# help with first/preowned CO2 set up and FABCO needle valve



## RLHam3 (Aug 27, 2013)

So I just got my first CO2 set up used from my local fish club. I jumped at it because it was a good price, but now that I've actually got it, I am beginning to second guess my purchase. I knew that the bubble counter was broken when I bought the unit, so today I went ahead and bought a new brass one from a LFS to mount next to the regulator.

My problems began when I got home. I took the old broken bubble counter off, but when I attempted to put the new bubble counter on, I noticed that the adapter between the needle valve and the bubble counter wasn't firmly in place. On further inspection, I discovered that the adapter was actually broken off inside the port of needle valve.

The needle valve is a NV-55 from Fabco ( http://store.fabco-air.com/proddetail.php?prod=NV-55 ). It has two 10/32 ports. I've also noticed that there is another adapter between the solenoid and the needle valve (from 1/8 male to 10/32 male). And THIS adapter is stuck in the solenoid.

I was considering completely replacing the needle valve, with another that used the 1/8 ports, but since my adapter is stuck in the solenoid, I guess I'm looking at getting the same adapter. In this case, I would need to find a 10/32 to 1/8 converter to connect the needle valve to the new bubble counter (which of course I cannot find).

So my only solution that I have available right now is to leave the adapter stuck in the solenoid, get another Fabco NV-55 needle valve, then have a 10/32 male to 1/8 female adapter on the outgoing line, and then have a 1/8 male to 1/8 male connector to connect them to the new bubble counter.
I've just had a frustrating afternoon and was looking forward to having my CO2 finally up and running tonight. Now it looks like it may take a while longer. Does anyone have any insight into this situation? I would really appreciate any advice from anyone whose had more experience with CO2 set ups. What would your solution be to this situation be?


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Any chance of some pictures of the parts you are talking about? There are a few people that are good with CO2 fittings on the forum that could probably help you out using the numbers alone.


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## Charlie 1 (Aug 24, 2007)

For what it`s worth, get a new valve, the Fabco NV 55*-18* : *Note the -18*, this version has 1/8 ports on both ports of the needle valve
http://www.fabco-air.com/products/flow_controls/NV-55-18.html
Regards
P.S. , you will need 2 x 1/8 NPT male hex nipple to make the connection to the solenoid & the bubble counter.


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## galunggong (Dec 28, 2014)

I'd reconsider buying another NV-55 that has the 10/32 ports. They are very weak and people have broken them numerous times before.


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