Pro/Cons of removing regulator on FB

[Rfreeman]

I have a coleman super saver and removed the regulator on the foam brush product side. You more experienced guys what are the pros and cons of this? I adjust the pressure at the pump.

Reason I did this I changed the regulator 3 weeks ago and it failed within a week. Of course it happened on a Sat so I just said screw it let's remove it to get me up and going. Been running like this for 2 weeks now no problems that I can see....

 

[Blanco]

There are no pros. The regulator is there so you can control the flow for the amount of product. Without one you will be wasting chemical and won’t be able to dial in a good product/air ratio. I’m not sure how you adjusted it at the pump. You should have an electric motor with a pro con pump. Those are not adjustable, which is why they put in the regulator. The fact that one failed within a week is strange. When you say failed, I’m assuming you mean it starts leaking? Did you put it on backwards? Those regulators like most are directional, meaning there is an inlet and an outlet.

 

[Randy]

What kind of pump are you using? We use Flojet pumps and don't use a regulator on the discharge side of the pump because your incoming air pressure dictates your product pressure.

 

[Ryancross11]

You shouldn’t need another one after the pump

 

[Rfreeman]

There are no pros. The regulator is there so you can control the flow for the amount of product. Without one you will be wasting chemical and won’t be able to dial in a good product/air ratio. I’m not sure how you adjusted it at the pump. You should have an electric motor with a pro con pump. Those are not adjustable, which is why they put in the regulator. The fact that one failed within a week is strange. When you say failed, I’m assuming you mean it starts leaking? Did you put it on backwards? Those regulators like most are directional, meaning there is an inlet and an outlet.

Nope I installed it correctly I've installed these before at my other 2 washes so double checked that. It was leaking and would allow product through. I turned it to adjust reinstalled nothing...so just went straight into the manifold.

On the proton pump I believe it's a relief valve port but not sure....it has a hex cap in it. I thought it was for adjustments. I took the hex cap off and it had a threaded screw there....I tightened and loosened it and it adjust the pressure at the gage so I used that.

I have dialed in at 50 psi product and 35 psi air foam brush is coming out great. So I said let's run with it.

 

[Blanco]

On the proton pump I believe it's a relief valve port but not sure....it has a hex cap in it. I thought it was for adjustments. I took the hex cap off and it had a threaded screw there....I tightened and loosened it and it adjust the pressure at the gage so I used that.

I have dialed in at 50 psi product and 35 psi air foam brush is coming out great. So I said let's run with it.

Interesting. I’ve never noticed that. I’ve changed quite a few of them too. If you got it dialed in how you like it then I don’t see a need for that regulator since you can adjust it at the pump.

 

[Rfreeman]

What kind of pump are you using? We use Flojet pumps and don't use a regulator on the discharge side of the pump because your incoming air pressure dictates your product pressure.

Clamp on procon pump. I had flojets at one wash and had bad experiences with them so I decided to stick with electric motor and clamp on pumps

 

[Rfreeman]

You shouldn’t need another one after the pump

Are you running without one?

 

[MEP001]

I always remove the regulator on a Coleman system when it fails. The Procon has an internal popoff that they say should not be used as a regulator, but without a bypass regulator on the output the internal one is always working anyway. When you remove the one on the manifold, you just use the internal one to adjust the pressure. FWIW I prefer to use a bypass regulator, which you can either return to the pump inlet or back to the tank. In my experience, the pump lasts about the same time no matter what.

 

[Rfreeman]

I always remove the regulator on a Coleman system when it fails. The Procon has an internal popoff that they say should not be used as a regulator, but without a bypass regulator on the output the internal one is always working anyway. When you remove the one on the manifold, you just use the internal one to adjust the pressure. FWIW I prefer to use a bypass regulator, which you can either return to the pump inlet or back to the tank. In my experience, the pump lasts about the same time no matter what.

Have a picture you can post? I have an idea what this would look like but a pic would be great.

 

[MEP001]

I don't have one but I can take a picture of my spot free pump which is plumbed the same way.

 

[Randy]

This is how we install the Procon pumps for Foam brush and Presoak. We control the pump with a IDX MX-8.