Pressure gauge venting

[Mschmeh144]

Hello
Just a quick question here since its on my mind
On our 2013 bot, the pressure regulator will beging to "vent" or leak, not sure which, when we keep a dedicated supply hooked up to it ie a shop compressor. Is that normal? The holding pressure for both the tanks on the robot are 120psi and the regulator is set to 60 psi (probably need to up the psi because the piston is a bit weak). There isn't a leak anywhere and the shop compressor is set to put out 120psi through to the robot ( we hook it up through a quick disconnect system ) is there a problem with the regulator or somewhere else? This isn't urgent, the bot performs just fine, he has no onboard compressor. I just would like to figure out if there's a hidden problem I'm not seeing

[jijiglobe]

Our team broke a lot of regulators in 2013 when we had some newbies trying to figure out the lost art of pneumatics. You have to watch out for the recommended pressure rating of your regulators. Some of the recommended regulators for FRC can't withstand 120psi. These are intended to be low operating pressure regulators that you put downstream of an initial pressure regulator. Hope this helps

[feverittm]

Be careful here. Remember that the maximum working pressure is 60psi! This means you cannot set the main regulator for any pressure higher than that for competition. This is checked during inspection at your event. This happens along with the other pneumatics checks in the inspection including making sure the safety vent does indeed vent and hold the storage pressure at 120psi max.

The regulators that have a yellow ring around their control knob are the 'low pressure' regulators and are only meant to connect to the system after the main regulator, which would mean they would have a maximum of 60psi input pressure.

[FrankJ]

If you are leaking with the compressor hooked up or the pressure drop stops when you disconnect the compressor, You have a leak on the high pressure side. It might be you relief valve is set a little low. The best way to see that is by using soapy water. Be sure your pressure regulator is hooked up in the right direction. It has an arrow on it. Or you have leak in the connection to the compressor that goes away when it is removed.

Stating the obvious, you do know for competition you will need to use a legal compressor? The legal pressure switch will limit you to about 115PSI I know the rules say 120, but you cannot mess with the switch.

[Mschmeh144]

Originally Posted by FrankJ

If you are leaking with the compressor hooked up or the pressure drop stops when you disconnect the compressor, You have a leak on the high pressure side. It might be you relief valve is set a little low. The best way to see that is by using soapy water. Be sure your pressure regulator is hooked up in the right direction. It has an arrow on it. Or you have leak in the connection to the compressor that goes away when it is removed.

Stating the obvious, you do know for competition you will need to use a legal compressor? The legal pressure switch will limit you to about 115PSI I know the rules say 120, but you cannot mess with the switch.

This bot has been stripped of its pressure switch, relief valve, and possibly from what I've seen on this thread, it no longer has a main regulator. The rest are on the competition legal 2015 bot.

I'll need to check up on that to make sure the pneumatics are hooked up correctly.

[otherguy]

If you fill your tanks to 120, how low will the leak go?
Is the regulator plumbed backwards? There should be an arrow on it indicating the direction of flow (high to low). If its backwards it will blow off any pressure above what its set for.

If its a constant leak that drains the main tanks down to 0psi, get a piece of pneumatic tubing or rubber hose. Put one end up yo your ear and move the other end around all the fittings. You will be able to hear a loud hiss when you've found the leak. Make sure the area is quiet while you are doing this, and make sure the robot is disabled. You don't want someone changing the position of a valve while you haveathe hose near it...

[Mschmeh144]

Originally Posted by otherguy

If you fill your tanks to 120, how low will the leak go?
Is the regulator plumbed backwards? There should be an arrow on it indicating the direction of flow (high to low). If its backwards it will blow off any pressure above what its set for.

If its a constant leak that drains the main tanks down to 0psi, get a piece of pneumatic tubing or rubber hose. Put one end up yo your ear and move the other end around all the fittings. You will be able to hear a loud hiss when you've found the leak. Make sure the area is quiet while you are doing this, and make sure the robot is disabled. You don't want someone changing the position of a valve while you haveathe hose near it...

The pressure will read a steady 60 on the gauge, and the system holds the 120 psi. It will not hold the pressure when the shop compressor is hooked into the system, the gauge begins venting off pressure. It might be plumbed backwards, but I can't check until tomorrow because the schedule this week is kinda screwed up.