Co2 Tank Question.

A buddy of mine just gave me an old 2.5 lb. Co2 tank his father-in-law had years ago for brewing. How can I tell if the tank is up to spec / or out of date? It sounds like after a certain period of time these tanks need to be "re-certified". How can one tell?:cross:

There should be a date stamped on it.

orfy said:

There should be a date stamped on it.

Click to expand...

On the tank?
There is a stamp on the top of the tank that reads:
CTC/DOT-E6498-2015
Does this mean that I'm good till 2015?

They need to be re-certified every five years.

Take it to a place that does swaps and hope that they don't look (I don't think they all do). If you have to pay to have it tested, I think its $20 - $30; not the end of the world since the tank was free. But, I'd try swapping it first.

HellerAle said:

On the tank?
There is a stamp on the top of the tank that reads:
CTC/DOT-E6498-2015
Does this mean that I'm good till 2015?

Click to expand...

Nope, the numbers would be the test month and year like 07-99 meaning tested in July 1999.

I had a hard time finding anyone to fill or swap 2.5 lb tanks in the Atlanta area for a reasonable price. The Local Home Brew Store wanted to much money and a lot of gas supply houses said they could not do anything that small. I ended up going to a Fire extingusher house and it still cost almost as much to fill it as a 5 or 10 lb tank.

But like Bird sez see if you can find someplace that will swap it. If so it would be worth it to pay a little extra. Most of the places I've seen however want the exchange price and a recertification fee if it's out of date. But they don't have any problem exchanging your brand new tank for an old one.

Fire safety place around here charged me $12 for a hydro certification. Dirt cheap. But yeah, you'll probably pay upwards of $10 for a fill. I'd sell it and buy at least a 5lb.

If it is just going to be your spare tank, it's worth a few phonecalls to see who can fill it for you, and at what cost...
Definitely not worth it, if it is the only CO2 tank you have, you'll be filling it all the time.

I have a 2.5 that I use just for my portable set-up, because it's small enough to fit, and it's all that is needed. (see attached pic)




No matter what, you can't beat the price you paid!

Just got the tank re-certified and filled....$35.00. I'm ok with this just for the fact that the tank was free and the size will fit many options for dispensing. Thanks for the advice.