Kegco KC LH-542 Premium Pro Series Dual Gauge Co2 Draft Beer Regulator, Chrome

I purchased this regulator to make carbonated water at home. We don't drink pop (soda for the non-midwesterners), nor beer. But my kids like H2O type water. So I use this to carbonate 2 liter pop bottles very inexpensively. The first one that I got had a bent faceplate on the low-pressure gauge. This prevented the needle from going any higher than about 30 psi. I carbonate at 40psi. So I took off the cover to that gauge and bent the metal faceplate backwards to clear the needle. It appears that the two little holes for the mounting screws were improperly located, making the faceplate higher than it should be. Then after 2 months, the pressure regulator part started not working correctly. It would keep rising pressure until the relief valve dumped pressure. I knew that this meant that it hit the limit of about 50 psi and then dumped. I emailed the company that sold the product, through the amazon contact seller link, and they apologized and sent out a replacement regulator. I received the replacement regulator within about a week, and this one seems to be working fine. Time will tell if it starts not regulating, but at least this faceplate is not bent and the needle works just fine. But for now, we love having very inexpensive carbonated water around. My estimate is upfront cost of the regulator, the hose, or the ball-lock connector, or the ball-lock 2-liter top, or the purchase of a CO2 tank (i bought a 20lb tank), totals to be about $175. This is compared to a soda stream at about $100. But with a 20-lb CO2 tank, people report they can fill somewhere between 1000 and 1500 2-liter pop bottles of water before having to recharge. Since a recharge is about $20, that brings cost per 2-liter bottle down to about $0.02 per 1.5-liters. Considering that 130-liters of sodastream charge runs about $60, that's about $0.50 per liter! Sure, mine doesn't look as pretty, and can't sit on a countertop, but it sits in our furnace room just fine. I fill about 4 2-liter bottles at a time and store them in the fridge.

My five-star recommendation comes with a caveat. I wish they would have gone more into detail about the locking control for pressure level in the tank. After installing the regulator I attempted to adjust the gas pressure to no avail. I had to look online for other people that were complaining or commenting on it to find out that the unit comes with the locking nut in the lock mode, which disallows you to adjust the gas pressure. Put it in the description so people don't have the same bad experience I had.

"Greatness", as they say, "often comes in unexpected forms". In this case, greatness comes in the form of a chrome-clad addition to your keg system. Meet the Kegco KC LH-542 Draft Beer Regulator: the James Bond of beer regulators. This baby doesn't just do its job; it performs a veritable ballet of beer regulation. It's like watching a maestro conduct a symphony, only instead of violins and cellos, we're talking gas flows and pressure adjustments. And let me tell you, it's music to my ears (and my taste buds). But, my dear reader, functionality isn't its only strength. This thing has style in buckets. With its chrome exterior, this regulator has more flash than a 70s disco and more polish than a royal guard's boot. It's so good-looking, it might just steal the limelight from your newly upgraded keg system. In a world full of beer regulation mediocrity, the Kegco KC LH-542 Draft Beer Regulator stands tall. So, why settle for less? With this maestro at the helm, you can sit back, relax, and enjoy your perfectly poured pint. Five stars? You bet your beer-loving bottom it deserves them!

I have no practical experience with this kind of equipment but it seems to work just fine and be of a decent quality. When it arrived the barb had pierced the box but there was no damage. It was packaged well enough that I'm not sure why it had poked the box. It came with two washers and,, though it took a minute, i think I like the pressure knob. The build seems sturdy ------ The regulator stopped working after first use, past return date. ------ Ok, here it is, I replaced the low pressure gauge and it seems to work fine with one caveat every time you change the bottle and the very first time you install it, you need to start at 0 and dial up slowly. Otherwise the pressure just keeps rising until it releases. The low pressure gauge broke partially from me not realizing what was going on quick enough and the regulator seems to work fine if you know how to baby it...that's why it gets a two and not a one. --------- Stopped working completely, gets a one.

The valves work as expected, but the gauges are light weight which makes me worry about the long term durability of the product. It seem to be doing the job, the out pressure is reduced and controlled by the valve, but varying the pressure does require a wrench and is not as easy as it could be. The adjustment knob seems a little light duty as well, not sure how many times I would want to risk readjusting the pressure. It's an OK unit, I'm not sure if it is fair to expect something more robust at this price?

I will preface my write up by saying that I am not a beer brewer, so please consider my use is simply carbonating water for use in home bottled soda. I was a soda stream user for a long time and between price hikes and product changes I decided to go another way. Now I purchase either coke bag in box or similar "off brand" Bib syrups from local distributors. I use this with a 5 pound mini tank in my garage and almost exclusively carbonate water. In the last 5 months I've carbonated at least 200 1 liter bottles of water without issue. I have noticed that the emergency release vale can be a little sensitive, i.e. if I bump the tank or tug the line a bit too much while agitating my 1 liter I have a time or two caused the valve to pop. It's a simple quick fix of pushing it back in and I guess realistically I would rather it be too sensitive then fail to function in a failure situation. Other folks have commented about the cheap quality, I honestly don't feel it has a cheap feel but I wonder if folks aren't comparing this to more high end beer brewing equipment... In context that would be like saying a Kia (or even a Honda) is "cheap" because it's not as nice as a Bugatti. As an entry level gauge this thing has performed for me just fine, my unit did not come with any shipping damage and has functioned great for my purpose of carbonating water to be used with soda syrups.

update: I take it all back! The Beverage Factory dealt with my concerns very quickly, correctly assessed the situation as a manufacturer's defect and shipped me a new (functioning) one, no problem! Absolutely top-notch customer service experience! -- old review, please take with a grain of salt After nine months of very light usage for carbonating water, this cheapo regulator has died. Now, high pressure goes straight through to the low-pressure side, thus blasting CO2 out the blow-off valve continuously. I assure you, dear reader, that I did nothing to bring upon this fate other than pressurize a few liters of water a week. I wasn't even halfway through my first 10 lb cylinder of CO2. I work with pressurized gases and have lots of experience with regulators. I can safely say this is a low-quality regulator that isn't worth it's (admittedly) low price.

After reading some of the reviews, I was concerned about this regulator dumping all the CO2 out of my brand new tank, so I checked all of the fittings before I fired it up. there were a couple connections that were not even hand tight. I would recommend taking every fitting off one by one and putting them back together with some sort of thread sealant. There was some sealant on the threads when I disassembled it, but I'm not sure I would trust it. On my unit there was also a small screw in fitting in the inlet that was loose causing the connection to the tank to leak. It look like it just holds the washer and "screen" in place, and screwing it in with my thumb did the trick. I appreciate the ability to adjust the pressure by hand, but I have found the dial on this unit to hard to adjust. It is difficult to turn, and I haven't nailed down how to get the pressure to stay where I want it yet. To be fair, I am new to CO2, and I have only had one day to try and dial this in. All in all, this is a cheap regulator, but it should be serviceable. I'll update if I have any problems. So far I don't see anything that would prevent me from buying this again.

Muy buen producto y bien empacado lo q se anuncia es lo q llega.

I used the regulator with a 5 lb CO2 tank for a home made kegerator. Worked fine. I had 200 feet of 3/16 flexible line running through ice water and had to use 40lbs of pressure to push the beer without any foam and it worked great.

Great product and solid fittings

llego a tiempo , buena información , buen empaquetado y buena calidad era justo lo que esperaba y apesar de ser importado llego en el tiempo establecido

Flawless performance after a months use. It is a tad difficult to make fine increases to the pressure dial when its under pressure. No problem to adjust when it isn’t, but of course then you dont get a reading on the gauge. Very minor complaint, and love it so far