How long does a CO2 cylinder last?

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max-the-knife

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I am preparing my shopping list for equipment so I can switch to kegging. (I'm tired of washing bottles!!!!) What size CO2 bottle does everybody recommend? How long does a 5# bottle typically last with one or two kegs?

Sorry about so many questions, but I don't want to but a 5# and find out it only last a month or so.

Thanks in advance for your assistance.
 
It depends, but a 5# cylinder last me about 8 kegs. If you drink 8 kegs in a month, it's only going to last a month :D.
 
Laughing out loud!!!!!!!!!!!

If I drink 8 kegs a month, my wife will make me find a new hobby!

8 kegs is what I wanted to hear. Thanks for the info.
 
Not a problem.

I should have answered the rest of your question. I have a 5# bottle, but I would recommend a larger one. Many swap places don't charge much more for 4X the capacity, and I've heard the filling the larger bottles isn't that much more either.

Nikobrew has some decent prices on 10# tanks

Co2 tank - 10 Pound
 
(I'm tired of washing bottles!!!!)

Amen to that.

I currently have a 5#, I'm currently carbonating batch #4. I also use CO2 to purge O2 from the keg before transfer and have pushed 2 6 gal. batches of wine through a filter. If I had to buy again. I would go with a 10#.

I think it all comes down to how much you plan to use.
 
You are best off going bigger than you think you need ... a lot cheaper in the long run. I went with a 20 lb tank. Remember, you'll go through a LOT of gas if you have any small leaks.
 
I think this is the cheapest place to get a tank from. Be aware that the measurements in the description are for the 20 lb tanks. The measurements for the 10 lb tank is in the image. I agree with others, in the long run buying a more expensive larger tank will pay for itself after a few refills. I got a 20 lb tank myself. Also, if you participate in the easy 20 lb tank exchange program, you are likely to turn in your aluminum tank and get a heavy steel tank in return...unless you make a separate trip back to pick up your personal tank.
 
I'd check to see if the place you are gonna get you gas from will rent a tank to you. I've never did it but it sucked paying $70 for a brand new 5lb tank only to have it swapped with one of theirs when I went to go get it filled.
 
I have 2 20lbs tanks. Word of warning all the gas places around me do not carry 10# tanks to exchange they will fill them but it could take a few days to get them back . They deal with 5 and 20 for exchange any larger you rent them
 
Gas use will vary depending on practices. How much CO2 you use when cleaning, force carb vs natural carb

I am still on my first 5# tankfull, but also havn't empties my first 2 kegs either. I have heard that about 12-16oz to force carb and serve a single 5gal cornie. that will give you between 5 and 7.

I found a paintball field 5 miles from home that will fill tankc for kegging, so i get to keep my new aluminum tank every time. I also have a 20oz tank from Paintball that i can use as a backup until i can get my 5#er filled.

Some day I may get a larger tank, if i decide it doesn't last long enough, but I want to empty the one i have 3 times first for an acurate measure.
 
I try to naturally carb in the kegs for 3 reasons:

I only can have one keg tapped at a time
It forces me to wait to drink that beer I'm dying to try
It saves on CO2

now am I saving alot on CO2? perhaps not, but over the lifespan of a 5# tank, only using 8 or less PSI to push out is alot less than 30psi to force carb pluse another 8psi to push out for every keg you prime.

I think for long term usage this practice is worth wile no matter what size tank you have and I would do the same if I had a 20# tank .

Now don't get me wrong if I run out of beer there is no way I'm going to wait 2 weeks for it to prime up, I hitting that baby with 30 psi and shaking the crap out of it.
 
It works out to something like 1/4 pound of CO2 per volume of carbonation (dispensed) If you carb a beer to 2 volumes and dispense the whole keg, you'll get about 10 kegs out of a 5lb tank. That assumes no leaks, no waste, no purging. More practically, it's about 1 keg carbed and dispensed per pound.
 
I have a 5# and a 15# and they're within a few dollars of each other when getting them filled. Few equaling $2 or so. I picked up the smaller one when I first built my kegerator but went bigger when I started kegging and force carbing. Basically I got tired of having the 5# tank filled.
 
I have a 20# tank I found on craigslist for $15. So... I'd suggest if you have an active craigslist to keep an eye out there. I have a 5# bottle as well but since I do soda as well as beer I run that one out too quick, it is my backup now. It has been going for 6 months now.
 
I went with a 20# tank that I got off of Ebay for 96 including a cornie and shipping. I had to get it hyrdo tested and filled when i got it so that was around $48 I think. It probably would have lasted me over a year but I had a leak which emptied it so I have to fill it. But that was only $22 which I thought was super cheap.

I also have a 5# tank for my sanyo kegerator that I got for free. :D It has dispensed at least 6 or 8 kegs.
 
It works out to something like 1/4 pound of CO2 per volume of carbonation (dispensed) If you carb a beer to 2 volumes and dispense the whole keg, you'll get about 10 kegs out of a 5lb tank. That assumes no leaks, no waste, no purging. More practically, it's about 1 keg carbed and dispensed per pound.

horay for me making beers that i carb up to 3 volumes..... I needs more gas!
 
I went with a 20# tank that I got off of Ebay for 96 including a cornie and shipping. I had to get it hyrdo tested and filled when i got it so that was around $48 I think. It probably would have lasted me over a year but I had a leak which emptied it so I have to fill it. But that was only $22 which I thought was super cheap.

I also have a 5# tank for my sanyo kegerator that I got for free. :D It has dispensed at least 6 or 8 kegs.

Some places will exchange a tank even if the last one is out of hydro date. Both places I've exchanged old tanks at have not worried about the test date on the tank I was trading in.

Also one time I traded in a steel tank and they gave me a nice aluminum one! Since then I've made sure to ask that they trade my aluminum for another aluminum one. When I fill my 20lb I may ask if they could trade me for a nicer one, we'll see.
 
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