Paid 98$ for a CO2 bottle that can't be filled..!??!

I posted this in another thread but no response and I need to know what's up fast..!

I just took my empty 20# bottle to Airgas and the bastards said they couldn't fill it and were pretty sure no welding outfit would fill it because it has coca-cola stamped on the bottle...!!

The guy basically told me I got ripped off (bought the tank on ebay, full for 98$)...since I couldn't fill it at welding shops, etc...

Anybody else encountered this...? What should I do..? I haven't tried anywhere else yet....maybe a fire extinguisher service co.


Oh yeah, and my keg is full of flat brew 5 days old...;(

I'd contact the seller. Sounds like you bough stolen property. That's probably your only recourse at this point.

Or, try swapping it a a trade in store. My big beer distributor is a swap place. I bring in an empty, walk out full.

Also, if you do have one of these, you may have gotten ripped off. A 20 lb tank at my local place is $50 deposit and $35 for the beer gas swap. I think it is like $20 when I swap c02.

Ryan_PA said:

Or, try swapping it a a trade in store. My big beer distributor is a swap place. I bring in an empty, walk out full.

Also, if you do have one of these, you may have gotten ripped off. A 20 lb tank at my local place is $50 deposit and $35 for the beer gas swap. I think it is like $20 when I swap c02.

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I paid $90 for my first 10lb tank, so the price isn't out of line.

rdwj said:

I'd contact the seller. Sounds like you bough stolen property. That's probably your only recourse at this point.

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I could try that but it's been 6 months since he sold it to me (rec'd the tank with gas in it so it just ran out) Doubt he'd help me out in any way but I guess it's worth a shot.

Reidman said:

I could try that but it's been 6 months since he sold it to me (rec'd the tank with gas in it so it just ran out) Doubt he'd help me out in any way but I guess it's worth a shot.

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Oh, I bet he's start being helpful if you mention stolen property. Did you pick that tank up or did he ship it?

This isn't the "moral" way of doing it, but why don't you putty up the coca cola stamp, sand it smooth and paint the tank. Will cost you 5 bucks and maybe an hours work. THEN just go find a welding shop that does tank exchange instead of fill....... I would NEVER condone doing this, but desperate times = .......well you know.

Fill in the coke stamp with some devcon or other epoxy, sand smooth, paint whole tank. Weeeee! Damn, too slow.

edit... my tank is a coke one also but I've had it filled at two different places no questions asked.

I'd let that albatross go.

Aready too much bad karma.

Coke tanks are usually painted red and are embosed with the name Coke(I have one) It was given to me and I called around some and noone will touch it because it is the property of Coke. I just use mine to purge corneys and when it runs out I'll junk it.

I would never pay $98 for a tank. I got my first 5# for $40, then was upgraded for free twice by my fill shop because they were out of my size, first to a 10# then to a 20#. I do count myself lucky though

Embossed huh? Even better. 5 minutes with the angle grinder takes the words and paint away.

I could have probably bought a tank cheaper, but the refil charge is great. I only pay $13.

Do the bag in box soda systems still use CO2 to push the soda?
If so, a couple of suggestions:
-Find a retail location that sells Coke draft products (restaurants, Qwick-E-Mart, movie theater, etc.) If they are using 20 lb. tanks ask them to trade it for a full one for you (you pay the deposit/fill fee).
-Contact a Coke distributor and ask them trade/fill up for you.
-Contact a Coke distributor and turn it in for the deposit-get some of your money back.

If not,
-Contact a Coke distributor and ask them for some sort of receipt to show proof of ownership.
-As others have suggested grind/fill "Property of Coca Cola"
-Find a smaller welding supply shop, not a francise like AirGas they probably won't care.

This year I bought an old (dated 05/88) 5 lb. steel tank, took it to a smaller welding supply shop, and traded it for an in-spec aluminum tank, with a "property of AirGas" Sticker on it. About $15 dollar trade, no recertification fee.

As a last resort (i.e. do nothing and eat the 20lb tank), when I was pricing tanks,
a first time filled 5 lb tank was about $100 from AirGas and Praxair. After that, their trade/fill is about $17, The same welding supply shop was about $80-90 for the first time, and 14-15 for exchanges.

Good luck...

They don't use CO2 to move the soda syrup in bags (pumps for that) but they still use it for carbing on the way to the cup.

That sucks. I bought my tank off Ebay as well, but mine was not a coke or pepsi tank. When I was calling around getting prices for an exchange, the very first question I was asked at every place was did it have Coke or Pepsi on the side anywhere. As others have suggested you could probably epoxy and paint it. Might not be moral, but losing $100 sucks. I would do it. Also, another morally questionably move (that I would also have no problem doing), is selling it on Ebay.

I have 2 -20lb Coke cylinders that need to be filled. When we got them we paid a decent amount as a deposit, so I consider them our property. One is stamped with Coca-Cola and I would sand, then putty, then paint that one. The other has Coca-Cola stenciled on the side with paint and on that one I'm just going to sand, prime and paint. Both of mine are in need of the test before refilling, but $20 for the test and $20 for a 20# refill seems cheap enough to me.

As far as I know, you should be able to also take to Coke and pay to have it exchanged. (they may want to know what account you are though)

MikeInCtown said:

When we got them we paid a decent amount as a deposit, so I consider them our property.

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That's your first mistake

Grinding and or filling in with epoxy or putty wont work. The tanks also have serial numbers which are identifiable to Coke and Pepsi which I am sure the major gas supplies know.

rdwj said:

Oh, I bet he's start being helpful if you mention stolen property. Did you pick that tank up or did he ship it?

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I don't think you can legally ship compressed gas.
I know that MoreBeer and all the other online places that I have seen that sell
the tanks say up front that it is empty, that they can not be shipped full.

rdwj said:

That's your first mistake

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Well, maybe. However, a deposit is there in case you don't return with the item. Tools from the parts store, cheap taps from the beverage distributor, etc. The companies weigh the risk with expected return and money made from the deposits while in their posession. I wonder how much money Coke made with the hundreds we gave them 10 years ago for the deposit?

In the end, everything I just wrote would probably be pointless to the soda company though.

trainfever said:

Grinding and or filling in with epoxy or putty wont work. The tanks also have serial numbers which are identifiable to Coke and Pepsi which I am sure the major gas supplies know.

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I'd put my money on it working. The "property of coca cola" is what is raising eyebrows. I'd try a different gas supplier first though.

Try a paint ball shop, my brother worked in one that made the guns themselves, but I won't mention the brand. Anyway, the yahoos they had working in there would probably sell you a bag of coke while they filled your coke CO2 tank.

When I got my 20lb tank, I paid a $100 deposit. The guy who sold it to me, owned the tank and store and said "you own this tank now, so if you move anywhere, keep this receipt and you can get it filled" ... so that's what I've done.

shop around and you'll find someone to fill it. Chances are that the guy that sold it really did own it, he just didn't send the paperwork to you. I've had welding bottles with all kinds of emblems and "property of" markings on 'em. BUT I also had the paperwork to show that I really did own 'em. Come to think of it, I've never had to show that paperwork, but I do use the same gas company, so I guess they just know me and don't think about it when I come in for an exchange/fill. No one runs serial numbers, but a new face with a clearly marked bottle makes it look like you are part of a sting operation.

Oh, and the whole "the distributor takes into account that people are going to steal" stuff is CRAP! Face facts: If you steal...... You are stealing!!!!!! When I rent a car, I pay a deposit. now I know it's WELL below the value of that car. But by that theory, I can steal the car, and all is well, right? WRONG I'm still stealing a car. By doing so, I'm making car rentals much more expensive than they should be. No wonder we get suckered into paying $3.50 for a beer at a restraunt, the vendors have to keep replacing kegs and bottles etc etc etc etc etc etc etc.

shafferpilot said:

shop around and you'll find someone to fill it. Chances are that the guy that sold it really did own it, he just didn't send the paperwork to you. I've had welding bottles with all kinds of emblems and "property of" markings on 'em. BUT I also had the paperwork to show that I really did own 'em. Come to think of it, I've never had to show that paperwork, but I do use the same gas company, so I guess they just know me and don't think about it when I come in for an exchange/fill. No one runs serial numbers, but a new face with a clearly marked bottle makes it look like you are part of a sting operation.

Oh, and the whole "the distributor takes into account that people are going to steal" stuff is CRAP! Face facts: If you steal...... You are stealing!!!!!! When I rent a car, I pay a deposit. now I know it's WELL below the value of that car. But by that theory, I can steal the car, and all is well, right? WRONG I'm still stealing a car. By doing so, I'm making car rentals much more expensive than they should be. No wonder we get suckered into paying $3.50 for a beer at a restraunt, the vendors have to keep replacing kegs and bottles etc etc etc etc etc etc etc.

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No reason to get that going again.

Reidman, if you haven't yet, try some scuba or welding places in Portland instead of Vancouver. We love you out-of-staters down here

Ok Reidman, you have advice that runs the gammut from straight to shady.
I don't want an ethics thread.

If there's a question that went unaswered, PM me or start a new thread.

In general, if people post unethical POVs they should expect some guff.
Also I think what we have here is a phenomena called the risky shift. Google it.