My hole is leaking stinky gas

JTknives

JTknives

Joined
Jun 11, 2006
Messages
8,651
I have this tiny hole in my regulator and today I went to fire up the smelter and gas is coming out of it. I tryied tapping on the regulator and nothing. I tryied adjusting the pressure all the way down and up and still nothing. I’m guessing the diaphragm is ruptured. I bought this regulator from high temp tools like 10+ years ago and had been great up to a few years ago. It started acting weird where if the ball valve was shut and I turned the gas on the pressure wound spike the gauge. Then I would open the valve and as I used it the pressure would drop down and settle where it was set. But once I closed the valve the pressure would spike back up. So I have dealt with till now but now it’s dangerous.

I’m not saying anything bad about there product or the company as I have had it a long time and it’s seen a ton of use. The only negative thing about this regulator is I dont think I can rebuild it as it’s crimped closed and a cover plate is riveted on. So for the money I paid ($50?) that’s a drawback. I checked there site today and the regulator thy have now looks like it comes apart.

So just a heads up, make sure to check your tiny hole for smelly gas

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I just picked up an adjustable regulator locally because I do t have time to wait. But it’s also not rebuildable. What a good regulator that I can rebuild?
 
I would get a good Harris or Victor regulator made for gas(acetylene). Same threads as a propane tank. Pretty much any welding supply house will always be able to get it rebuilt for you. It shouldn't ever become obsolete and will last the rest of your lifetime.
 
The diaphragm is leaking. The hole is there to provide atmospheric pressure on the other side of the diaphragm. Rebuild or replace the regulator. Like JMGates, I recommend a Victor welding gas regulator if you are going to run it regularly.
 
Yes, it will cost almost as much to rebuild a quality regulator as it will to buy a new one, but I've never had one come back less than perfect yet. You will end up buying a new regulator as well, unless you want to wait the week or two for the rebuild before you work again... A regulator is an essential bit of gear if you want to use high pressure gasses, so it is worth the money to have the rebuilt one sitting on the shelf ready to go into service eventually. Over 20 years or so I've accumulated spare regulators for about every gas we use in the shop
 
Yeah I run the forge a lot. Not as much as full time guys but still quite a bit. I will look into getting a victor, that’s the brand of regulator I use for my nitrogen for the oven. The cheap 0-20psi adjustable I picked up is working good but you can tell it’s quite cheaply made.
 
When I read that your hole was leaking stinky gas I did not think of propane or a hole in a regulator.
 
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