Paintball gun co2 tank 4 picnics?

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Brewing Clamper

Brewing Clamper

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Hey guys, just thought of a random setup. I was thinking that a small 2.5 gallon keg with one of those 16oz or 20oz paintball gun co2 tanks would be nice and compact for a portable beer despenser. What do ya'll think?
 
this would work better. it uses a 12 gram canister

co2-charger.jpg
 
Yeah, I've seen those, but it says that the CO2 comes out at 600+psi without regulation and it takes 3-5 canisters for a 5 gallon keg. That's kind of a pain in the arse. I would imagine 2-3 for a 3 gallon keg... that's still a pain, especially if you've read the procedures for pressurizing without a regulator... anyway... just my 2 cents...
 
I'm not too familiar with keg setups yet. However, I do know a thing or two about paintball setups...though it has been a few years.

If you plan to go with a 20oz tank, couldn't you just use an inline regulator which is also designed to work with a paintgun? Something along the lines of
d7_1.JPG


Though I would assume that a LP chamber wouldn't be needed.
 
That's what I thought, though I think the only issue would be that the connectors may be different. That's just a matter of getting adapters. Right?

fezzman said:
I'm not too familiar with keg setups yet. However, I do know a thing or two about paintball setups...though it has been a few years.

If you plan to go with a 20oz tank, couldn't you just use an inline regulator which is also designed to work with a paintgun?

Though I would assume that a LP chamber wouldn't be needed.
Click to expand...
 
If you have a regulator where the pressure can be adjusted, just change the connectors. Or if you want to keep using it for paintball, splice in quick disconnects. I'm all for multi-use.

You might have to splice a beer regulator into the line, I suspect paintball guns don't run at 12 psi.
 
david_42 said:
You might have to splice a beer regulator into the line, I suspect paintball guns don't run at 12 psi.
Click to expand...

no they run anywhere from 80-300 psi. not only do you need a reg, but you need an expansion chamber to keep the liquid out of the tank
 
Sounds messy. What I do is take a half full cornie charged to 10 PSI. That's enough pressure to dispense the contents and since there's only 20 pints, it isn't too heavy.
 
omniscientomar said:
That's what I thought, though I think the only issue would be that the connectors may be different. That's just a matter of getting adapters. Right?
Click to expand...

I don't believe adapters will be needed. I used to fill my own p-ball tanks off of a standard CO2 tank. (20lbs? 40lbs? can't remember). If I remember correctly, the threads were the same all around.

If you can keep the CO2 tank cool, perhaps in ice, then the expansion chamber shouldn't be needed. If it gets too warm then you'll want to keep the liquid out.

Though, I like david's plan much better. :mug:
 
Chimone said:
no they run anywhere from 80-300 psi. not only do you need a reg, but you need an expansion chamber to keep the liquid out of the tank
Click to expand...


I understand needing the regulator, but why the expansion chamber? You don't need one of those for a regular co2 kegging system tank. So what's the difference between that and a paintball tank other than size? Wouldn't the gas line be enough to allow the liquid to evaporate?
 
depends how the tank is positioned i guess. The line may or may not be enough. all depens on temp. outside and whatnot.

If you do figure a good setup using a paintball system be sure to post it up here though. I have craploads of gear still around here somehwere that I can put to good use.
 
omniscientomar said:
I understand needing the regulator, but why the expansion chamber? You don't need one of those for a regular co2 kegging system tank. So what's the difference between that and a paintball tank other than size? Wouldn't the gas line be enough to allow the liquid to evaporate?
Click to expand...
That depends on how the tank is positioned. If the bottle is completely vert. with the valve up then you are okay. If the bottle is inverted or at more than a slight angle, an anti-siphon tube will be needed.

An A-S tube goes from the underside of the valve down to the bottom of the bottle. With that setup you could run the bottle in virtually any position.
http://www.xtremez.com/paintball/product_information.asp?number=TKCST&variation=&aitem=6&mitem=&back=yes&dept=177
 
OK the way I understand it is when you fill a 20oz p-ball tank you do so from a siphon tube equipped larger tank. This is to transfer the liquid and you only fill to around 80 percent to prevent a burst disk malfunction. When you use a tank for beer, you are using a non-siphon tube tank, and only getting the pressurised gas that "boils" off the liquid inside, the same as a paintball tank does. That's another reason they have that expansion chamber inline. If they didn't, you would shoot liquid through the gun, destroying o-rings, blowing up paintballs in the barrel, and freezing the gun's action after a few shots. That's why you have to run through so many of those little "gram" tubes, they hold only gas, with no liquid to boil off. Not that I'm an expert but I have 5 boys who play constantly. Anyhow, I would think that a 20 oz tank through a single gauge regulator, and hooked to the keg would work. As long as the tank is kept upright. You'd be basically doing the same thing as hooking up a 20 lb tank for the beer anyhow. I'd like to see how you do this, if you decide to. :D
 
Radarbrew said:
OK the way I understand it is when you fill a 20oz p-ball tank you do so from a siphon tube equipped larger tank. This is to transfer the liquid and you only fill to around 80 percent to prevent a burst disk malfunction. When you use a tank for beer, you are using a non-siphon tube tank, and only getting the pressurised gas that "boils" off the liquid inside, the same as a paintball tank does. That's another reason they have that expansion chamber inline. If they didn't, you would shoot liquid through the gun, destroying o-rings, blowing up paintballs in the barrel, and freezing the gun's action after a few shots. That's why you have to run through so many of those little "gram" tubes, they hold only gas, with no liquid to boil off. Not that I'm an expert but I have 5 boys who play constantly. Anyhow, I would think that a 20 oz tank through a single gauge regulator, and hooked to the keg would work. As long as the tank is kept upright. You'd be basically doing the same thing as hooking up a 20 lb tank for the beer anyhow. I'd like to see how you do this, if you decide to. :D
Click to expand...

Correct, for this project an anti-siphon tube would be needed on the 20oz to keep from sucking the liquid out of the tank. I really don't think it is worth all of the hassle since the 20lb tanks really are pretty portable.

If you are still sold on the idea, you will be best served to get a p-ball tank with an on/off valve. Most of the cheaper tanks come with a pin valve. If your regulator does not have a nub to depress the pin then you won't be able to get the co2 out of the tank.

OT - I played paintball from '86-2002 and reffed/worked at a friends field for a few years. Ahh, the stories of tourney play in the old days...long before semi-auto and tanks. :rockin: Brewing beer however, I know very little about...yet. ;)
 
Chairman Cheyco said:
You paintballers need to figure out a way to strap a corny on your back and use an old gun as a dispenser/tap. You could hire yourselves out to picnics...
Click to expand...

That sounds perfect. I'll start the design right away. :p On second thought, maybe I shouldn't. I'd wind up with the barrel in my mouth too often.
 
chimone
I use the one that Chimone posted and it ROCKS. totally portable. I will pressurise to about ten to twelve PSI before I leave the house and I will only use two 12g canisters for a full 5.5 gal keg
JJ
 
A little off topic, but not much.

There was a thread somewhere... Maybe on the green board... where people were discussing these little bulbs of CO2 and there are several brands of them that are made specifically for dispensing liquids. Some people said that the brands that are made for paint gun/pellet gun use sometimes contain a harsh oily/metallic smell and flavor that taints the beer.

So word to the wise, spend the extra couple bucks to get "food grade" CO2 bulbs.

Good luck!
 
andre the giant said:
A little off topic, but not much.

There was a thread somewhere... Maybe on the green board... where people were discussing these little bulbs of CO2 and there are several brands of them that are made specifically for dispensing liquids. Some people said that the brands that are made for paint gun/pellet gun use sometimes contain a harsh oily/metallic smell and flavor that taints the beer.

So word to the wise, spend the extra couple bucks to get "food grade" CO2 bulbs.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

That is a great point. Those co2 carts do have a very distinct smell to them. I have also heard about there being trace amounts of oil contained inside. Now if you could just use whippits instead. :drunk:

KA6GZJ, great find with that article. The one thing that concerns me is the quality of the co2. It is my experience that co2 is a dirty gas. I had always wondered if there was a standard grade and a 'food' grade co2. I would highly recommend an inline filter, especially if getting fills from some kid at a paintball field.

http://www.ravenspaintball.com/cgi-bin/store/raven.cgi?keywords=11818&xm=on&ppinc=search2

A field is likely your cheapest bet for air though. My local gas supply company actually charges the same price to fill a 20oz vs. a 20lb. :mad: Ideally, most of the same fittings you are using could be used to fill your own 20oz off of a larger tank.
 
There is a difference to the little gram bulbs that you can get. The ones specifically for food grade are "clean Co2". The other ones for the bb gun have a trace amount of oil in them so the guns get oiled as they fire. It helps smooth that little hunk of pellet down the bore so it can rid your yard of those evil, smelly squirrels....:ban:
 
"KA6GZJ, great find with that article. The one thing that concerns me is the quality of the co2. It is my experience that co2 is a dirty gas. I had always wondered if there was a standard grade and a 'food' grade co2. I would highly recommend an inline filter, especially if getting fills from some kid at a paintball field."


In the eight years i've been brewing i have never had a proublem using welding grade gas. There were times when the ol beer fridg. ran out of gas and i had to roll my mig welder over to it and connect it's co2 tank to get a beer.:tank:

But honestly, i've been welding almost 50yrs now and i cant think of anything that would put a gas supplyer out of business faster than to supply bad gas to customers. BAD GAS= BAD WELDS!

Just my take on the gas issue (.02):mug:

Jim
 
Ouch!! $135.00 for a regulator is bad enough, but, then you have add another $.95 to $1.90 a gallon just to get the beer out of the keg.:tank: think i'd opt for a long straw.:)

Jim
 
Chimone said:
anyone tried this yet? I wonder how good the pour would be

3790.jpg
Click to expand...

Was wondering the same. I'm thinking the beer would be all foam as there is no length of hose for a pressure drop. Maybe there is some sort of depressurization mechanism in the tap?
 
I was wondering the same thing, but have pretty much discarded that idea. That setup uses a standard faucet (any one you would like) and I can't imagine getting a good pour without any back-pressure at all. Maybe if you put a restrictor on the pickup, inside the keg, but that's a ton of work...
 
Jester4176 said:
Was wondering the same. I'm thinking the beer would be all foam as there is no length of hose for a pressure drop. Maybe there is some sort of depressurization mechanism in the tap?
Click to expand...

Ok, That looks like a normal tap so the problem of foaming is likely, BUT there are some taps that allow you to control the speed of your pour and are supposed to eliminate the need to drop the presure down before the tap. I saw them on morebeer I think.
 

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