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Nitrogen regulator sources? - HVAC, Beer Brewing, Paintball... etc.

Greg72

Greg72

@MIGHTASWELLK5
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I am shopping for a nitrogen regulator so that I can charge my new ORI struts.

I already ordered the basic fill kit, which has the correct Schrader valves and hoses but I still need a nitrogen regulator to step down the bottle pressure into something more useable.

It was suggested that I check with HVAC shops or websites as they are commonly used there....and after some time on Google, it looks like beer brewing and paintball guns use nitrogen as well so I might have some luck on those types of websites also.

The confusing part is that there seems to be a HUGE price range on these regulators.... I see stuff as cheap as $60 but also as expensive as $400!!! I also don't know what brand names are considered good vs. junk (Harris, Goss, UniWeld??) so I'd appreciate some help figuring out where to focus my efforts.

I'll probably just pick up the smallest tank I can get from my local AirGas (5Lb?) since I don't need much tank capacity to charge shocks, and I'd like to keep the whole package as small and portable as possible. Ideally, I'd like to fit it into a small foam-lined plastic case so that I could take it with me for trail-tuning and not worry about damage to the fragile fittings, etc.


-G
 
HVAC parts houses. Nitrogen is widely used for flushing air conditioning systems, and they sell the regulators and tanks and refills.
You might be able to get a better price on the gas from a welding supply company.
 
Fordum said:
HVAC parts houses. Nitrogen is widely used for flushing air conditioning systems, and they sell the regulators and tanks and refills.
You might be able to get a better price on the gas from a welding supply company.
Click to expand...

I could be wrong and they might use it to flush systems, but the main use is to pressure test a system for leaks.
The nitrogen is used because unlike air it will not make or leave moisture in the system.
As for where to get the regulator, I will need to check my reciept, but I got mine online, and if I remember correctly it was under $100 shipped, it works for nitrogen and CO2, I got it to make myself a CO2 tank, and then learned that Nitrogen was cheaper to fill.
 
I'm finding that paintball sites have nice small tanks with built-in regulators, but there are still a few unanswered questions about them:

1. They come pre-filled with pressurized air, not nitrogen
2. No idea what sort of pressure is possible with the built-in regulator
3. Don't know if a local AirGas would be able to refill this style of tank with nitrogen

The tanks themselves are adorably small, so they'd be perfect for keeping the entire charge-kit nice and compact. I just can't tell yet if they would do the job correctly or not.


-G
 
You can check for leaks with it, but its not very effective. It doesn't react with anything, so the only way to find a leak with it is with bubble soap or a UV dye in the oil.

The size leak you need to check for is so small that it would take days for a bubble to form.
My leak detector is rated at 1/2 oz of refrigerant leak per year, and its not state of the art anymore.

Nitrogen is good for a start though, and will find the big leaks before you waste Freon.

I'm sure that nitrogen is pretty dry as is, but supposedly the stuff you buy from the HVAC places is extra dry.
That is why I mentioned that you might be able to buy it cheaper elsewhere.

In fact, when you mention it to a tech, its usually called "dry Nitrogen". Of course, that might just be marketing, like "digital ready TV antennas..."

The main use for it in HVAC systems is to "break the vacuum" as they say in the trade.
As you begin to pull a vacuum on a system, all the gases in it move toward the suction, carrying the moisture with them.
Any liquid water tends to evaporate due to the low pressure and create a pressure differential which also moves toward the suction pump.

But, eventually, you have pulled as low a vacuum as your pump will pull. So, there is no movement of the molecules other than random Browning movement. So, they tend to just stay where they are.

In the bad old days, we would introduce Freon in one port and suck it out the other carrying bad stuff with it.
Even then you were supposed to use Nitrogen, but Freon was cheap, and right there.

If you read manuals, or especially if you were doing warranty work on a hermetic system, you would see it said to pull a vacuum of a certain amount for a certain time, then "break the vacuum" with dry nitrogen two or three times, pulling back down to the original vacuum each time.

I remember replacing a compressor in a system that had failed inside the 5 year warranty.
One of the head techs of that company, told me that they required I pull a vacuum of a certain number of microns for 3 hours, and then break the vacuum three times pulling the vacuum the same amount for one hour each time.

Otherwise they would not honor the remainder of the warranty.
Not sure how they were going to figure out if I didn't do it, but I did and billed them accordingly.

And just exactly what the heck all that had to do with the original question, I have no idea.
I'm having a strange day so far today, sorry about that.

I hope its just lack of sleep, or something, but I keep getting waves of dizziness, and it seems that there is a gang of drivers out there deliberately doing weird stuff in front of me.

Don't think I'm going nuts, they are really out there. Just doubt they are actually organized.
One guy sat through two turn signals because he had gotten into the turn lane and wanted to go straight.
And that was one of the more normal ones.


And............ I'm rambling again. I'm headed home. Maybe I can make it without someone running over me or me having to shoot someone.........
 
it's what's used to check for leaks in the marine AC's often... that and a bottle of Spray 9 soap...
 
http://www.mcmaster.com/#=i8lkmc

you can try mcmaster. They are good for any kind of hard to find hardware or things like that. similar parts are a little more expensive than grainger, but they seem to cater more toward machine parts than grainger.

I dont believe you would need a nitrogen specific reg., just one that can handle the inlet pressure of 2500# (assuming a standard tank) and an outlet that goes up as far as you want.
 
One thing to watch out for on the regulators is some gauges don't have much resolution on the gauge.
 
I know I had to use nitrogen for my paintball gun because the moisture would mess up my electronic servos

I've got a few of these tanks laying around, and had though about trying to use them. I think I need to re certify them though
 
Well I guess I should have been more clear, we used it to make sure it was holding pressure, and if we saw a drop in pressure, we would use soap to find it.
But most of the times it was to confirm that the system is sealed good.
When we knew there was a leak it wasn't what we used.
My Reefer mechanic still uses Nitrogen for leak testing, he doesn't even want to try the new technologies with dye and special lighting.:pimp:
Fordum said:
You can check for leaks with it, but its not very effective. It doesn't react with anything, so the only way to find a leak with it is with bubble soap or a UV dye in the oil.

The size leak you need to check for is so small that it would take days for a bubble to form.
My leak detector is rated at 1/2 oz of refrigerant leak per year, and its not state of the art anymore.

Nitrogen is good for a start though, and will find the big leaks before you waste Freon.

I'm sure that nitrogen is pretty dry as is, but supposedly the stuff you buy from the HVAC places is extra dry.
That is why I mentioned that you might be able to buy it cheaper elsewhere.

In fact, when you mention it to a tech, its usually called "dry Nitrogen". Of course, that might just be marketing, like "digital ready TV antennas..."

The main use for it in HVAC systems is to "break the vacuum" as they say in the trade.
As you begin to pull a vacuum on a system, all the gases in it move toward the suction, carrying the moisture with them.
Any liquid water tends to evaporate due to the low pressure and create a pressure differential which also moves toward the suction pump.

But, eventually, you have pulled as low a vacuum as your pump will pull. So, there is no movement of the molecules other than random Browning movement. So, they tend to just stay where they are.

In the bad old days, we would introduce Freon in one port and suck it out the other carrying bad stuff with it.
Even then you were supposed to use Nitrogen, but Freon was cheap, and right there.

If you read manuals, or especially if you were doing warranty work on a hermetic system, you would see it said to pull a vacuum of a certain amount for a certain time, then "break the vacuum" with dry nitrogen two or three times, pulling back down to the original vacuum each time.

I remember replacing a compressor in a system that had failed inside the 5 year warranty.
One of the head techs of that company, told me that they required I pull a vacuum of a certain number of microns for 3 hours, and then break the vacuum three times pulling the vacuum the same amount for one hour each time.

Otherwise they would not honor the remainder of the warranty.
Not sure how they were going to figure out if I didn't do it, but I did and billed them accordingly.

And just exactly what the heck all that had to do with the original question, I have no idea.
I'm having a strange day so far today, sorry about that.

I hope its just lack of sleep, or something, but I keep getting waves of dizziness, and it seems that there is a gang of drivers out there deliberately doing weird stuff in front of me.

Don't think I'm going nuts, they are really out there. Just doubt they are actually organized.
One guy sat through two turn signals because he had gotten into the turn lane and wanted to go straight.
And that was one of the more normal ones.


And............ I'm rambling again. I'm headed home. Maybe I can make it without someone running over me or me having to shoot someone.........
Click to expand...
 
Best leak detection there is.....a trace shot of R22 followed with 150 to 200 psi
Of dry nitrogen and a halide torch.

After 30 plus years of refrigeration experience, I still haven't found anything that beats it.

Now,,, a lot of you whipper snappers don't even know what a halide torch is!
But I bet I can find any leak with one.....:waytogo:
 
I got my ori charge setup all on ebay. New 40cu/in tank was cheaper then buying one from local gas supply. I got a 600 psi regulator which was a little more than the 400. I got a hose for HVAC that is like 3000 psi burst rating and the fittings to adapt from the compression style on the hose to pipe for a air chuck. I also tried the no-loss style fitting that you screw to shock schrader then tighten down the pin but it was more PITA than just using a regular air chuck. I think after buying everything and exchanging tank for full one I am into it less than $200.
 
I have a 300 cubic foot nitrogen cylinder. Is that to big?:D

Not very portable.
 
Maybe a touch....

A 20 is fine but I wanted the 40 since it is the same diameter as my CO2 and can fit in same carrier bracket that I had mounted in the bed of my old tow rig. The exchange price was like $27 for a 20 and $35 for a 40 too.
 
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