Replacing reg on air tank with adj reg help

[Ms54Coupe]

Hey guys,

I am building a Gen 2 micromag and it is a low budget project to get me back into paintball. Right now I have the gun with stock valve and a few barrels. My ultimate plan is to get a double trigger frame and an RT/X/Emag valve. Recently I have been doing a lot of reading on the site and found that the RT valves respond best to ca 1100 psi. Once I learned that the only way to get this to the valve is to get an adjustable regulator on the tank I started looking into Regs. Now for my question...

If I were to purchase a max flow or high flow regulator for my current 68/4500 tank do I just unscrew the fixed reg and screw in the adjustable reg? Is there a torque setting? Do I need to put some sort of sealant on the threads, teflon tape or silicone?

Thanks!

Nate

[Shirow]

I was told:

No locking/sealing agent on the reg - some people recommend a DOT of blue loctite just to stop it coming unscrewed in your ASA.

I removed mine by hand in a vise lined with socks and twisted it back on by hand as tight as I could.

[xero28]

A lot of people/places will tell you to have it done by a professional airsmith, but I think that is just for liability purposes. I've swapped regs on at least 3 or 4 tanks and have removed/replaced regs about 10 times for maintenance/hydro purposes. I've never had any issues or safety concerns. That being said, if you kill yourself, it was your choice to remove the reg, don't blame me.

Really the only thing to be sure of is that ALL of the air is out of the tank. Then just remove the reg and put the new one on. Most of mine are just hand tightened, they get tighter when I screw them onto the gun. Sometimes there will be some locktite or something on the reg, so you may need a vice or a strap wrench to get it off. Make sure there is an o-ring at the base of the threads that will butt up against the tank. This will help keep it from loosening. You don't need any locktite.

EDIT: Oh yeah, make sure you NEVER get ANY kind of oil inside the tank. From what I understand it can catch on fire.

[maniacmechanic]

EDIT: Oh yeah, make sure you NEVER get ANY kind of oil inside the tank. From what I understand it can catch on fire.

A better word would be explode

[Tym]

It's quite easy to do yourself. Most regs have a little locktight on them. To help get the reg off, run the tank under hot water where the valve joins the tank. Use some foam or a pillow or something thick and soft (no not your head), to put in the vice to protect your valve from scratching. Remove all the burst disks and the valve from the regulator make not of where they go in the reg, or take pictures. leave the fill nipple in there. While the tank is still warm (AND TOTALLY EMPTY, use an asa with an open port to remove all air from the tank. Failure to remove all the air from the tank may result in injury or death) place the regulator in the vice covering it with foam or a pillow or whatever you have as to not scratch the reg. But the fill nipple upto the left side of the vice jaws so when you turn the bottle counter clockwise, it doesn't move. Tighten the vice up, hand tight. If your bottle is hot/warm enough from running it under hot water, you can just turn the bottle counter clockwise by hand. If not, you might need some strap wrenches.. once you've turned the bottle a couple times. you can remove it from the vice and do the rest by hand. Once removed put your burst disks and guage back in.

Once you've got the reg off, clean the bottle neck threads with an oring pick or your fingernail. Shake the bottle out just in case there is any junk in there. A good thing to do it blow it out with a compressor or another HPA tank and a remote.. Depending on the reg you're installing you might have to remove all your burst disks and guages, with the max flo you don't have to. Make sure the regulator oring is in good shape and at the top of the threads on the reg. Put 3 - 4 drops of locktight on the last 4 or 5 threads of the regulator. Screw it all the way in by hand untill it stops. Put the reg in the vice just like last time but with the fill nipple resting on the right jaws so it won't move while you're turning it clcokwise, and make sure you're padding is protecting the reg. Turn the bottle with you hands cockwise quite hard. Not as hard as you can but hard enough so you can tell it's no longer moving.

Remove from the vice, let it set for an hour, then fill er up.. It's quite easy. I'll make a vid sometime about it..

[Beemer]

Is there a torque setting? Do I need to put some sort of sealant on the threads, teflon tape or silicone?

Thanks!

Nate

YES, NO.

[PAINTHEY]

How well would the maxflow work? I thought they where only 800psi output. Sorry for highjacking but I was thing about replacing my reg too.

[xero28]

How well would the maxflow work? I thought they where only 800psi output. Sorry for highjacking but I was thing about replacing my reg too.

The MicroMax-Flos are set output of ~800 psi. The older Manifolds (gen 2) and inlines (gen 3) are what he's talking about and can get easily up to 1200+ psi.

Check out this website about RTs and adjustable tanks.

https://www.zakvetter.com

[Tym]

It differs, some people say they can't get the max-flo past 1000, I've got mine up at 1400..

[Konigballer]

I just had my local 'Acme Fire & Safety' guy screw on my MaxFlo reg for free. He said you should NEVER use locktite/thread sealer. He had a big hydrallic strap vice he secured the bottle in, then tightened on the reg with a giant wrench, that sucker ain't going nowhere.

I'd imagine that somewhere by you is an equivilent 'fire and safety' place that checks out fire extinquishers, hydros compressed air tanks and the like. You just have to look for them and they could probably swap your regs for a few bucks (if not for free).

[Tym]

Heh, 3 of my buddies (Techs at pro shops) use blue locktight on every reg they change They say every one they've taken off has had some sort of locktight on it.

It doesn't really matter, it's just to stop the threads from backing out.. The oring keeps the seal, if you can crank it on there with hydraulics, go for it

[fishmishin]

I use loctite on every reg I have to take off for a customer in a store. IMO it is better safe than sorry. The last thing I would want to hear is that one of my customers hurt somebody taking their tank off of their gun because the bottle backed off of the reg. It doesn't seem to be as big of a deal with asa's that bleed off and take the pressure off of the reg threads, but I have had several people come into the store with a sketchy bottle that has screwed off the reg some. I always kinda wonder why they haven't already let the air out of the tank, but they don't. They bring em in with 2000psi left in them and want me to fix it for them. Everyone of those tanks that have come in like that didn't have loctite on them. With a adjustable reg, it's a different story since you aren't screwing the tank on and off of the gun all the time, but I revert back to it's batter safe than sorry !

[vf-xx]

I think it depends.

Personally I'm debating about putting locktite on mine soon as I decide which bottle I"m going to use, but that's because Geddon's are 2 piece regs that you can unscrew.

For a Maxflo or a flatline, where the reg goes on, stays on, and is drop or rail mounted, I wouldn't worry about loctite.

For screw in tanks, I can see using it as a precaution.

[Beemer]

I just had my local 'Acme Fire & Safety' guy screw on my MaxFlo reg for free. He said you should NEVER use locktite/thread sealer.

I use loctite on every reg I have to take off for a customer in a store. IMO it is better safe than sorry. The last thing I would want to hear is that one of my customers hurt somebody taking their tank off of their gun because the bottle backed off of the reg. It doesn't seem to be as big of a deal with asa's that bleed off and take the pressure off of the reg threads, but I have had several people come into the store with a sketchy bottle that has screwed off the reg some. I always kinda wonder why they haven't already let the air out of the tank, but they don't. They bring em in with 2000psi left in them and want me to fix it for them. Everyone of those tanks that have come in like that didn't have loctite on them. With a adjustable reg, it's a different story since you aren't screwing the tank on and off of the gun all the time, but I revert back to it's batter safe than sorry !

Thats why you should obtain the TORQUE specs and you dont need loctite. Have fun reusing when the threads get munched instead

[vf-xx]

Thats why you should obtain the TORQUE specs and you dont need loctite. Have fun reusing when the threads get munched instead

Query then: what sort of torque wrench do you use when a standard socket won't fit on your reg?