Confirming actual CO2 in the tank

I'm not a trusting person and the shady gas people have me concerned. Is there a trick to confirm CO2 versus just plain air?

The tare weight(weight of the bottle) will be stamped on the bottle somewhere. Weigh the bottle, a 5 pound bottle should weigh 5 pounds more than the tare weight

I understand that but how can i tell of they put in co2 vs air?

You can't dissolve air into water into appreciable quantities..only CO2 can be dissolved into (by forming carbonic acid).

So if you hook up your keg and it gets carbonated; you have CO2.

I guess you could have a naturally carbonated keg and a tank of air could be used to push that beer out for dispensing...in this case you'll know its air if it skunks.

Why do you think its air and not CO2?

Fill a dry cleaning bag from the tank and then stick your head in there. If you start to pass out, it was CO2...

Cheers!

But if you pass out too soon you might die so it's a more responsible idea to do it with one of your children. If you don't have children you could try with your sister's baby. Babies might also fit better in dry cleaning bags.

Stop going to shady gas people and go to a reputable firm instead.

Problem solved.

craigkelker said:

I'm not a trusting person and the shady gas people have me concerned. Is there a trick to confirm CO2 versus just plain air?

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Used to have a friend like this, always thought i was shafting him, taking advantage, or thought i was making him look bad.

Cant completely be a d-bag and not trust anyone, do you trust your family, your spouse?

Also...what makes these people "shady"

craigkelker said:

I understand that but how can i tell of they put in co2 vs air?

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CO2 is liquid and therefore has weight. Air can be pressurized , but it won't add weight to the bottle. But seriously how long could a place stay in business selling air as CO2?

Jokes aside, inflate a plastic bag with the disputed CO2, insert a BBQ lighter through the hole, try to light the flame.

If there's no way to light it up, it's CO2...

but anyway that's all kind of paranoid...

the assumption here is that compressed air is worth less than compressed CO2, thus "shady" companies would try to screw their customers by filling with air and not CO2.

I'm not sure this is the case, therefore there isn't any monetary reason for a company to sub air for CO2.

I call them shady because they don't require the static test.

I never realized that air couldn't be dissolved in liquid. Yea, Business School!

atreid said:

But if you pass out too soon you might die so it's a more responsible idea to do it with one of your children. If you don't have children you could try with your sister's baby. Babies might also fit better in dry cleaning bags.

Click to expand...

I do have a dog that I wouldn't mind dying.

craigkelker said:

I call them shady because they don't require the static test.

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How long ago was the date stamped on the tank? For the most part, that's good for you that you didn't have to pay the fee. If you really wanted it, you could have insisted. It seems like a pretty big leap to infer that they would sell air instead of CO2 just because they didn't charge you a fee.

I don't remember the last stamp, but it was in the past. I got a "deal" on the tank and LHBS said they would continue to fill it past the date as their gas guy was cool with filling expired tanks.

The reason for the post was my concern for oxidation (actually might be over-oaking). I wondered if they could be just filling the tank with air, but given the explanation that air doesn't dissolve in liquid that squashes my theory.