle valve needed when running ph controller?
- Thread starter mellowvision
- Start date
the needle valve fine tunes how much CO2 goes into the tank. so yess you defantly want the needle valve. the regulator by it's self just doesn't have the precision to lower or raise the CO2 level/out put. also those PH controllers i feel would not cetch such a rapped change in fluxuation.
A needle valve will also help avoid end of tank dumps- where the pressure in the tank changes when there is no longer enough Co2 in the tank to keep some in liquid form the reg can't keep it steady anymore, and will all of a sudden "dump" the remaining CO2- I don't pretend to understand it, but it does happen. If your needle valve is set it will pick up when your reg quits.
Dealing with regs, CO2, and high pressure systems, I can help shed some light in "end-of-tank-dumps".
What a regulator does is regulate pressure, but most people use it to drop the pressure from a high, to a low. If you've ever taken one apart for maintenance, you'll know that regulators work based on springs, either coils, or disks. There's a valve, cup seal, and o-rings involved as well. Most regulators are adjustable, which more or less tighens or loosens the springs. A good regulator would be able to keep consistant pressure, and not spike or drop.
When the regulator is charged with air, the pressure from the air will seal the piston against the seal. When the regulator is adjusted to allow air to flow, the adjustment spring will push and open the piston and release it from the seal. The pressure on the low side will then push the piston back to the closed possition, not allowing anymore air form the high side to enter. Smooth polished parts, and consistant springs is the key to consistant pressures.
Here's a link to some visuals. http://www.warpig.com/paintball/technical/regulators/howtheywork/index.shtml
I hope I have shed some light on the subject.
Shawn