medical oxygen tank

AussieBrewerInColorado · 01-20-2012, 02:39 AM

So i bought this tank off craigslist thinking I would be able to use it like my other c02 tanks. But it has a different valve. With a quick search on here, i've read they're hard to get filled. I'm wondering if there is a way to either change out that valve to your typical industrial c02 type valve or successfully get filled without a prescription? Even if I am able to get it filled would these valves work for carbing? hose valve size looks smaller. Perhaps use to aerate wort, etc.?

Maybe wasn't such a good buy.

Anybody know anything about these? Cheers.

**Golddiggie** · 01-20-2012, 02:44 AM

You don't use an O2 cylinder with CO2... Also, to get a MEDICAL O2 tank filled you'll need to have a Rx for medical O2. You MIGHT be able to exchange the tank at a welding/gas supply place for one that uses standard regulator connections.

I'm using 20 cubic foot O2 (welding) tanks with O2 regulators with flow meters to oxygenate my wort and must. The regulators are not difficult to locate for pretty cheap money (under $30 is easy). A filled 20 cubic foot O2 cylinder should run you about $100. You'll get a LOT of batches from it. Depending on how much you brew, you might need to get it filled every year, or three.

**Brew-medic** · 01-20-2012, 11:37 AM

Not to mention, that the two pins are spaced a distance apart that is for oxygen, notrogen will be a different difference, or a little they might only have one.

Now being in the medical world, to aerorate your wort, this is what you should be using, not the mechanism that you buy and get your bottles that are the size of blow torches because, this o2 is EXTREMELY highly regulated, and healthy. It will not contaminate what you have. The small bottles are not filled under sanitary conditions, and are not really $100 but maybe $30 or so.

What you got there is a D tank and to calculate the duration of the flow you use the formula (never let it fall below 300 - 500, as it will allow for contaminants to enter the bottle. Bottles are normally filled to 2000 psi, and never ever never ever use a petrolium based lubricant near or on the o ring... fire triangle heat, oxygen, and fuel.... If that baby is on an there is enough heat, look on ebay for new eyebrows.)

Here is the formula...

duration of flow in minutes = (gauge pressure - safe residual pressure) x constant
__________________________________________
flow rate in liters per minute
constants:
D cylinder 0.16
E cylinder 0.28
M cylinder 1.56
H cylinder 3.14

So for example you run the regulator in your batch to aerorate your batch, and at 10 psi, which is PLENTY enough

you should get

(2 000 - 500) x 0.16 = 240
then 240 / 10 = 24.

So you should get 24 min. But 10 lpm is PLENTY, when we have a patient on the stretcher unless they are not breath well they are usually at 4-6

**spearko520** · 01-20-2012, 11:52 AM

Brew Medic - i can't back this with research, but somewhere i heard that medgas is too pure for oxygenating wort. I found it odd, because i thought we were dealing with a chemical process (i guess really sometimes the surface biology isn;t a direct reflection of the underlying chemical process)- but i did hear or read that. Maybe someone can back me on this. As for using weld gases, i crank my reg down to less than 1 PSI and ajdelange told me a neat trick (using water displacement and a stopwatch) to determine my actual flow with my reg cracked. http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f128/flow-rate-o2-293744/ . The high side of the reg does have the bottle pressure behind it, and went you shut the stop valve on the tank, when the reg dumps it comes out a little faster, but i just pull my stone before i shut it off. Aussiebrewerincolorado- i trade up tanks at the dock all the time- different sizes, types etc. I have traded acetylene b tanks for oxy and co2, argon etc. the only tanks they seem to be weird with are the liquid CO2 (the ones with the diptubes in them for pipe freezing). I bet you could trade that medgas for whatever you wanted. But then you're stuck with the regulator...

AussieBrewerInColorado · 01-20-2012, 12:19 PM

Thanks for the feedback guys. Will try to trade this out to anybody willing. Cheers.