Your opinion of refilling vs. swapping

So I am getting my kegerator kit with a brand new co2 tank on wednesday and I thought my local welding supply refilled it, but they swap. $16 and change for a 5# tank. I am however able to get it refilled elsewhere a bit further away for just over $20. Would it be that much better to spend the few extra bucks to just get it refilled rather than swap?

If you paid for a brand new tank, I'd go for the refill. It's likely that the one you get on the exchange wont be nearly as nice and shiny and new as the one you trade in.

Try searching for a Carbonic service shop near you. Theres one up here that refills my tank, they also do tanks for restaurants and bars, as well as refill scuba tanks and that sort of thing. I think it's $14 for a 10lb tank.

I supposedly 'leased' my CO2 tank by paying the full tank price as a deposit. Then they just swap the tank, so you don't have to wait on a fill or worry about re-cert testing every 5 years.

Of course then they say after a year "no, you own the tank" but they still only swap it.

I finally got my 5lb swapped to an aluminum tank, and now I refill it at the fire extinguisher store instead of the welding swap shop. Of course the cert was expired so I paid the $25 for 5 more years and I'll be damned if I swap it!

If I can get my 10lb swapped for aluminum, I'll be set.

I also bought my tank new - 20 lb aluminum. I have the same option as the OP - swap, or refill for a few extra $.

Refill, man. But that's just, like, my opinion, man...

Sent from Spreadhead's iPhone.

I refilled until the 5 yr hydro came around, now I swap... The tanks that I have swapped have been nearly as nice as my original new one... I'm going to get a beer mix tank tomorrow and I will only swap that one. The newness of it will wear off eventually...

No one sees my tank but me. I swap. $12 for 20#

I refill 5# at fire exstiguisher place for $15 if u have a new aluminum tank i say refill for extra $

I swap no waiting overnight for fill and do not have to worry about recertification

Well I am in California where everything is ~30% more costly on principal. The large air company out here recommended me call a company that they do bulk co2 sales to. That's where I got my lowest price. I'll see if I can find anything on google for local carbonic services.

I like my shiny aluminum tank much more than the rusty steel tanks they use for swaps. Plus the Aluminum is much lighter. So I am for filling, all the way!

I refill because I have a nice 20lb Aluminum tank. Just had to have it Hydroed though. Still walking funny after that.

I say if you keep your tank inside your fridge and it's going to get rusted up, then swap it out.

i like swapping my 20# for 16 bucks. instant gratification and a whole lotta kegging.

I bought a new tank since I couldn't find a used one around on Craigslist, etc. I then realized that nobody around me did refills. I (reluctantly) got it refilled and the tank I got back was basically the same new one I brought in. Just ask the guy if he can swap out for a good looking tank. In the end, my tank is hidden away in the fridge and nobody sees it. I quickly got over the fact of having to swap and now enjoy the quickness, ease, and thrift of swapping.

Yo timbudtwo. Where do you get your tank filled or swapped? I'm in Dublin and just got my keg setup. I'm looking for a good priced place.

I refill but thats mostly because I have a leak somewhere in my 5lb setup, so I have been using my paintball setup in the meantime. Dicks refills 20 oz for 3 bucks. And they actually give you 20 ounces. I have had the hardest time getting my local distributors to be able to fill an entire 5 lbs, I always ended up with 2 lbs. When I call them out on it, they act like I am trying to cheat THEM, not the other way around. They say that the tank can only take a certain amount of pressure, and sometimes it doesnt get to 5 lbs (bullsh*t). So I take my business to Dicks.

It was very difficult for me to take my shiny new 5# tank in and swap it for a rugged looking 5# tank. I know the guy at the place and he even was sad for me, but they only swap, not fill and I was impatient. Everywhere that filled was closed on Saturday (which is when my kit came in) so I opted to swap.

Looking back, I don't actually care. If I had a 20lb tank sitting outside of my fridge, I might care (or I might just build a nice looking box to conceal it), but as it stands I can barely see the regulator on my tank, let alone the tank itself. If I get all 5 kegs in the fridge, I'd actually have to remove one to see the tank at all. So.... I don't really care. It was sad turning in the shiny new tank, but I'm pretty sure it'd only have mattered for the first few photos I took of my setup.

GAH. I found some place that refills 5# tanks for 16 bucks but they are 35 miles away. Won't save anything because of fuel costs.

Garbage

yeah, I'm no help either Tim.. the place I go to is near the San Jose airport, they refill while you wait - usually takes less than 5 minutes. So it's all the convenience of swapping plus the benefit of keeping your own tank.

I swap mine out. Easier, cheaper and I don't have to worry about getting the tank hydro tested.

bruin_ale said:

yeah, I'm no help either Tim.. the place I go to is near the San Jose airport, they refill while you wait - usually takes less than 5 minutes. So it's all the convenience of swapping plus the benefit of keeping your own tank.

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That was the place I found... Cry... I'm in San Ramon so i'm screwed.

konrad said:

I swap mine out. Easier, cheaper and I don't have to worry about getting the tank hydro tested.

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I will probably do that once I have to get it tested!

I usually have to travel to refill so swap when I can but if all the LHBS has is rusty old ones, I don't swap but they generally have ones as nice as mine to swap so that's what I do.

I swap because it's faster, cheaper, and I don't have to worry about hydro certs. I tell the guys at the welding shop that it's for beer and ask nicely for a clean aluminum tank. Some of them have had a little paint on them, but they've all been pretty nice looking, and much better than the rusty steel tank I started with.

When I went to have my 5# tank refilled, the guy at Airgas said they wouldn't do it, and that they would only swap, because it takes more CO2 than that just to fill the filling line, and it isn't worth it for them to do small tanks like that, unless someone else s having a bigger tank filled. If you have a bigger tank, it isn't a big deal, but 5# tanks are usually worth the swap unless you have a shiny aluminum one

I swap at Airgas and have always received a nice shiny aluminum one in return, i don't see the tank sitting in the fridge anyway, just to easy to swap.

This was one of those things I didn't think about before buying my kegerator kit, which included a shiny new aluminum tank. First time I went to Airgas to get some more CO2, I ended up with a dingy used one...oh well.

If doing it again I wouldn't bother buying a new tank, I'd just go to the welding shop for a used one to begin with. Swapping seems much quicker & easier than refilling.

The airgas swapped my shiny but empty Catalina tank for a filled one. I said awesome! Went back later to get a back up. Got a dingy aluminum tank. No biggie though. however, if you do get a tank from a welding supply place the generally are more cause you need to pay for certs and hazmat fees. 5lb tank was something like $75 plus cost of CO2.

The welding shop here in NYC drooled when I took in my 5# aluminum. "We only swap. And we only have steel"

I kept my 5#. I do swap out my 10# though. I ask the dock guy to give me the best looking one he's got because it's for beer. Usually I get a pretty good one.

B

I work with ultra high purity CO2, (usually require bottle certs for commissioning machine). Medical grade can be as low as 99.5 %(ie: 2.5) I use/need 4.8 (ie:99.998% pure yes it matters a LOT) Food grade falls in the 99.5 range, but the diff is the amount of 'other stuff' (as a comparison a 50lb tank of 4.8 is going for about $500 from AirGas 2.5 medical for $170)

That other stuff really comes from the bottle its going into (and delivery plumbing). All bottles are filled from the same source (though that tank may not be 100% pure)

If you can get a bottle that was used for the batch certs, and can verify the bottle serial number to the cert then all is good. Bottles are tested every 10 years or so. You will see the dates stamped in. if ya can get the newest bottle in the bunch.

But like said prior, if you bought a new tank, get it refilled.