CO2 prices. Can this even be?

Before I ordered my initial kegging setup I called all over the place trying to find the best price on CO2, and also finding out if I could save money getting the tank locally instead of ordering a shiny new one. Nope, the shiny new one was cheaper, so I ordered it. After placing the order I ran across a local homebrewer who told me about the place he gets his tanks filled. $15 to fill my 10# tank. Not too bad.

Fast forward to today. UPS had my order scheduled for today, so I put off my lunch break until the latest possible minute I could get away with, hauled ass home, and sat and waited until the last possible minute hoping that it would be delivered in time for me to stop on the way and get the CO2 filled. No such luck, they dropped it at my door 15 minutes after I left (of course).

A little later on in the afternoon when it looked like my day was going to slow down and I might be able to sneak away for a few minutes, I got on the phone with the fire extuingisher place and asked how much it would cost me to just buy a full 5# tank from them. The guy told me it would be 10 dollars!

10 bucks?!?!

I could have gotten 7 five pound tanks, all filled, for a total of 35 pounds of CO2 for the price I payed for this shiny aluminum 10 pounder? With a few bucks left over? I asked twice, he said that was to buy the tank. Not lease, not borrow, that was to *buy* the tank. Full.

Can that possibly be right?

And if so, what is the best venue to sell off this new tank?

(Holy crap I wish I'd known about that place before I placed my order, and not two days after....)

Common sense man. Guy probably though you wanted to fill a 5# tank. The metal itself is worth more than 10 bucks.

Marlowefire said:

Common sense man. Guy probably though you wanted to fill a 5# tank. The metal itself is worth more than 10 bucks.

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That's what I'm thinking, and why I asked over and over. His exact words were "Ten dollars, and yeah, we'll put 5 pounds in it for you."

I was crystal clear that I wanted to buy a *tank*. I even specifically asked if there was a difference in price whether I got it empty or full. He told me no, 10 bucks and they'll put 5# in it for me.

Believe me, I'm stopping there on my way to work tomorrow, and if they really will sell me full 5# co2 tanks for 10 bucks a pop, I'm going to drain my debit card snatching up as many as they'll let me have.

subliminalurge said:

That's what I'm thinking, and why I asked over and over. His exact words were "Ten dollars, and yeah, we'll put 5 pounds in it for you."

I was crystal clear that I wanted to buy a *tank*. I even specifically asked if there was a difference in price whether I got it empty or full. He told me no, 10 bucks and they'll put 5# in it for me.

Believe me, I'm stopping there on my way to work tomorrow, and if they really will sell me full 5# co2 tanks for 10 bucks a pop, I'm going to drain my debit card snatching up as many as they'll let me have.

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Your not really buying it, your renting it. Ya get a tank for the price of a refill, once its empty they know you will be back to refill it ( it will have company logo/info on the tank). They take down your info upon receipt in case ya dont bring the tank back after a certain amount of time. I used to work for airgas a while back, this is how it kinda worked...

poislb said:

Your not really buying it, your renting it. Ya get a tank for the price of a refill, once its empty they know you will be back to refill it ( it will have company logo/info on the tank). They take down your info upon receipt in case ya dont bring the tank back after a certain amount of time. I used to work for airgas a while back, this is how it kinda worked...

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That makes more sense, even though I said I wanted to *buy* a tank, and when he asked about payment method I said cash. In fact, he asked how I'd be paying before he gave me a price....

Either way, it sounds like a better deal than $75 for an empty 10lb tank.

Guess I'll see what I can actually walk out of the store with tomorrow morning.

the guy had breathed too much concentrated co2. there's no way. right now the tanks are going for around $60. when they ring it up, it won't be $10

subliminalurge said:

That makes more sense, even though I said I wanted to *buy* a tank, and when he asked about payment method I said cash. In fact, he asked how I'd be paying before he gave me a price....

Either way, it sounds like a better deal than $75 for an empty 10lb tank.

Guess I'll see what I can actually walk out of the store with tomorrow morning.

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He asked that cause they want a paper trail. Gases are used and abused for alot of stupid sh$% these days...

That's what I'm thinking too.

It sounds too good to be true.

From now on I'll ask these questions at the counter with a wad of cash in my pocket instead of over the phone. (It's a small, local place, so who knows? Strange things happen out here in the sticks....)

I'm stopping in there first thing in the morning. In fact, I've already texted my boss and told him I'd be running 20 minutes or so late. I'll report back with what I can actually walk out the door with.

I'm wondering if the "cash" thing means they'll give me a real good price on a tank that's not up-to-date... (Which I have no real problem with....)

subliminalurge said:

His exact words were "Ten dollars, and yeah, we'll put 5 pounds in it for you."
He told me no, 10 bucks and they'll put 5# in it for me.

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That is filling dude.

I'm definitely interested to hear how this turns out. Where are you located?

Be Warned: *CHECK THE HYDRO TEST EXPIRATION DATE*!!!

Well, as promised, here's the update.

The guy on the phone didn't know what he was talking about. I stopped in this morning and asked the guy at the counter. The don't even normally stock regular co2 tanks, but he offered to convert a fire extinguisher for me. Would be about $50. Disappointing, but that definitely sounds much more in line with reality.

That does sound about the right price for a 5# fill, but I'm not sure how there could have been any confusion. I was very clear that I did not have a tank, I needed to buy one, and I asked several times if that price was for a full tank, or if I would have to pay for the fill in addition to the tank. There really was no room for confusion in the conversation we had.

On the plus side, I got my 10# tank filled for $15 and was in and out of their parking lot in less than 5 minutes.

Now if I could just find a place to get fills later than 4:30 in the afternoon. Trying to squeeze it in first thing in the morning makes getting to work on time a little tricky.

subliminalurge said:

Well, as promised, here's the update.

The guy on the phone didn't know what he was talking about. I stopped in this morning and asked the guy at the counter. The don't even normally stock regular co2 tanks, but he offered to convert a fire extinguisher for me. Would be about $50. Disappointing, but that definitely sounds much more in line with reality.

That does sound about the right price for a 5# fill, but I'm not sure how there could have been any confusion. I was very clear that I did not have a tank, I needed to buy one, and I asked several times if that price was for a full tank, or if I would have to pay for the fill in addition to the tank. There really was no room for confusion in the conversation we had.

On the plus side, I got my 10# tank filled for $15 and was in and out of their parking lot in less than 5 minutes.

Now if I could just find a place to get fills later than 4:30 in the afternoon. Trying to squeeze it in first thing in the morning makes getting to work on time a little tricky.

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Sorry man. 50 for a tank isn't too bad but I'd rather spend the extra ten just to know it wasn't converted. Some places will fill and let you pick it up next day so you don't have to inconvenience yourself.

Marlowefire said:

Sorry man. 50 for a tank isn't too bad but I'd rather spend the extra ten just to know it wasn't converted. Some places will fill and let you pick it up next day so you don't have to inconvenience yourself.

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Yeah, $50 isn't bad, but I agree, I can just get an actual co2 tank for that. Although, he said he could convert almost any size extingquisher, so if I decide I want something small and portable I might give that idea some thought. (Although in that case it might be cheaper to just go with a paintball tank and the adapter. Then again, the only times I can really envision hauling kegged beer somewhere would be large gatherings, large enough where it might be worth it to just load up the entire setup as-is....)

Mostly I just want a spare because I know myself. I can very easily picture the day when I'm trying to pour a beer into a pint glass straight from the corny because I wasn't paying attention and ran out of co2....