Regulator rebuild

[DaveO]

Some time back I picked up a gas welding set, and the seller told me the acetylene regulator was faulty. Sure enough I went to try it out and the regulator just blew gas out in a steady stream, as if it was coming straight out of the cylinder. Somebody here mentioned the availability of rebuild kits, so I thought I'd try it out, and found a rebuild kit for $23.

I'd seen this done often enough: I worked at a LWS back in the day, and watched / helped the apparatus repair technician every now and again. I started by making a jig to hold the regulator while spinning the front cap off: the base of the gauges, the hose connection, and the inlet tube provide the surface to torque against.

With the cap off I used acetone to clean the mating surfaces. From there it was really just a matter of using the parts in the rebuild kit to replace the original parts. One thing I hadn't seen before was the o-ring lube. Replaced the parts, spun the cap back on, and tried it out: the regulator is back to working as expected. Soapy fluid test shows no leaks- although I did find a small leak on the hose end. I'm planning to discard that hose anyway.

The supplier also has rebuild kits for cutting attachments: I'm not confident of the attachment I got in this sale, and I may give that rebuild a try too.