# Location of bubble counter...



## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

I wouldn't have thought it made a difference, but after having the connection of my diy unit pop off twice and having about 10 gallons of water to mop up from a carpet...

I built a simple diy bubble counter very similar to this: http://www.rexgrigg.com/bubblecounter.jpg, except the bottle is smaller. Twice it has popped off a line, apparently from a back pressure build-up and spilled a bunch of water out. So the question is, what's the best place to put one of these? I wouldn't have thought it mattered. I was thinking all the regs that have it built in have it right by the outflow, so perhaps it's best to have it as close to the outflow of the cylinder as possible?

I hadn't ever thought about this before because I have one reg with the built in counter, in a second tank, it goes into an ac mini intake line which I use as a bubble counter. The third tank/cylinder combo is the one I thought I'd build a counter for and have had no luck with.

TIA.


----------



## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

I have just set up my pressurized CO2 system, using a Milwaukee regulator combination. The built in bubble counter leaked at both ends. I was able, finally to stop most of the leakage at the top, but not the bottom. So, I removed it. My Eheim diffuser has a built in bubble counter, which puts it under water where a leak doesn't do much harm. My outlet pressure is about 25 psi, which is very likely to blow off a hose connection unless that connection is to a barbed fitting, which all of mine are. I found that a lesser pressure gave me irregular bubble rate. 

Actually, I don't really see a major need for a bubble counter, if you are releasing the CO2 thru a diffuser in the tank. That way you can see how much CO2 is being injected by watching the fine bubble stream.


----------



## tazcrash69 (Oct 24, 2005)

Bert, are you using adapters to connect the lines to the cap of the bottle? Do you have a decent (and good working) check valve after the bubble counter? 
You might want to just drill the hole smaller than the tubing, cut the tubing on an angle, and pull through with needle nose pliers. If you want a little extra insurance, you could use some silicone sealant on the inside of the cap.


----------

