Dennerle CO2 check valve problems?

Delphinus · #1 11-06-2005, 11:56 PM

Does anyone use one of these? I think they're probably intended more for FW planted setups but I thought I'd try one on my calcium reactor.

Anyhow it appears blocked. With all my might I can't blow any air through it in either direction. Is there some kind of magical "CO2 only" properties to it (I doubt it but I thought I'd ask nonetheless). Or what kind of pressure does it need to open? I don't want to set my CO2 tank at anything higher than 15-20 psi.

The only documentation I can find online is this
http://dennerle.co.uk/Gebrauchsanlei..._Profi_500.pdf

Where I see it says something to the effect the operating pressure for the check valve is 36 bar, well if 1 psi = 0.0689475729 bar, doesn't that mean it has to be run at .. um .. 522 psi ???

No, something's not adding up here. What am I overlooking?

Dabbler · #2 11-07-2005, 01:03 AM

14.508 psi= 1 bar

Delphinus · #3 11-07-2005, 04:13 AM

Same conversion rate, just different perspective... 1 / 14.508 = 0.0689

I gave up on the check valve, I can't get anything to go through it. I'll have to check with the vendor maybe to see if I got a bad one.

Dabbler · #4 11-07-2005, 04:18 AM

From the liture that was in the post it said...as far as I read it it is good for up to 35 Bar. So it can take the 522psi with out blowing up. The average person has a hard time blowing over 10psi, it just might be stuck and may need a little encourgment to move and once moving it will work fine. I have had this with a few check valves

Delphinus · #5 11-07-2005, 04:25 AM

Yeah I agree with your interpretation, but I couldn't see anywhere if there was a minimum pressure required. 522 psi is going to blow the reactor to smithereens, so that's kind of out.

At any rate I did try a couple different things but in the end it was a no go. I ended up using a $.50 air line check valve for now.

Thanks though..

Delphinus · #6 11-08-2005, 05:02 AM

Well for giggles I put it on my reactor anyhow tonight, because my cheap check valve was .. well .. cheap and jammed up anyhow.

Don't ask me to explain it but it works for CO2 ... I can't for the life of me push any air through it, but CO2 seems to pass through.

I guess it IS some kind of "magical" method for "CO2 only".

Thanks to Wendell for the kick in the rear end to TRY it before completely giving up on it.

PS. I still wonder how it knows CO2 isn't air??