odd CO2 leak

singularity · Thu Dec 20, 2007 12:09 am

i have had my 5lb co2 setup for about a year now and have used it quite a bit. i have taken off the reg, changed out tanks, ect without incident until today. today i simply turned on the tank valve and it started to leak from the threads connecting the tank to the reg. now normally with would be a simple matter of tightening the joint, but it did no good. then i removed the reg to see what was causing this problem and found the o ring covered with white crystals (not ice, possibly aluminum oxide?) i whipped then off then connected it back up but it continued to leak. i finally added teflon to the threads and it stopped, but the joint is sealed with an o ring and should not require teflon. what happened? the system was working perfectly literally a day ago! any one had similar problem with and industrial co2 tank and reg? can anyone tell me positively what the white crystals were? (they were not ice they did not melt)

SpudUke5 · Thu Dec 20, 2007 1:25 am

Well basically what i think it is, is just the o ring freezing over. I know you said it isnt ice, but the CO2 must have somehow changed the composition of the molecules of the o-ring. This happens to paintball (CO2) tanks when you leave the tank on, because of over-exposure to CO2, which is what i think happened to your o ring. Basically, all you need to do is just replace it, just as you do for a CO2 paintball tank. If you go to a paintball store they usually give you a free o ring (or pay 10 cents). But all that needs to be done is just replace it.

Hubb · Thu Dec 20, 2007 6:13 am

I don't know about the reformation of molecules, but it does sound like you have a bad o-ring. On my setup, I use a fill station. It has a nut that screws over the threads from the tank. Inside the nut is a washer, not an o-ring. I've had to replace this washer a couple of times because of the same problem.

BigGrib · Thu Dec 20, 2007 6:20 am

i use oxarc and i own both of my tanks but when i go to get them "filled" they just swap me out a tank. the spacer or oring deal i always return with the tank and the new tank has one with it held on by a rubber band, maybe you just got a bad one. hell who knows, do you get your deals swapped out every time or what

Hubb · Thu Dec 20, 2007 6:32 am

BigGrib wrote:i use oxarc and i own both of my tanks but when i go to get them "filled" they just swap me out a tank. the spacer or oring deal i always return with the tank and the new tank has one with it held on by a rubber band, maybe you just got a bad one. hell who knows, do you get your deals swapped out every time or what

My tank is swapped out too, but they cheap f****** who do so do not provide a washer with it.

singularity · Thu Dec 20, 2007 11:04 am

never had a spacer before with my tank, and the o-ring seems to be almost impossible to remove, where could a buy a spacer/washer? do paintball stores sell them?