Exploding C02 bubble counter

[toolkit]

Hi,

Just thought I share with everyone what happen yesterday. Just refilled
my C02 and was going through the motion of opening/adjusting the
main and needle valve when this happened:


20160421_210426b.jpg


20160421_210815b.jpg

I was a bit shocked, it sounded like the a overinflated bicycle tire inner-tube
exploding. The shard flew out of the cabinet and landed about 20cm away.
I have always wanted to remove this counter as there was very little water inside making
bubble counting impossible.

Later I disconnected the C02 bubble counter tube and connected it directly
to the CO2 diffuser (has bubble counter).

20160421_210439b.jpg


Has this happened to anyone? Are there any steps to prevent it
from happening again?

[Urban Aquaria]

Luckly you didn't get injured by the broken shard.

I encountered something similar, but it was because i tightened the bubble counter cap too tightly and it cracked the plastic, and started to leak gas when in operation.

Most likely your plastic bubble counter had a hairline crack or stress line which burst under the gas pressure.

I guess next time just have to check the bubble counter for any possible cracks or weak points before re-pressurising it. Also have to open and adjust the needle valve very slowly to gradually increase the pressure (rather than a sudden spike in pressure). Those steps should help minimize such issues.

[toolkit]

Thanks UA for the tips. I must admit that I am a caveman when it comes
to handling the needle valve . Next time will follow the points you
mentioned.

[Zep]

It happened to me too. The same bubble counter exploded. Luckily I was not around at the time.

For me it happened because I changed from a normal glass cup diffuser to an atomizer which creates much finer bubbles. The pressure generated by the atomizer is probably too high for the plastic counter that's why it just exploded.

I changed to a more robust (means more expensive ) counter and it's so far so good.