First post, and question about this co2 tank size

Very excited to get into brewing, and currently have 1 batch in primary, with 3 more ingredient kits in the mail. I really want to do a secondary fermentation, so found a guy on Craigslist selling all his stuff. I think I got a great deal just buying all his stuff, but was hoping for a second opinion, and help ID'ing the CO2 tank size.

I got:
2x glass carboys (5 gal)
1x pin connector 5 gal keg
3x ball connector 5 gal keg
1x mystery co2 tank with regulator
24x bottles

All for $100 cash, which seems like a great deal. Anyways, I wanted the C02 tank to someday move toward kegging, and didn't realize he was also throwing in some kegs to the deal. So, I'm thinking of going straight to keg with my first batch as soon as it's ready.

Can you folks tell what size this tank is from the pictures, and can you tell how much gas is left in it? I know tanks need to be recertified after 5 years, and I couldn't really see a date, so perhaps I need to do that too?

Definitely needs some new lines and cleaning, but appears to be in good shape.

Thanks!

It's a 5 lb tank. If you look online you might find a general weight of an empty steel 5 lb cylinder. If you weigh yours and subtract the tank weight you can find out the weight of the co2 left inside. If you are lucky you will se a TW stamp and then a #. The number is the tare weight, which is the empty weight but it might not be on the tank. There has to be a date on the tank for certification. It will look like 10 () 09, which would be October 2009. Unless the tank was new and never recertified. It would still have a production date. I would say you got a good deal.

Looks like a 5 lb tank to me. As far as how much gas is left, you cant really tell from the psi, you need to weigh it. It should have a tare weight stamped on it somewhere, you subtract the tare weight from what you weigh and what is left is how much gas is in there.

Great, thanks for the tips.

A question about kegging over bottling, does 1 week in primary then 2 in secondary give the beer enough time to condition before drinking? I wonder if the 3 weeks that it would normally have sitting in the bottles be missed in terms of flavor & clarity.

LateraLex said:

Great, thanks for the tips.

A question about kegging over bottling, does 1 week in primary then 2 in secondary give the beer enough time to condition before drinking? I wonder if the 3 weeks that it would normally have sitting in the bottles be missed in terms of flavor & clarity.

Click to expand...

A well made beer (proper amount of yeast pitched and fermentation at the proper temperature) is almost always ready to be kegged by week 3.

Where do you guys get your replacement tubing? These tubes look nasty, so I think it'd be easier to just replace them... not sure about the connectors.

I see tubing for sale on Northern Brewer, but I'd have to know my size before ordering. Is it obvious what size I have? TIA...

I agree, that tubing looks nasty. Replace it.

Measure the INSIDE diameter of your tubing. I can't tell from your picture what sizes you have. I would cut the tubing slightly away from where it is currently attached (it will have stretched) and just measure there. Tubing from Northern Brewer would be just fine.

As for the connectors, just give them a nice long soaking in some cleanser (Oxyclean or whatever you use to clean your brewing equipment). Clean as well as you can and they should be good to go.

-Matt