Hey forum- I'm having an issue reading tank pressure on a regulator I inherited as a used device. I can read and adjust the dispensing pressure but not the pressure in the tank. So, I just replaced the gauge with a new left handed gauge from William's Brewing. It fits just fine, but still no pressure reading. What's up? Junk in the regulator body blocking gas flow? What is the next step to fix this?
Where are you storing your tank? Is it inside the kegerator/keezer and cold? If the bottle is cold, then you won't read much pressure. For what it's worth, the gauge on a co2 tank is somewhat worthless to read anything but the output pressure from your regulator to your kegs.. It'll start dropping in pressure when the bottle is literally within moments of running out, so it's not a great gauge to know when your bottle is about to float.
Not sure what you're looking for. The pressure in the tank is the pressure in the tank. You can't adjust that. It is what it is. It should read around 700 psi at room temperature until the tank is nearly empty, at which point it will quickly drop to zero.
you can't adjust the pressure "on the tank". there is nothing to fix. one gauge is the low pressure side and indicates the pressure of gas being delivered. the other gauge is a high pressure gauge and displays the pressure in the tank. it will not move until the very end of the tank. you don't even need the high pressure gauge. it is only there to confuse newbies. the CO2 in the tank is under very high pressure, so much so that it changes phase into liquid. when it is released with a controlling device, a regulator, it goes back into its gas phase. the hi pressure gauge measures the gas pressure in the tank. that will be about the same until all the liquid runs out. Cheers.
I've been running my keezer with a busted high pressure gauge for the last 3 years. They are worthless anyways was my point. Hope you didn't spend a bunch of money replacing a gauge that wasn't broken to begin with.
Is it reading 0? If so, and if the tank is still supplying CO2 to the kegs (i.e. you can turn up the regulator screw/knob and the low pressure gauge responds), then there is something blocking the high pressure gauge. (Or the gauge is broken. Unlikely, given that you just replaced it and the old one would have had to have been broken too in this case.)
Thanks for the replies so far. The issue is that I'm getting no dial reading whatsoever on the dial and can't tell how much CO2 is in the tank. Just to clarify.
Is the tank heavy? Rock it a little, does it feel like liquid is in there? If so, you've got co2 in the tank. Other way to check, is can you adjust the low pressure side of the regulator, and can you pressurize your kegs? If so, you've got co2 in there. That could mean the gauge you have for the HP side of the regulator, the one that reads the tank pressure, isn't working. Or you have something in the regulator blocking it. Don't fear.. That gauge is useless, anyways. You won't be able to look at the gauge even with a working one, and tell how much is in the tank. It'll stay 700psi roughly from a full fill, to literally right about the time it will run out. You will have little to no indication how much is left in the tank, gauge working or not.
This is why I keep my tank sitting on an old-style spring-and-dial bathroom scale. This allow me to continuously monitor the amount of CO2 in the tank. With the regulator hooked up the scale originally read ~56 lbs, so I know when it gets close to 36 lbs I will need to exchange it.
This is why I keep my tank sitting on an old-style spring-and-dial bathroom scale. This allow me to continuously monitor the amount of CO2 in the tank. With the regulator hooked up the scale originally read ~56 lbs, so I know when it gets close to 36 lbs I will need to exchange it.[/QUOTE] nice idea with the old scale.
Something is wrong if you get no pressure on the gauge at all. Is there CO2 in the tank? Weigh the tank and compare it to the tare weight stamped on the tank (labeled 'TW'). If they're nearly the same, I would suspect an empty tank. Something you should know (a common mistake, so don't feel bad ). That gauge measures pressure, not volume. IOW, it doesn't tell how much gas you have left. That's not what it's for. It's like finding out how much gasoline you have in your car by checking the tire pressure - there's no correlation. That gauge tells you one of two things: 'damn near empty' and 'not damn near empty'. The pressure will remain constant whether it's a full tank or there's a single drop of liquid CO2 left - roughly 700 psi at room temperature. Once that last drop becomes gas, the pressure drops, at which point, you don't have enough gas for tonight's party. Unless you're willing to weigh the tank now and then, I'd strongly recommend a spare tank.
