I recently bought a brass Victor regulator off of eBay. It had the wrong type of inlet stem on it, so I went to Airgas and got an inlet to allow me attach it to a standard CO2 tank. The problem is I can't get the existing stem to unscrew from the body. I've tried WD40 & clamping the body to a small bench vise, but it won't budge. Is there somewhere I can take this thing to have the inlet removed?
Doug
Replacing Inlet stem on CO2 Regulator
I had to do a swap on one of my Reg's. They had used some sort of sealant on the threads and it ended up acting like glue.
Look at the direction the threads go on your new part and try turning the opposite direction to take the old piece off. Use some shop rags or a towel to protect the regulator and clamp it tight in the vice. Use the longest wrench you can find,this will give you more leverage. If you have some deep well sockets you could use them with a breaker bar that should give the leverage that you need.
Make sure you go slow an steady, so you don't round off any of the bolts and remember to look and make sure it's actually turning, brass is soft enough that you can break or strip it by over torquing.
Good luck
Look at the direction the threads go on your new part and try turning the opposite direction to take the old piece off. Use some shop rags or a towel to protect the regulator and clamp it tight in the vice. Use the longest wrench you can find,this will give you more leverage. If you have some deep well sockets you could use them with a breaker bar that should give the leverage that you need.
Make sure you go slow an steady, so you don't round off any of the bolts and remember to look and make sure it's actually turning, brass is soft enough that you can break or strip it by over torquing.
Good luck
Kevin
-
DonkeyFish
- Posts: 1753
- Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2007 4:42 pm
- Real Name: Jen Williams
- Location: Alexandria, VA
- Contact:
Kevin's right on the money.
According to *my* Aaron (who messes with stuff like this fairly often) the "glue" they use is more like a cement/sealant because of it being a high pressure application (+1500 psi usually). Which makes it, well, super duper strong.
Basically it's going to come down to having a really good vice, and just the right wrench. Oh, and a LOT of force to get it to break loose.
If you are coming to the meeting he said he would try to get it off for you, but we'd have to send it back to you or meet somewhere to return it since he'd have to do it at the shop.
But basically he's just going to do the same thing you've tried and Kevin so clearly outlined.
If you go getting wily and try other methods, he did mention you probably shouldn't use heat to try to loosen it as the internals and diaphragms are probably sensitive and wouldn't take to it very well.
And if you do get it apart, when you put it back together do you have a plan for sealing it back up? It'll need to be something more substantial than just a pipe thread tape type thing, with all the pressure and all. Something liquid based will be your best bet...
Either way... Good luck!!
According to *my* Aaron (who messes with stuff like this fairly often) the "glue" they use is more like a cement/sealant because of it being a high pressure application (+1500 psi usually). Which makes it, well, super duper strong.
Basically it's going to come down to having a really good vice, and just the right wrench. Oh, and a LOT of force to get it to break loose.
If you are coming to the meeting he said he would try to get it off for you, but we'd have to send it back to you or meet somewhere to return it since he'd have to do it at the shop.
But basically he's just going to do the same thing you've tried and Kevin so clearly outlined.
If you go getting wily and try other methods, he did mention you probably shouldn't use heat to try to loosen it as the internals and diaphragms are probably sensitive and wouldn't take to it very well.
And if you do get it apart, when you put it back together do you have a plan for sealing it back up? It'll need to be something more substantial than just a pipe thread tape type thing, with all the pressure and all. Something liquid based will be your best bet...
Either way... Good luck!!
It is not murder if you're killing snails.
Thanks all for the advice. Between my brother and I, we don't have the right set of tools to get enough leverage/torque on this thing. I did read up on heating & cooling (worrying) the piece, but I was too scared of ruining some non-metal parts in the regulator. And you confirm my instincts were good on that!
Jen - If you don't mind, I'd like to take you up on your/Aaron's offer to try and unscrew this thing. I'll be at the meeting and I work in Reston, so dropping by Herndon would by relatively painless for me.
And since I'm hitting you up for favors already, could I buy a couple pieces of vinyl as backgrounds for my 29 gallon from you?
Thank again,
Doug
Jen - If you don't mind, I'd like to take you up on your/Aaron's offer to try and unscrew this thing. I'll be at the meeting and I work in Reston, so dropping by Herndon would by relatively painless for me.
And since I'm hitting you up for favors already, could I buy a couple pieces of vinyl as backgrounds for my 29 gallon from you?
Thank again,
Doug
