Freezing CO2 tanks prior to filling.

im filling my new 5lb tank tomorrow for the first time. last time i was in the brew store and asked if they did it, the kid told me to chill/freeze the tank before hand. can't remember specifically.

its close to midnight now, if im going to get it filled tomorrow evening would it be overkill to put it in the freezer right now? should it just go in the fridge? is there a risk of over chilling and some how damaging the tank or seals by them over filling? should i store it in the freezer/fridge when i get home for any reason?

as always, ANY info as to getting new tanks filled will be greatly appreciated.

also will be kegging for this first time friday, im going to try the shaking/rolling method to get it ready for that night.

again, any helpful tips on this subject would be great too.

and sorry very the onslaught of questions, first time brewer here and im jumping straight into kegging because im a lazy a**hole who likes to spend money, so its hard to take all the info in at once.

I've never heard of chilling/freezing a tank. I wouldn't suggest it though.

I also wouldn't suggest shaking/rolling your keg to carbonate it. I can't stress this enough. Everyone on here has different opinions, but I am completely against this method of carbonation. The problem is...90% of the time, you'll end up with an overcarbonated, foamy keg. Even if by some chance you nail the carbonation on your first try, the beer will still be green.

I strongly recommend the "set it and forget it" method to all new keggers. It's easy, fail safe, and you don't have to mess with anything. It takes a bit of patience, but patience makes better beer. Set it and forget it means you set the psi to whatever temp your fridge is at. Usually this is between 10-15psi depending on the carbonation level you want. There's charts all over these forums to determine what psi you need. You just set it and forget about it for 2-3 weeks. The beer will be fully carbed in about 5-7 days, but the greeness will be gone after 2-3 weeks along with the carbonic acid (I think that's what it's called) that's produced by the co2.

Trust me on this one... you don't want to serve a foamy beer to your friends.

trufleshufle13 said:

im filling my new 5lb tank tomorrow for the first time. last time i was in the brew store and asked if they did it, the kid told me to chill/freeze the tank before hand. can't remember specifically.

its close to midnight now, if im going to get it filled tomorrow evening would it be overkill to put it in the freezer right now? should it just go in the fridge? is there a risk of over chilling and some how damaging the tank or seals by them over filling? should i store it in the freezer/fridge when i get home for any reason?

as always, ANY info as to getting new tanks filled will be greatly appreciated.

also will be kegging for this first time friday, im going to try the shaking/rolling method to get it ready for that night.

again, any helpful tips on this subject would be great too.

and sorry very the onslaught of questions, first time brewer here and im jumping straight into kegging because im a lazy a**hole who likes to spend money, so its hard to take all the info in at once.

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I have never heard about freezing or cooling co2 tanks. I don't think you really need to do that. Where I go they exchange them anyway. By the time you got to the filling station the tank would be up to air temp.

As for kegging, wait till you fill the tank first. After you fill the tank you are going to want to force out the air. Add about 20lbs then hit the relief valve four our five times for about a second each. also make sure its cold befor you shake it. the beer will absorb the co2 faster and better.

Good luck, I hope this helps.

I do agree with suthrncmfrt though. I like to set it and let it rest. I understand the want to get it going quick though. Like time frames that don't work out.

I think having the tank cold helps with the filling process. However, the place I have mine filled just blasts in a little CO2 and then releases it, that chills the thing right down and then they go ahead an fill it.

Shooter said:

I think having the tank cold helps with the filling process. However, the place I have mine filled just blasts in a little CO2 and then releases it, that chills the thing right down and then they go ahead an fill it.

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yep this is the deal and putting it in the freezer does nothing. When it is filled it should be filled a little then have the gas let out fast and it will flash freeze the bottle. CO2 on a "hot fill" you get less in the tank, on a cold fill it will be closer to all liquid (you get more.) I remember this from my paintball days. This really only applies to smaller tanks.

I believe that if you want to "top off" a partially filled tank, it should be below freezing. For an empty tank, they should be able to get it cold enough during the fill process.

Zamial said:

yep this is the deal and putting it in the freezer does nothing. When it is filled it should be filled a little then have the gas let out fast and it will flash freeze the bottle. CO2 on a "hot fill" you get less in the tank, on a cold fill it will be closer to all liquid (you get more.) I remember this from my paintball days. This really only applies to smaller tanks.

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It's easier to fill a cold tank than a hot tank. But in the end you still get the same amount of co2. They fill them by weight, not pressure

Freezing the C02 tank is only needed when you're filling from a larger container without the aid of a pump. Most C02 supply places will pump fill, which can be done to full weight at any temp.

Force carbing: I do it. 15 minutes at 30PSI, roll it around, shake it a bit. First few pulls are a bit foamy on the first day, by the second day (after pulling the pressure release a few times) it has settled in. No biggie. If you can wait, wait. If not, force.

Weigh your tank before and after getting it filled to see how well your supplier did. Same advice for propane tank refills. After telling the propane guy he did "pretty good getting 18.2 pounds in it last time", he now makes sure it gets exactly 20 pounds. Haven't got a co2 refill yet as my 20# has lasted 7 months so far.

Suthrncomfrt1884 said:

I also wouldn't suggest shaking/rolling your keg to carbonate it. I can't stress this enough. Everyone on here has different opinions, but I am completely against this method of carbonation. The problem is...90% of the time, you'll end up with an overcarbonated, foamy keg. Even if by some chance you nail the carbonation on your first try, the beer will still be green.

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I'm a set it and forget it guy because I don't like green beer, but I've never had a problem with foam from rolling or shaking a keg. In fact, if I'm bringing a keg of heffe somewhere, I shake it up as much as possible, and never seem to have foam issues.

yeah, the foam will all be at the top anyhow. by the time you serve it it will have settled out. Any excessive foam in your dispense will likely be too high a serve pressure, not opening your tap all the way, warm lines etc.

My welding supply store weighs my empty tank, then weighs the filled tank. if the difference is greater than 5lbs they open the valve until it loses weight.

In that situation, cold or warm, 5lbs is 5lbs.