DIY CO2 Tank Stand?

[Velnerj]

Hi Ya'll,

I have a 15kg Co2 tank. It stands about 36 inches tall (or so). With a dual regulator on top, it's quite top heavy and prone to tip over...It's already happened a few times and not my pressure gauges need replacing. I will definitely do this but I want to solve the tippy tank issue first. I was thinking about jimmy rigging some sort of DYI stand for it (maybe from wood?). But I wanted to also check with the Homebrewing community to see what other solutions are out there, perhaps there is an easy fix I am missing.

I assume this is a common problem so I am curious how you all have gotten around in solving it. Thanks for any advice you have.

Cheers!

 

[IslandLizard]

Yup, the tipping over is a big issue, risking damage, especially to the mounted regulator assembly.

You can tie/strap the tank to a table, cabinet, a hook or eyelet in the wall, etc. Anything heavy and sturdy.
Making a stable stand/cradle out of wood or other material would work, and can offer portability.

 

[sibelman]

The danger is severe. Damage to your regulator is the least of it. "The high pressure in cylinders (4.4 to 6,000 psig) makes the gas cylinder a potential physical explosive rocket that could punch through walls." Or people.

I agree with @IslandLizard's excellent suggestions. Before building a stand for my smaller tank (much easier than with a larger tank), I bungie-corded it to a leg of my brewing table. A free-standing holder for a taller tank would require a rather wide base to be stable enough.

@Velnerj , I urge you to prioritize this project.

 

[Broken Crow]

My dad would occasionally hire idiots in his shop.... One such idiot attached the regulator to the O2 tank on the torches before putting it even on the cart, let alone securing it.... While he was rolling it over to the distant cart, it fell over against the brake-machine and actually snapped the tank-valve off and shot straight out the bay door and across the street where it impacted the wall of the Air-conditioning shop, right next to the gas-meter, and bounced around for a few moments till it exhausted itself.
Nasty and stupid as well as extremely dangerous... Thankfully there was no vehicle or pedestrian traffic, but a number of bricks were smashed.
My own custom with tanks is to give them a wide, bottom-heavy base. For my utility tank, (when my garage is available to weld in again) I'll be making something like a golf-club trolley with a wide enough base to make sure it won't easily tip.
(On a side note for your amusement: The last job my dad ever had that guy do was cutting down a large poplar tree....he cut off a large limb about 20' that he was sitting on, and was NOT asked to finish the job when he returned from the hospital...nevertheless, about a year later, my dad let him borrow one of the bays with a hoist so he could do some body-work on his own car, and the idiot decided to use the cutting torch to remove the rusted bolts on his gas-tank straps...After the loud bag and crash, we rushed out back and found him standing back up from the fractured garage door he was thrown against, looking scorched like a cartoon character, and his car nose-down on the work bench with the backside still on the front of the hoist.....He was finally asked to never return!)

 

[ITV]

Nothing fancy, just some chain and a chain quick link to keep the CO2 and Oxygen tanks from tipping over.

 

[sibelman]

.he cut off a large limb about 20' that he was sitting on,

How did this guy not win the Darwin Award?

@Velnerj , don't be that guy.

 

[Broken Crow]

How did this guy not win the Darwin Award?

@Velnerj , don't be that guy.

1983....Even packet-radio was new then sadly....he went to work for a competitor (The biggest and worst-by-far towing company in town) and was consigned to yard work after tearing off several bumpers, trim, exhaust and underside, from towing cars too high...when that company moved to a larger property they had him clean up the yard and the moment he handed back the keys they fired him.....I think he was killed working construction in the late 80's.

Nothing fancy, just some chain and a chain quick link to keep the CO2 and Oxygen tanks from tipping over.
View attachment 837561

I Love repurposing things! What was that basket the O2 tank is in? ... My best guess is a toilet-paper holder. Looks quite nice the way you've used it.

 

[ITV]

I Love repurposing things! What was that basket the O2 tank is in? ... My best guess is a toilet-paper holder. Looks quite nice the way you've used it.

Correct that is a toilet paper holder, I have a flow meter mounted to the handle, makes it easy to lug around.