I've been getting allot of personal messages with regard to CO2 gear. I'll try an thoroughly address them one at a time, when I do have the time. I would however encourage members to ask on the forum rather, so that others may learn from it and\or provide their input too. I don't have much time to do a whole write up at this point, so I'll just post up some photos and answer question where or when I can. This is one of my oldest still running solenoids, going on six years where others have failed after only two or less. An ACL 12Volt DC low 2watt (cool running) solenoid with good on\off life cycle is what sets it apart from your average (with exception of one or two) ebay or general cheapie. There are much better solenoids out there on the market, but they also come with a heavy price TAG and are not locally available. Another locally available favourite is Burkert. Check some of my older post on it. I'm using this solenoid as example as I did not know of or how to do maintenance on a solenoid back then, thus unknowingly letting it corrode away during six years of (AB)use. Admittedly at this point you'd want to replace parts or buy new as it is for the most part beyond maintenance. This particular solenoid has a circlip that slides off a little groove in armature up top. It may differ on yours. The armature pulls out with a little magnetic resistance, much the same as with a filters' impeller. In this macro shot it is quite evident that bits of corroded metal were being pushed passed the seal ring. While I never bothered to try and open check valves, I suspect this to be the reason they all started failing so soon. The seal ring in turn has also become hardened and discoloured, causing a slow CO2 leakage. This is something you don't pick up on easily, unless you do regular inspection, which admittedly is probably a wise thing to do. Judging on outer appearance alone, one would not suspect that the hose connectors and manifold would be so heavily corroded inside. So, how do you go about cleaning? Well, basically you'd want to bi-annually check for foreign body bits or corrosion and clean joints out with some isopropyl alcohol, replace hardened seals and most importantly, make sure that your check valve is still good. Now most hobby grade kit (and I'm generalizing the average kit commercially available through your LFS or online aquatic store) are what I'd consider "consumables". Generally they are not worth trying to fix. Most of the reg's are fixed body and the solenoid and joints are locked in place with thread locker, making it very difficult to remove. It's like most things these days that come with non-standard screws or permanently bonded so you can't try and fix it yourself, instead having to buy new when the old is broken.
Re: Solenoid maintenace Yup, there's not much to a solenoid. It's a simple piece of equipment really. I forgot to mention that before disassembly I generally give it a couple quick burst of CO2 by rapidly switching the solenoid on\off a couple times while obviously disconnected from line to diffuser.
