I broke my refill clamp guage :( – Fixed!
I moved one scuba tank to get it outta the way for other people at the range and it bumped my one that was standing up. It fell over on my leg and then the asphalt and damaged the guage (the white background has a visible bend in it – although nothing else seems damaged).
I’d rather just buy a new one that risk either explosion or inacuracy. Does anyone know where I can get just the guage from? I think I found one at https://www.choiceaccessories.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=51889 but I dont know if the one on the AirForce adapter is 1/4 NPT and I dont really know anything about threads.
Please help me out? I’m having withdrawal aready 🙁
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Viewing 8 replies - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)
DKOwen,
Thanks for the info. I had dropped it off at a local fitting company on Monday and the guy said some coil inside is bent. I just now opened it up per your instructions and yea, there are two little bends on the triple coil arm thingy. So, I think its time to retire it – I’m going rip out the little copper tube and throw it into my copper recycle box 😆
On another note, since you seem to know something about these gauges, what is the little clock spring looking thing on the dial shaft for? Its obviously not the main moving part.
Very cool. Now that we can see your guage, you can probably fix it with no problems.
Pry the bezel and cover glass off. I usually lever it up a bit from under the brass fitting with a screwdriver blade to get it started. Then remove the two screws from the back that hold the Bordon tube and rest of the works in and slip the assembly out the top. Straighten the backing plate with long nose pliers and reassemble.
Then again, if you like the small gauge…..
Doug Owen
Got there fast –
Glad it works, enjoy !
YAY! Ninja’s gauge arrived today. Heres a few pictures:
What happened to my gauge:
OD of thread on broken gauge (seems to be 1/8″ NPT):
Yes I know the caliper is not on the threads but I couldnt hold it up during the picture (but the value is correct).
Ninja’s gauge on my refill clamp:
I plugged in the old gauge, crossed my fingers, and filled my tank to 1000 psi. Then I put Ninja’s new gauge in and filled until the tank valve opened and they were within 50 psi of each other. Works for me! I think I actually prefer the smaller size of the overall package with the new gauge on it.
Thanks again Ninja.
You’re a lucky kind of guy, you should buy some Lotto tickets on the way home.
SCUBA (and other similar tanks) are known to loose their valves when they crash into each other. Many years ago I saw such a tank. A student at UC’s Bodega Bay Marine Research Lab (same town as the Hitchcock movie ‘The Birds’….) stood his tank up in the sand after a dive. He’d used some air, the tank wasn’t full. Another guy pulling off his gear backed into it, knocking it over against another tank breaking the regulator and valve off. It took off down the beach, a quarter mile or so end over end. They brought it back to the Berkeley campus for all the divers to see. Resulted in a new practice to not stand tanks up in the sand.
I bet it got the guys in question back to church.
I understand it’s rare, but it does happen. These guys are dangerous, treat them with respect is my advice.
Doug Owen
Thanks Yellow Ninja!
I have a small gauge from a broken AF pump (gauge works fine) you can have, if it doesn’t work thread wise, just toss it out. PM me your address if you want it.
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You should see a flattened tube bent into a loop. It has working pressure on the inside and (obviously) nothing on the outside but atmosphere. It’s called a Bordon tube (named after some dead guy, like most such stuff). Pressure inside trys to straighten it out. This moves the gear train (usually) which amplifies it some and moves the needle in a long arc (longer than the tube end alone). When the pressure drops, it relaxes again. The coil spring keeps the slack out of the system so the needle responds well without binding up the linkage (very little force available).
BTW, the tube is most likely brass, copper makes a lousy spring (Which is what it is).
Doug Owen