Advice on regulator issues.

[Rankin_leigh]

I made the swap over to cornies about a year ago, and got myself a double reg.
I use one to carbonate my fermentasaurus, then the other into my keezer and split to the 3 kegs.

I lost the last 6kg co2 tank in a month and thought I just hadnt done up the connection. But tested for leaks, and seem to have one on the reg that goes to fermentasaurus. But also, recently the other reg, the dial seems to have gone weird.... as i twist the dial nothing happens on the dial until it's nearly fully open and then jumps to 20psi or more.

I havent found the leak despite spraying with star San, but know roughly where it is - everything seems tight.

Are the regs easy to take apart and fix? Mainly thinking of the one that's jumping too high.
Anyone had that issue before?

If so, think my get a single reg and have a couple of secondaries coming off for better flexibility and easier to swap out if they break.

[Jocky]

What brand is it? If it’s one of the ones from China/HK sold on eBay or Aliexpress then the only good things I’ve heard about any of that stuff is that it is cheap.

While the more known brands are expensive (more so for single reg with multiple secondaries), they are usually made for heavy duty pub/bar work and so on light homebrewer duty they will last a long time.

Sorry, not very helpful I know.

[Kev888]

Yes, it is hard to say how easy it would be to fix as there are many different designs and several things that can go wrong. Or how safe - primary regulators aren't really the sort of thing that should be fiddled with, but they aren't rocket science either so it is entirely up to you.

I'd guess something around the spring/sprung mechanism is sticking (though just possibly a leak may be reducing pressure initially). If it is an old/used one then corrosion or wear can stop them operating smoothly, sometimes the springs are cheap steel that can rust and weaken or break. PRVs or threads can leak to the environment but the worst case is probably where the leak is between the high and low pressure side, as the low pressure side could then reach cylinder pressure unless PRVs or similar are able to protected it.

Primaries should work better than this, for 20psi to be the minimum increment something is dodgy/broken. But yes, a primary + secondaries are a better way to go for good/accurate regulation.

[Rankin_leigh]

No idea on brand, but it was pretty dirt cheap. It's the one angel homebrew sell (not knocking them, usually stuffs really good).
But as you say, get what you pay for.

In case no one can recommend how to take it apart, do you know what brands to actually look out for.
My main thought was replacing with 1 primary and 2 secondaries would give me the same as now, but at later stage (when mrs forgets the last order) could add more secondary units to control each keg independently.

[Kev888]

Norgren and Micromatic are my personal favourites, but as Jocky indicates really any that are popularly used in licenced/professional beer cellars should be pretty decent - ODL, IMI Cornelius etc.

For the primary regulator then IMO go for a proper beer one, or at least check the PRVs are appropriately specified for the application. I might risk slightly higher (e.g. soda-regulators) if available at a tempting price and if your system has PRVs on the cornies/kegs or couplers. But some regulators intended for other purposes have PRVs with far too high a release pressure and/or insufficient throughput to cope adequately with a fast leak (or even no PRVs at all).

[Jocky]

Or even one of the old Coca Cola/Britvic gas management boards that pops up periodically on eBay

[PeeBee]

Norgren and Micromatic are my personal favourites, but as Jocky indicates really any that are popularly used in licenced/professional beer cellars should be pretty decent - ODL, IMI Cornelius etc. …

I'm not too sure about that! Some popularly used systems in licenced/professional beer cellars can be positively Neanderthal (and were probably designed in that same era). But if you can afford it those Norgren and Micromatic regulators they do look very nice.

Sold on eBay or Aliexpress is always taking a risk. But "made in China" or some other far east country doesn't necessarily equate to "rubbish" (just increases the risk that it is) and if backed up by a European or North American reseller there's a better chance of getting something decent ('cos someone else is putting their neck on the block) or getting some redress if it all turns to poo (but not guaranteed - and some cwap I've received off Aliexpress recently is instantly refunded if it isn't right).

My preferred gas regulation items certainly isn't aimed at beverage dispense (aimed at industrial pneumatics, aquarium supplies) and is often of far east manufacture - though much has a UK retailer. My favoured regulators (secondary) are Shako which are magnitudes more accurate than sold to the drink dispense industry (this really shows when trying to regulate at <12PSI). But you have to figure out what you need for yourself - though I taught myself in just 2-3 years.

[Kev888]

I'm not too sure about that! Some popularly used systems in licenced/professional beer cellars can be positively Neanderthal (and were probably designed in that same era). But if you can afford it those Norgren and Micromatic regulators they do look very nice.

Yes, they are; high quality, reliable, purpose designed and well proven at this very job - even in damp cool environments like cellars (or keggerators). In their intended role and configuration (primary + secondaries) they work very well. (as to be fair do other professional brands/models)

But you're quite right that there are all manner of others out there, more complex and/or cheaper and so on. If circumstances require something else then there will likely be a way to achieve it.

[Jocky]

Norgren and Micromatic are my personal favourites, but as Jocky indicates really any that are popularly used in licenced/professional beer cellars should be pretty decent - ODL, IMI Cornelius etc. …

Sold on eBay or Aliexpress is always taking a risk. But "made in China" or some other far east country doesn't necessarily equate to "rubbish" (just increases the risk that it is) and if backed up by a European or North American reseller there's a better chance of getting something decent ('cos someone else is putting their neck on the block) or getting some redress if it all turns to poo (but not guaranteed - and some cwap I've received off Aliexpress recently is instantly refunded if it isn't right).

The reason I called out the ‘Chinese’ ones is that I have heard of quite a few people with issues with regulators that are similar to the ones mentioned here.

I’m not saying that everything made in China is rubbish, but the surprisingly cheap regulators that are from there are junk, and not worth saving a bit of money on compared to buying even a reconditioned one from a proper brand.