CO2 tank in Fridge: Pressure reading

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Dave46382

Dave46382

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Just got my 20 pound CO2 tank filled. Made note of the position of the regulator gauge that 'supposedly' tells me how full my tank is.

Would taking the CO2 tank from room temp to 35-38 degrees F cause the gauge to read lower?

I have been on the hunt for a leak and can't find one. But the gauge looks like it's dropped since I put it in the fridge last night.
 
the easy way to determine if you have a slow leak is to remove gas in QCs from the kegs, pressureize the system the turn off the gas at the tank. Periodically note the pressures of you gauges. with nowhere to go the pressure readings should not change over any amount of time. if the pressure drops it time to locate the leak. soapy water, strong starsan solution, or commercialy available leak detection sprays will find it. I prefer star san because you don't need to worry about cleaning the residue off as much as the other choices.
 
yes pressure will drop with tempurature....it`s normal...inversely if the bottle was at 100 deg.f the pressure would increase.I keep mine out of the fridge and drilled holes in the side for the lines to save space.Someone told me once that keeping the regulator in the cold was not good for it....but I don`t know if there`s any truth to that....I just erred on the side of caution cause I want my regulator to last as long as possible.:mug:
 
Pressure in the tank will indicate lower as the temperature of the tank drops. Mine usually read around 600 PSI at room temp and maybe a little over 400 in the keezer. It's nothing to worry about, and the same volume of gas is in the bottle. 450 PSI is still far more than the 10-14 you'll use to serve, and it'll last just as long as a tank at room temp.

RDWHAHB :mug:
 
my tank is reading is 750 at room temp and now its right on the line between red and white which is 400 at 40 degrees F on my regulator. Its a 5lb tank. Should I be looking for leaks or just keep an eye on it?

BTW, this is my first kegged batch thanks for any help and thank you HBT.
 
beerthirty said:
the easy way to determine if you have a slow leak is to remove gas in QCs from the kegs, pressureize the system the turn off the gas at the tank. Periodically note the pressures of you gauges. with nowhere to go the pressure readings should not change over any amount of time. if the pressure drops it time to locate the leak. soapy water, strong starsan solution, or commercialy available leak detection sprays will find it. I prefer star san because you don't need to worry about cleaning the residue off as much as the other choices.
Click to expand...

That is what I do. I unscrew the co2's know so none of the kids fool with it, but I keep the gauge "charged" to see if there are any leaks while I store the tanks.
 
Why would you remove the QDs from the kegs? Wouldn't you want to know if the kegs have leaks? That's almost always where my leaks are.
 
I started to post my patented response to the pressure/temp question that comes up every once and a while, then I noticed this thread was 2 years old!

Here it is for your viewing pleasure anyway, LOL!

CO2 in a liquid/vapor state has a direct pressure/temperature relationship, as can be seen in the chart below. The pressure will stay the same, at a given temperature, until all the liquid has been vaporized. Once only vapor exists, the pressure in the tank will drop rapidly. The only way to know for sure how much liquid CO2 is left in the tank is to weigh the tank, and subtract the tare weight that's stamped on the side of the tank.


CO2_liquid_gas_chart.gif
 
My post, or at least the CO2 pressure/temperature chart I posted should be made a sticky.
 
I strongly believe that the regulators sold with a high pressure gauge at home brew hops should have them removed and replaced with a sealing nut. They are worthless for co2 and make people confused.

Regulators are sold univerally, so your regulator can be used on another tank of different gas. If it were, say, oxygen, it would read properly, but for c02 it's just useless.
 
I'm glad I searched for this. I just kegged my first batch today and had the same questions about the psi drop! Thank you!
 
I had the same question today - i just kegged my first batch and put the CO2 in the fridge and came back after a few hours and it was down to just above the "order gas" mark at 500PSI.

Glad I found this thread.

Has anyone decided if it was a bad idea to keep the regulator in the fridge?

Thanks everyone.
 
bctdi said:
yes pressure will drop with tempurature....it`s normal...inversely if the bottle was at 100 deg.f the pressure would increase.I keep mine out of the fridge and drilled holes in the side for the lines to save space.Someone told me once that keeping the regulator in the cold was not good for it....but I don`t know if there`s any truth to that....I just erred on the side of caution cause I want my regulator to last as long as possible.:mug:
Click to expand...

I know this is an old thread. But I recently started kegging and I wasn't sure whether to leave my CO2 tank and regulator inside the refrigerator as well. I have seen other threads saying that people had heard it was not good to leave the regulator in the fridge, but wasn't sure if it was true.

I talked to the guy where i get my CO2 from and he explained that when the regulator is in the fridge that condensation can form inside the regulator, thus ruining the diaphragm. He told me to not pull it straight out of the fridge and put it next to it. But that I should pull it out and stick it in the basement, then slowly move it to areas to bring up the temperature to mitigate condensation forming inside the regulator and ruining it.

Just wanted to pass on the information in case someone else like me is looking for an answer on why you shouldn't keep it in the fridge.
 
toledoBrewer said:
I know this is an old thread. But I recently started kegging and I wasn't sure whether to leave my CO2 tank and regulator inside the refrigerator as well. I have seen other threads saying that people had heard it was not good to leave the regulator in the fridge, but wasn't sure if it was true.

I talked to the guy where i get my CO2 from and he explained that when the regulator is in the fridge that condensation can form inside the regulator, thus ruining the diaphragm. He told me to not pull it straight out of the fridge and put it next to it. But that I should pull it out and stick it in the basement, then slowly move it to areas to bring up the temperature to mitigate condensation forming inside the regulator and ruining it.

Just wanted to pass on the information in case someone else like me is looking for an answer on why you shouldn't keep it in the fridge.
Click to expand...

Fwiw, I've had my tanks and regulators (Micromatics) in my keg fridge for going on 8 years now without any issues. I take them from fridge temp to room temp and back again quite often when switching kegs, cleaning lines, etc. I'd be interested to know how condensation could possibly damage the elastomer that the diaphragms are made of. I take apart my regulators yearly to inspect them, and I've yet to find anything wrong with them internally. One thing I know for sure is that the elastomer that the diaphragms are made of does respond more slowly to changes in output pressure when it's cold. I've learned over time how to compensate for that. I set the pressure slightly below my desired output pressure and the regulator will slowly "creep" up to my desired setting.
 

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