CO2 Refill - Tampa Area?

I own VetterBrew HomeBrew in Clearwater on 580. We charge $15. Pretty standard charge. If your cylinder is not ice cold you will not get anywhere near 5 lbs of co2 in it. B21 takes them in the back and fills them. You have no idea how much you got. You can weigh the cylinder and subtract the Tare Weight (TW=7.6) stamped on the tank. We like to freeze them first then fill them. Cheers!

VetterBrew said:

I own VetterBrew HomeBrew in Clearwater on 580. We charge $15. Pretty standard charge. If your cylinder is not ice cold you will not get anywhere near 5 lbs of co2 in it. B21 takes them in the back and fills them. You have no idea how much you got. You can weigh the cylinder and subtract the Tare Weight (TW=7.6) stamped on the tank. We like to freeze them first then fill them. Cheers!

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How much for 10 lbs?

I know this is a resurrected post but figured it was still worth sharing this info. If you're close enough to Brandon then you can get fills (not swaps) done at the Craft Beer Cellar on W. Brandon Blvd. I recently brought 2 tanks in to be filled and they were warm so they suggested I leave them in their cooler before filling so I got my money's worth. I left them overnight and picked them up the next day. Great service there!

derekcw83 said:

How much for 10 lbs?

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We fill 10 lbs for $27. Cheers!

robc311 said:

I know this is a resurrected post but figured it was still worth sharing this info. If you're close enough to Brandon then you can get fills (not swaps) done at the Craft Beer Cellar on W. Brandon Blvd. I recently brought 2 tanks in to be filled and they were warm so they suggested I leave them in their cooler before filling so I got my money's worth. I left them overnight and picked them up the next day. Great service there!

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That's the way it should be done! Glad to hear they are doing that!!!

VetterBrew said:

We fill 10 lbs for $27. Cheers!

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On a separate issue, mind if I ask you a question as an independent point of view?

How much, by weight, do you fill a 10lb tank? I've weighed the tank before and after (at my local store here in Georgia) and get 7.5-8lbs. They claim the difference is for expansion.

Thanks for your input.

sfrisby said:

On a separate issue, mind if I ask you a question as an independent point of view?

How much, by weight, do you fill a 10lb tank? I've weighed the tank before and after (at my local store here in Georgia) and get 7.5-8lbs. They claim the difference is for expansion.

Thanks for your input.

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If they are filling by weight and using a siphon tube like we do (the tanks have a tube from top to bottom that picks up the liquid Co2). Filling an ice cold tank allows the liquid to flow freely into the tank and you can get almost a full fill 4.5 -5 lbs in a 5lb tank. We strive to do this and if it less thank 4lbs we charge by the ounce instead. On a 10 lb tank the time it takes to fill it is your enemy. You can freeze the tank but when the initial 3-6lbs of Co2 goes in it warms the tank and makes it harder to fill. The reason it is harder is because on a warm tank liquid Co2 turns to gas and the volume of Co2 gas fills the tank making it impossible to push more in. Large gas companies have very expensive machines to pump and purge Co2 into the tanks. We send back around 20-35 lbs of Co2 each time we replace out tanks because we cannot get it out. I look at the filling of Co2 as a service more than a money maker for our store. We want our brewers to have access to Co2 when they need it.

Thank you.

BrewKing85 said:

I use a company called All Florida Fire Equipment. They charge $15.00 for a 5# swap. They are right off Haines rd and 62nd Ave in St. Pete.

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https://allfloridafire.com/co2-refilling/

BrewKing85 said:

I use a company called All Florida Fire Equipment. They charge $15.00 for a 5# swap. They are right off Haines rd and 62nd Ave in St. Pete.

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I just did a fill of my 20# here and not sure I could recommend them. Living in Palm Harbor, I couldn't find anyone else anywhere in Pinellas county who would fill (not swap) a 20# tank after calling at least 30 different places. West Bay said they are not filling 20# cylinders right now when I called early this week and Crumpton's seem a distance plus heavy traffic. All Florida Fire quoted $35.00 for a 20# fill. When I got home, I weighed it and got 12.2# (tare weight: 25.4, weight: 37.6); so $2.95/Lb. I will probably make the trip to Crumpton's next time.

DJTroz said:

I just did a fill of my 20# here and not sure I could recommend them. Living in Palm Harbor, I couldn't find anyone else anywhere in Pinellas county who would fill (not swap) a 20# tank after calling at least 30 different places. West Bay said they are not filling 20# cylinders right now when I called early this week and Crumpton's seem a distance plus heavy traffic. All Florida Fire quoted $35.00 for a 20# fill. When I got home, I weighed it and got 12.2# (tare weight: 25.4, weight: 37.6); so $2.95/Lb. I will probably make the trip to Crumpton's next time.

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Hi DJTroz,

My name is Daniel and I am the owner of All Florida Fire Equipment. I am sorry to hear that you got shorted on your 20# refill. I have reviewed the filling procedures with both of my technicians and can ensure you that this will not happen again.

If you decide to come back your next refill is on me!

Daniel, that is very kind of you and shows the effort and support of your company. I've recommended your company to a few others as well as the LHBS that I use to pass the word to their customers that your company will refill 20# cylinders. Had I had the chance to see the weight prior to leaving, I would have brought it to someone's attention.

Again, thank you for the follow-up. Maybe someone was in a rush being it was a Friday afternoon.

As an update to my prior post, I reached out to All Florida Fire last week as I needed another refill and to see if the tank could be weighed to ensure proper fill this round. They told me to have the receptionist tell the tech to weigh the tank pre and post-fill. Since my wife was going to be in the area, I had her bring it over. The tank's tare is 25.4. I told my wife to ask about the weight, but not sure if she did or didn't. However, when it was given back to her, she weighed it at work and came back exactly 45.4. I'm confident with their service and will be using AFF for my refills every few months in the future.

I am happy to say we are now filling tanks with our new CO2 pump. It wasn't cheap but we did get tired of only being able to put in 32 oz sometimes depending on how full our tank was and how cold the empty one was. We now carry 200lbs at all times and reorder when we hook up the last tank. It is tricky to not run out but we try. Always weigh your tanks at home to make sure they are empty. Don't trust your gauges. Use the TARE weight on the takes listed as T or TW. Cheers!

FYI, B21 in Tarpon Springs no longer does anything with CO2.

I stumbled upon this thread looking for CO2 for a different purpose--a mosquito trap. In case it's of any use to anyone...I was looking for 20 lb aluminum cylinders. Cheapest I found was Ace Welding, 12828 N Nebraska Ave., $185 full plus exchange for $36. Others: NexAir was $45 refill swaps-- I didn't write down the tank cost, maybe $220? Vetterbrew $180 tank +$51 for gas, $51 swap. Tackle Shack $120 tank + $80 gas, $80 refill. All FL Fire $300 for tank, $65 refill. Airgas $320 tank, swap refills $75. Crumpton Welding $325 tank, $35 refill. Again, maybe of no use to anyone, but just in case!