Question Stationary Magnahelic Tester needed to service regs?

[NYCrecdiver]

Perhaps better to wait until you have an opportunity to determine if DIY service is for you. But if you become serious, you will own a magnahelic (which I know very well from personal experience!!).

Best

Yes. That makes sense. I hope to be able to service myself but of course one never knows. Will go easy on expenses at first.

 

[-JD-]

@NYCrecdiver you might want to reconsider:

$31, total BIN shipped from Massapequa, with case, stand, and tubing. Or make an offer

NEW DWYER MAGNEHELIC DIFFERENTIAL PRESSURE GAUGE 2002C 15 PSIG 0-2" INDICATOR. | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for NEW DWYER MAGNEHELIC DIFFERENTIAL PRESSURE GAUGE 2002C 15 PSIG 0-2" INDICATOR. at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

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Caveat, some prefer -3"_0_+3, or 0_+3" ranges. I'm never going to tune my regs above 2" - if cracking is past 2 it is getting "fixed", and exhaust is what it is - measuring is academic, so the +- version seems a waste to me. So I prefer the easier reading of the 0_2" range.

If you don't want it I may just get it for the shelf. If you do, you owe me a beer.

 

[NYCrecdiver]

@NYCrecdiver you might want to reconsider:

$31, total BIN shipped from Massapequa, with case, stand, and tubing. Or make an offer

NEW DWYER MAGNEHELIC DIFFERENTIAL PRESSURE GAUGE 2002C 15 PSIG 0-2" INDICATOR. | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for NEW DWYER MAGNEHELIC DIFFERENTIAL PRESSURE GAUGE 2002C 15 PSIG 0-2" INDICATOR. at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Caveat, some prefer -3"_0_+3, or 0_+3" ranges. I'm never going to tune my regs above 2" - if cracking is past 2 it is getting "fixed", and exhaust is what it is - measuring is academic, so the +- version seems a waste to me. So I prefer the easier reading of the 0_2" range.

If you don't want it I may just get it for the shelf. If you do, you owe me a beer.

Offer sent and accepted! Thanks for the tip @-JD- ! Now gotta see how to hook it up to a mouthpiece.

 

[-JD-]

Also, FWIW I was going to take the HOG course and go out to Jim Lapenta(one of the best HOG trainers/techs out there). Covid and life got seriously in the way. Now Jim is out of the game. I have no doubt that Jim's class would be a VERY solid learning experience - he is by all accounts an above and beyond instructor.

I'm guessing that DRIS's online HOG class will cover some theory, how to swap parts on HOGs and specific tuning/troubleshooting for HOG. You (should) get access to the manual - after the class.

I took Rob's (rsingler) reg class this fall and I can't recommend it enough. I got thorough theory, but more importantly, I learned (well, started) to think about reg behavior in light of that theory - implications for service practices and troubleshooting - on regs of many types. and TONS of skills/tricks on reg repair and tuning. If you can wait to get in his class, I think you will learn much more. You won't get a TDI specialty and Access to the official HOG manual, however.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Caveat, some prefer -3"_0_+3, or 0_+3" ranges. I'm never going to tune my regs above 2" - if cracking is past 2 it is getting "fixed", and exhaust is what it is - measuring is academic, so the +- version seems a waste to me. So I prefer the easier reading of the 0_2" range.

When I was in the market for a magnehelic, I wavered between seeking a 0-2 or 0-3 gauge. I decided on the latter, reasoning that most types of mechanical gauges read more accurately in the middle of their ranges than at the low end or high end. I have no idea if this is true for vacuum gauges--didn't bother to look it up.

 

[-JD-]

Offer sent and accepted! Thanks for the tip @-JD- ! Now gotta see how to hook it up to a mouthpiece.

The blue thing with the big latex tubing and blue hose attached - Cheap, quick, and dirty:

mostly Lowes/Home depot

• plastic 1" barb male to 3/4" pipe male fitting (blue thing)
• brass barb male (to fit your tubing) to 1/8" (IIRC) pipe male fitting
• 1"ish OD latex tubing (Amazon) - most expensive part.

drill plastic and thread the brass fitting in
cut and roll latex tubing onto pipe-thread end of the plastic

I wanted a round mouth end. I use it either in my mouth, or with a vacuum pump using the white stopper and hose.

 

[-JD-]

When I was in the market for a magnehelic, I wavered between seeking a 0-2 or 0-3 gauge. I decided on the latter, reasoning that most types of mechanical gauges read more accurately in the middle of their ranges than at the low end or high end. I have no idea if this is true for vacuum gauges--didn't bother to look it up.

My reasoning is more ease of reading when trying to watch/interpret IP and Mag pressures. Any extra accuracy would be lost to my inability to read it precisely.

ETA: I'm more likely to be tuning around 1.2" (or maybe <1" on SP D-series) so it is pretty close to half-scale.

 

[NYCrecdiver]

The blue thing with the big latex tubing and blue hose attached - Cheap, quick, and dirty:

mostly Lowes/Home depot

• plastic 1" barb male to 3/4" pipe male fitting (blue thing)
• brass barb male (to fit your tubing) to 1/8" (IIRC) pipe male fitting
• 1"ish OD latex tubing (Amazon) - most expensive part.

drill plastic and thread the brass fitting in
cut and roll latex tubing onto pipe-thread end of the plastic

I wanted a round mouth end. I use it either in my mouth, or with a vacuum pump using the white stopper and hose.

So the blue barbed end goes in the regulator's mouth piece?
It could also work w/o the latex piece right?

 

[-JD-]

Barbed end is for your mouth.
Latex goes over the threaded end. You need the latex to provide an airtight coupling between the reg and the test piece.

 

[Lorenzoid]

ETA: I'm more likely to be tuning around 1.2" (or maybe <1" on SP D-series) so it is pretty close to half-scale.

I figured 1.2-1.4 was about the range I would ever want to tune in, so I picked the 0-3 scale magnehelic over the 0-2 scale. But you're right, of course, that there's a tradeoff between scale and resolution.