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.

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.

This is really a good quality regulator. Much better than what I had.

So far so good. Works great.

I will directly quote another review that explains exactly what happened to me right out of the box. Do yourself a favor and buy something made in the USA for a few bucks more. This thing has cost me more CO2 than what I paid for the regulator in the first 3 months. Honesty, if I could give this thing a negative star review, it would be a -10. Review: The line pressure on this regulator creeps while you are using it. But worse, every time you close and then open the tank valve, the pressure will be wildly different from the last time it was open. This means you have to adjust the pressure control, which is very tight and has no handle. Each time I use this, I have to adjust the pressure with a wrench. So that's a big design flaw - most regulators have a handle, knowing the pressure needs to be regularly adjusted to the line. Second, the emergency relief valve randomly engages at line pressures well within the line gauge limit. When opening the tank with the regulator at 45psi, you could either get: a) normal operation, b) random spitting of air out the release valve that sounds like machine gun fire, or c) total relief of the valve and hurricane force gas coming straight out of the side of the regulator. I can't find any reason for this and the only way to get around it seems to be turning the pressure valve way down to a minimum after every single use and then turning it up to operational pressure during each use. ALL WITH A WRENCH, because of the lack of a decent handle. This product is terrible, just awful. 110% Horrible.

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!

It works OK up to about 50psi. Past that the pressure relief valve is very inconsistent and finicky. The knob is difficult to turn but manageable with a wrench.