3D printed DIY handle and stand for Acecare 9L CF tank

[BlackICE]

This turned out well for the 1st try. If I had to do it again I would shorten the handle's height and build in a hose retainer. I used 8 soft rubbery pads insets into the clamps to grip the tank (since PETG is slippery), brass threaded inserts and rubber feet on the bottom. The thing is solid, no movement when lifting or carrying the tank. The handle is some stainless steel tubing I saved over a decade ago when I sawed up an old gas grill.

BTW, the cheap made in China fill valve works OK for the price. No leaks. The downsides are the both gauges are too small and the readings are off. At a true 300 bar, the tank gauge reads 340 and fill gauge reads 310. Also the valve is like and on/off switch. Very hard or impossible to modulate the fill rate. Since I'm only filling guns that can go to 300 or more bar, not a big issue.

 

[Ignoto]

This turned out well for the 1st try. If I had to do it again I would shorten the handle's height and build in a hose retainer. I used 8 soft rubbery pads insets into the clamps to grip the tank (since PETG is slippery), brass threaded inserts and rubber feet on the bottom. The thing is solid, no movement when lifting or carrying the tank. The handle is some stainless steel tubing I saved over a decade ago when I sawed up an old gas grill.

BTW, the cheap made in China fill valve works OK for the price. No leaks. The downsides are the both gauges are too small and the readings are off. At a true 300 bar, the tank gauge reads 340 and fill gauge reads 310. Also the valve is like and on/off switch. Very hard or impossible to modulate the fill rate. Since I'm only filling guns that can go to 300 or more bar, not a big issue.

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Nice one! I have been postponing to make something like that for a while. Just keep delaying all the time. Didn't thought about a handle. Thank you

 

[BlackICE]

I didn't print the hose clamp along with the top portion of the hoops. But I just printed the clamp glued it on with super glue works just the same just not as nice as printing it all in one piece.

 

[Humdinger]

Nice work! You could check the thread pitch on those gauges and replace them with better quality larger gauges. I suspect the thread is M10*1 which is common on Chinese valves that have small gauges. If you check the website you ordered it from they should have that information on their ordering page.

 

[BlackICE]

I took the fill gauge off and it is 1/8 MNPT. I'm going to replaced it with another larger 2" gauge. Might not read any better since this one is only 10 bars off. But these small gauges are hard to read for geezers like me. Maybe in the future I may replace the tank gauge with the original fill gauge. I don't want to empty the tank for do it and sometimes it a PITA to get NPT threads to seal while having the gauges facing the right way. There isn't enough space for two 2" gauges.

 

[Humdinger]

I took the fill gauge off and it is 1/8 MNPT. I'm going to replaced it with another larger 2" gauge. Might not read any better since this one is only 10 bars off. But these small gauges are hard to read for geezers like me. Maybe in the future I may replace the tank gauge with the original fill gauge. I don't want to empty the tank for do it and sometimes it a PITA to get NPT threads to seal while having the gauges facing the right way. There isn't enough space for two 2" gauges.

I've never seen a gauge larger than 1.5" diameter that has 1/8 NPT thread. A 2" gauge will have 1/4 NPT threads. I'd recommend getting 1.5" gauges from Directmaterial.com in Houston. The smaller tank pressure gauge on my Brancato valve was junk and very inaccurate. I replaced it with one from Direct Materials that was a big improvement in accuracy and it's easier to read. The one I use is their PA158B-K05 and only cost $4.02.