Single Product Secondary Co2 Regulator Reviews

11/11/2014

Thought I'd give a few notes about this regulator to help others plan their systems.

All four regulator holes on this guy are right-handed 1/4 FPT (National Pipe Thread Female). The hardware you see on it is all removable, and can be replaced with anything else that's 1/4 MPT (NPT Male).

However, whoever put this product together did a great job getting everything in real tight. You'll find it very difficult to remove the regulator plug, barb connector, gauge or valve outlet, but they will come out. Probably best to manufacture a creative attachment for a bench vise (one that's bolted down) so that you can get leverage on your 9/16 wrench without damaging the regulator. The worry is the plastic. It's very difficult to grip the body firmly enough without being in danger of breaking the plastic handle. (If I were to redesign this, I'd put something next to the holes on the regulator body for a wrench to grip.)

The back mounting plate of this regulator is misrepresented in the picture. It's not a square plate. This regulator body is identical to the 2-, 3- and 4-product regulator banks, and has the same diagonally-mounted metal clip that you see on the two ends of those. For me, this is a good thing because I'm able to get two regulators in a tighter space.

For some reason, the barb attachments are slightly different sizes. The inlet barb is 11/32, and the outlet barb is 3/8. When I received them this worried me because you can visually tell they are different, but it's only 1/32-inch difference. As long as you're clamping the gas line down you should have no problems on the smaller connector.

The plastic handle works great and has a locking feature that you don't get with a simple screw adjust. When pushed in, the handle is locked. To change the pressure, you pull the handle out, twist it, then push it back in. This requires some force, at least at first, so mount it to something sturdy. The locking mechanism is just some interlocking gear teeth, and there aren't very many of them, so if you're really trying to get a precise pressure you may find you can't push the handle in exactly where you wanted it to be. There's a locking position every 30 degrees though, so you should be able to get plenty accurate enough for any beer-serving purposes.