New CO2 tank, is this full?

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iglehart

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So is there anyway except weighting the CO2 tank to tell if its full?
I just exchanged mine, hooked it up and I get the needle on the bottom of the green full. The very bottom, did I get my 5 lbs?

I have a pic, but I am trying to figure out how to attach.

IMG_0584.jpg
 
If that is in the fridge, cold then yes it is full. The CO2 contacts in the cold and it looks like your regulator says the bottle is empty. It isn't.
 
Its not in the fridge. It was in my car for a few hours before that out in the warehouse. I brought it in to my garage about an hour ago.
Temps here have been in the 30' and 40' today. So its been cold.
My car and garage are probably around 50-60'

How long does it take for the CO2 inside the tank to change temp?
Hours? days?
 
Yeah, like he said, if it's cold it will sit there til it suddenly drops because it's gone. If it's warm it should read 1400-1500psi. Then it will gradually drop to 1000, then suddenly it goes to nothing when empty. You can tell much more by picking the tank up than looking at that gauge.
 
The high pressure gauge is like an idiot light on your car for oil pressure.. It tells you when you have gas pressure and when your out.. It can not tell you how MUCH liquid CO2 you have in the tank.

You can weigh it and know for sure.
You can remove the regulator, and open the valve a 1/2 turn, for a sec, close and do again. IN most case that will chill the tank enough to cause a cold line at liquid level to show itself on the outside of the tank. But what a waste of CO2 that is.
 
The high pressure gauge is like an idiot light on your car for oil pressure.. It tells you when you have gas pressure and when your out.. It can not tell you how MUCH liquid CO2 you have in the tank.

You can weigh it and know for sure.
You can remove the regulator, and open the valve a 1/2 turn, for a sec, close and do again. IN most case that will chill the tank enough to cause a cold line at liquid level to show itself on the outside of the tank. But what a waste of CO2 that is.

It's usually easier just to pour some hot water over the side of the tank. Enough for the metal with no liquid behind it to absorb some of the warmth. Run your hand down to feel where it goes from warm to cold and there's your liquid level.

This works great for propane, too.
 
I have a 20# tank that sits outside the fridge in my garage. Living in Michigan we get large temperature swings in outside air temp and it affects the high pressure gauge reading. You get used to the fluctuation by temperature but they have a certain amount of warning to them. As an example my high pressure gauge right now is running lower than normal in the cold winter. I weighed the tank and discovered that I have 1# left in the tank, so I will exchange it before it completely runs out, definitely before Christmas.
 
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