Craiglist score and Noob keg question!?

Ok pictures are quite big.. I apologize.

This cost me 60$(2 tanks plus regulator)... it was a nice find.. but I have some questions...

What size would you say these tanks are.. the fat guy from my experience is a 20lb tank and it is very heavy so Id say it is full.. The thin guy is either 10-15lb maybe? much lighter and will prob need to be filled/exchanged before I even use it.. The last hydrotest/fill on these was performed almost 15 years ago but these tanks seem to be in impressive condition for there age.. Should I worry about the age of these tank and or the filling/testing of them? I manage a store that uses 20 lb co2 tanks for soda dispensing so I have some experience with the procedure but my knowledge is not very much however, my best bet may be to call my current syrup/co2 supplier and see if they will exchange the almost empty tank...

Also, the regulator is old.. but for the extra 10$ I was not going to say no... The high pressure gauge is off by a small margin and doesn't work properly. The low pressure dispense gauge is 0-300 and not ideal for a keg set up...
So should I just change both gauges or one and essentially have a perfectly operable regulator for half the price of new? or is this old thing not worth salvaging?

I have no clue if it has a check valve in it but there is an in-line ball valve attached to the line which may have a check valve though I have no idea how to tell and it looks rather old... All this considered.. am I better off just buying a new dual gauge, with a check valve? or save my money and buy a manifold?

I have the corny kegs, i have the disconnects,gas/liquid lines.. I am waiting on o rings and I should be ready to rock and roll..

My plan is to PBW the kegs, the posts, the poppets, diptubes and anything else.. Starsan.. fill and use...

As far as I understand.. All I have to do is rack to keg, hook up gas, seal lid, pressure to 12 psi, purge, sit keg in refridgerator(off gas?!?! ) to age and clear, wait a few weeks for conditioning and enjoy...
So can I essentially charge keg to 12 PSI, purge o2, assure a seal, disconnect from gas and let sit???.. or do I have to maintain the co2 connection with a constant 12 psi charge?!


For anyone who took the time to read this, I thank you very much.. Any help, advice, tips, is much appreciated... any links to sites with inexpensive replacement parts would be awesome.... most sites seems to be the same w/ shipping factored in though...Ive read about kegging and the works and I will continue to educate myself in the meantime... thanks again!

you must maintain the gas pressure. As the liquid cools gas is absorbed

also the high pressure gauge is useless and really tells you nothing. You can replace the low pressure gauge for cheaper than it would cost to replace the entire regulator

hmmmn i understand that but didn't take it into consideration.. so what if... i keg, charge at 12 psi at room temperature for a few days... will it eventually reach an equilibrium to where I can remove the gas and store the keg in the fridge to condition longer?? Im a bit confused by all this

SnickleFitsBrew said:

hmmmn i understand that but didn't take it into consideration.. so what if... i keg, charge at 12 psi at room temperature for a few days... will it eventually reach an equilibrium to where I can remove the gas and store the keg in the fridge to condition longer?? Im a bit confused by all this

Click to expand...

Yes, as long as you don't have any leaks.

SnickleFitsBrew said:

hmmmn i understand that but didn't take it into consideration.. so what if... i keg, charge at 12 psi at room temperature for a few days... will it eventually reach an equilibrium to where I can remove the gas and store the keg in the fridge to condition longer?? Im a bit confused by all this

Click to expand...

no you would need to "charge" at a higher psi depending on the temperature of the liquid. see the following table.
http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php
edit: you can cold condition and carbonate your beer at the same time.

SnickleFitsBrew said:

hmmmn i understand that but didn't take it into consideration.. so what if... i keg, charge at 12 psi at room temperature for a few days... will it eventually reach an equilibrium to where I can remove the gas and store the keg in the fridge to condition longer?? Im a bit confused by all this

Click to expand...

If you carb 12 PSI at room temperature, you are going to get about 1.45 volumes CO2 - likely significantly undercarbed unless you are doing certain English styles. Disconnecting the gas and cooling the beer will not yield any higher volumes of CO2. You need to either carb at a higher pressure at room temp (see a keg carbonation/pressure table) or leave the gas hooked up at fridge temp.

Edit: whoops, chemman beat me to it.