How to build a CO2 regulator for your calcium reactor.

soulpatch said:
The rollers are a type of plastic yes. I expect maintenance to be yearly or so on the rollers and tubing. Even still been running for 5 months now roughly without issue on the rollers. The motor however did need checked over once which was a 4 day turnaround with Spectrapure.
Click to expand...

Great to know.
How many hours per day does it run do you think? I assume since you're using the controller that its not running non-stop?
The price (and size) is definitely better than the masterflex, that's for sure.
 
It runs all day as it is my feed pump to the reactor. My current need is higher then when I initially got it and ran it at slowest speed nonstop. Now I have it come on for roughly 12 seconds and off for 8 at a mid motor speed.

The pump is set up so that you adjust speed by selecting how much in a 20 second time period it runs as well as a motor speed. It has 10 options for both to dial in to the amount you need.

I would have preferred a brushless masterlfex but I did not have the room in my stand for one and the cost of the unit with no warranty was a slight turn off. The spectrapure is not perfect either with the rollers but all units require maintenance and the tubing for spectrapure is cheaper so likely a wash in terms of maintenance costs. I should know better in the next few months when I order in replacement parts.

My PH controller is really just a backup just in case for the solenoid on the reg. I have a Alanle dual stage reg so I never expect it to fire off but it gives me a level of redundancy. I also have a PH probe in the sump that can kill the entire Calrx setup if needed.
 
soulpatch said:
It runs all day as it is my feed pump to the reactor. My current need is higher then when I initially got it and ran it at slowest speed nonstop. Now I have it come on for roughly 12 seconds and off for 8 at a mid motor speed.

The pump is set up so that you adjust speed by selecting how much in a 20 second time period it runs as well as a motor speed. It has 10 options for both to dial in to the amount you need.

I would have preferred a brushless masterlfex but I did not have the room in my stand for one and the cost of the unit with no warranty was a slight turn off. The spectrapure is not perfect either with the rollers but all units require maintenance and the tubing for spectrapure is cheaper so likely a wash in terms of maintenance costs. I should know better in the next few months when I order in replacement parts.

My PH controller is really just a backup just in case for the solenoid on the reg. I have a Alanle dual stage reg so I never expect it to fire off but it gives me a level of redundancy. I also have a PH probe in the sump that can kill the entire Calrx setup if needed.
Click to expand...

Interesting.
I guess the constant on/off helps keep it from wearing down the rollers. Instead of running for 24 hours straight its running more like 16 hours or whatever over a 24 hour period. But the quick on/off periods keeps things very consistent, similar to running 24/7.
Thanks for the explanation. Keep us updated! :)
 
May be better for the roller but it sounds hard on the motor which is the bulk of the cost of that unit.


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and hence a benefit of 5 year warranty should it have issues. Though with the masterflex while better overall quality you roll the dice with a used unit and its durability
 
Yeah, with the 5 year warranty, if it goes kablooey just after the 5 year mark, it cost you about 55 bucks a year. ;)
 
I cannot seem to find a good Burkert 6011 in stainless for less than about $100. Anyone know where to find this for a reasonable price?

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LQT said:
Yup! I'll probably be picking your brain as I go along since we essentially have almost the same regulators.
Click to expand...

No problem. But off the bat, the reg has a valve on the bottom side and to have the solenoid clear it you'll need SS-4-HLN-250 or SS-4-HLN-300 depending on how you want to set it up.
 
I noticed the valve in the pictures. Thanks for the heads up on the extra parts. For some reason though, I feel like I read way earlier in this thread that such valves may be removed. Then again, that could be my imagination after reading this entire thread over the last few days. :hmm4:
 
LQT said:
I noticed the valve in the pictures. Thanks for the heads up on the extra parts. For some reason though, I feel like I read way earlier in this thread that such valves may be removed. Then again, that could be my imagination after reading this entire thread over the last few days. :hmm4:
Click to expand...

I think I remember reading that too. If you can find it, can you post it on here again?
 
Well finally put it together....

12a4ca9752d20ac6fa28b2bc00854dc7.jpg


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