# Single stage oxygen regulator problems



## cathead (Nov 12, 2022)

I do some gas welding and lately the oxygen regulator has been a little flaky.  It came to a head when I installed a new oxygen tank and
the regulator was releasing gas out of the holes in the regulator itself!  The welding shop will send them out for refurbishment for a fee
and you are back in business but I decided to have a look at it myself.  I'm using a Victor SR250C regulator.


	

		
			
		

		
	
The welding shop said there is a lot in there and my thought was:" How much could be in there?"  I had to know so found out there is a diaphragm, washer
and spring to start with.

Under the brass hex were a few small parts.  I found that there is a repair kit one can order for about $20 which consists of the diaphragm and the small inner parts. 
Below is a photo of the small parts.  One might think that the problem is the white washer but such is not the case.  The new washer is the same way.  
I suspect that the seal in the little brass part (second part from the left) is bad.  I will take it apart eventually and have a look inside but have the kit on the way 
so it is a relatively simple matter to install the new parts and reassemble, a simple five minute job.  The Victor set has served me well so I feel it is better
to restore it to functionality than buy a throw away unit on E-Bay.  Hopefully someone will find this interesting.  I did.


	

		
			
		

		
	
It's amazing how much I use my gas welder and had to use my TIG machine to finish up the job I was working on.  I need to do more TIG welding
as I'm a little rusty at it.  It got the job done though so all is well that ends well.  Have a good day out there in machinist land.


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## Firstram (Nov 12, 2022)

Be meticulously clean and don’t blow yourself up, no oil or grease!


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## C-Bag (Nov 12, 2022)

Yup, I went through exactly the same thing and ended up getting a kit and installed. But I found a backup on eBay while waiting for the kit for cheap. My rebuilt worked better than the new one so I still have the new one as backup. Like has been said be meticulously clean and no lube of any kind!


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## john.oliver35 (Nov 12, 2022)

What is safe to use as a cleaner?  Can you only clean dry, or can one use acetone or other solvent if enough time is provided for it to completely flash off?


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## cathead (Nov 12, 2022)

It looks perfectly clean in there so may not clean at all.  If I were to wipe it out with some kind of solvent, it would
likely be ,lacquer thinner .  It evaporates quickly so wouldn't be a hazard.


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## Firstram (Nov 12, 2022)

I think acetone would be your best bet since that’s what’s used to clean parts before tig welding (no residue).


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## RJSakowski (Nov 12, 2022)

Acetone would be better than lacquer thinner.  It has a lower boiling point.  Lacquer thinner is a mixture of a number of different compounds, some of which may have an elevated boiling point.  A safer cleaner would be a non flammable compound like trichloroethane. 

With the regulator disassembled, I would just blow it out with compressed air (oil free) to dislodge the offending dirt.


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## cathead (Nov 12, 2022)

There isn't much point in splitting hairs as far as a solvents go but the best of all stuff to clean the regulator would
be carbon tetrachloride because it is an excellent cleaner and non combustible as well.  There is no dirt, grime, or oxidation
in it so probably will just reassemble it as is.


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## C-Bag (Nov 12, 2022)

RJSakowski said:


> With the regulator disassembled, I would just blow it out with compressed air (oil free) to dislodge the offending dirt.


That’s what I did as it was spotless inside. I felt like anything I would have done would have contaminated it. Proof is the puddin‘ as it’s still working great 4yrs later.


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## cathead (Nov 17, 2022)

It's back together and working fine.  On close inspection, the little brass piece with the stainless pin has
a seal on it and the old one looked bad in comparison.  I replaced all the parts in the kit and saved the old parts as 
the diaphragm, washer and gasket looked OK yet.


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