Having persisted with a diy CO2 setup for two years, i've finally splurged out and bought a two stage regulator and hired a 6.5kg cylinder from BOC.

My problem is i haven't been able to locate an in-line needle valve. I've tried the model supply stores around Auckland and most have looked at me with a blank stare. BOC had no idea either..... :roll:

Anybody had success finding one of these?

Aw yeah, and what about an adaptor for the outlet side of the reg to fit standard diameter hosing (4mm i.d.)?

If you try Hollywoods they have regulators with needle valve attached.

Angus said

Anybody had success finding one of these?

yeah i got my at a model shop, they use it for air brushing so has to be places that sells air brush equipment.

all the large model shops in town would have them.

they look like :

http://www.paascheairbrush.com/cgi-bin/ ... pare+parts

I need 1 too so if anyone can help I would be grateful (we have no model shops in Taupo). Sorry Angus did not mean to steal your thread.

I used carburetor jet valves for mine (idle jet).

Went to the auto wreckers and searched through their part carbs (the ones that are damaged) to find a suitable needle. I made the body out of brass. The hardest part was finding a tap that matched the very fine thread on the carb needle. Blackwoods Paykels got one for me and I did the rest using a drill press and a piece of hex brass rod. The inlet and outlet tubes were short pieces of 4mm copper tube I had lying around and were soldered to the brass body. The only tricky part was getting the O-ring to sit into a grove to seal the thread to the body.

It took about 30 minutes to make but over 3 hours to find the parts. Look at what your time is worth to you or how much you really fancy making your own one. May be better off buying one from Hollywoods...

i went to a place called picales (sp?), an engernering place that should be nation wide. it costed me $25 and it works a treat!

should be quite easy to find at a similer shop.

i inquired at hollywoods (not expecting to find one) and got told that they aren't stocking needle valves yet (though they intend to in the future). No mention of systems as i only inquired about needle valves on their own.

warren - i'm not the sort of person inclined to make my own, with pressurised co2 running through it the dangers of that sort of approach out weigh the positives - but thanks for the advice!!

fishboi - which model? 3A or 3B?

jim r - no worries - a question asked is a problem halved. when i find one i'll post it for you.

quack - i'll check out picales (sp?) tomorrow morning - hope they're open

thanks to all!!!

the tunze co2 regulator that hollywood sells comes with needle valve attached. They also have bubble counter and the non return valve.

the bugger is i've already bought the regulator, so all i need is the needle valve :roll:

me too, and thanks Angus.

fishboi - which model? 3A or 3B?

3A, but that particular one only works with a solenoid but it gives u an idea what ur looking for.

Im using a radio control plane remote fuel needle valve works ok just have to fasten the tubes to it with bag ties for a better fit

Mike

I got one of these from Connect 2 Control -

http://www.clippard.com/store/display_d ... sku=MNV-2K

Including fittings about $30. I also got a separate solenoid valve from these guys -

http://www.burkert.co.nz/index.html - $75.

However, I found my 1st full 100l Soda Stream bottle only lasted about a week at 2 bubbles per second. Hopefully it was a dud bottle - so am trying another. Anyone know how long it would last at 1 bubble per second for 10 hours per day?

I use a standard bottle 30liter and it last about 2 weeks 24 hours per day.

Search for my post I did the calcs about six months ago

Here it is

http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/aqua-o ... 15217.html

Cheers Mike

any joy Angus ?

The 100l still going after 7 days so I assume the last fill was a dud.

Further question - my solenoid runs hot - so hot you can't hang on to it - does anyone know if this is normal?

I have a professional aquatic CO2 needle valve made by JBJ available for purchase. It has a male thread on one end and a fasten lock hose connector on the other end for easy secure connection for pressurized systems. I believe the hose size is 4mm.

You'll probably need to get something with a female to female adapter to attach the threads together from the reg to the needle valve, but you should be able to sort that easy enough.

I was going to keep this as a spare, but domeone probably needs it more than I. Price is $40 couriered to any non-RD address and the item is brand new. Here's the photo.