CO2 tank valve question

Quick question about CO2 tanks.

I am going to be buying one from a fire extinguisher place in town here, and would like to know if I need to order a special valve for it, or if it is a standard valve they generally come with?

I have a regulator here my Dad gave me, and am picking up some used kegs in town tomorrow. I will be buying the disconnects and a picnic tap from my LHBS. I am asking about the actual valve on the tank, which the regulator connects to.

The LHBS sells a CO2 tank, but it is more expensive than the one I will be buying (and also is empty, I will be getting mine filled).

Is there a special valve I will need to ask for, or do all CO2 tanks come with the same standard valves?

Thanks!

std valve...

rosier9 said:

std valve...

Click to expand...

The only question to ask is one or two gauge and how many ports?

Joemama474 said:

The only question to ask is one or two gauge and how many ports?

Click to expand...

The regulator has one gauge, but it's free, so I'm not complaining.

An important thing to ask is if the tank has a siphon tube. If it's a fire extinguisher it probably has one. If it has a siphon tube it will feed liquid co2 into the regulator and promptly damage it.

If it's just a gauge that measures the pressure of the gas in the tank, you won't know how much pressure you're putting into your beers. You'll need a separate gauge to measure that. For the cost of a new regulator ($35-$45), you may want to spring for something that gives you some precision.