How did I do for this CO2 tank

[hilljack13]

I stopped by the local Airgas store and picked up a CO2 tank. When I talked to the service rep I was quoted 10 and 20 lb tanks. The 20 was about $145 and seeing the lowest online was 130 for a 10 lb I got the 20. I thought the final was ~165 with tax and all, when I left I looked at the receipt and I was charged $76. I thought maybe that the tank was separate, however after looking at my charges on my account I was only charged the $76. The refills I was told would be 35-40 for 20lbs. Not sure it I didn't hear the right amount but the person at the counter showed it to someone else and they both agreed. Seems like I might have gotten away good on this.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

You sure did especially if it’s aluminum.

 

[Agent]

It may be that you simply bought into the tank exchange program rather than purchasing a tank outright?

There's a bit of slippage in the business, and some dealers don't mind giving the short straw to the supplier for a customer's benefit.

 

[hilljack13]

It may be that you simply bought into the tank exchange program rather than purchasing a tank outright?

There's a bit of slippage in the business, and some dealers don't mind giving the short straw to the supplier for a customer's benefit.

Maybe. They only do exchanges so that would work if I decide to go with 10lb instead.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I have two 5-lb. tanks. When one poops out, I have another to get me through until I can get to Airgas. I can use the spare to prep kegs for dispensing and pump up kegs prior to fermentation. I can fit one tank in the keezer easily. They're also nice and light.

How long they last depends on whether I forget to tighten anything. With someone more careful, each would last months.

To make tanks fit in the keezer, I bought a short length of sewage pipe (new) at Lowe's. It's short enough to stand up in the keezer. I put a piece of wood inside it, just tall enough to raise the tank so the valve is above the pipe. I was going to make it fancier, fabricating some king of platform inside the pipe, but there was never any need to.

I also have two 5-lb. beer gas tanks. One sits on the keezer hump next to my sole keg of stout. I have no tanks cluttering up the floor outside the keezer. The bad part is that Airgas will not give me a 5-lb. swap, so I have to get new gas on rare visits to Orlando. Airgas will not give me beer gas under 10 lbs.

 

[ITV]

Maybe. They only do exchanges so that would work if I decide to go with 10lb instead.

It only cost a few extra dollars more for a 20# refill from a 10# refill. Dollar wise the 20# is more economical unless you have a CO2 leak.

 

[Agent]

My dear, sweet, tried-killing-me-with-her-glare wife was navigating around five carboys, two jockey boxes, and two kegs this past week.

The 20lb CO2 and 80cf beer gas tanks next to the keezer no longer faze her.

 

[micraftbeer]

In my area, Airgas is loads cheaper per lb with the 20lb. Now that you have the tank, I'd just keep swapping out there. It seems to last forever hooked up to my keezer.

I also have a 10 lb for purging kegs and such around the beer area, and a 5 lb for mobile usage. These two guys are cheaper to exchange at my LHBS.

 

[Closet Fermenter]

It only cost a few extra dollars more for a 20# refill from a 10# refill. Dollar wise the 20# is more economical unless you have a CO2 leak.

I can confirm that. I got a bunch of gear from some guys giving up the hobby. I did get a 5lb tank and tapright dual-gauge regulator under $80. There was another larger tank sitting there and one of the guys asked me if I was interested. I said well, I’m not sure if my LHBS exchanges these; I’ve only seen 5’s & 20’s in there. (This one was in between.) Also, it was expired, so I pointed that out. He said “Well, you can have it if you want it”. It had another regulator with it so I took it too.

I took it to a Robert’s Oxygen in the next town over. Being expired didn’t concern him; said we can test before filling it again. It was a 10 lb, and they didn’t have any on hand. He said I can get 10’s but not today. I have the 5’d & 20’s here. Being bold, I asked what can we do? I was thinking maybe two 5’s. He offered to upgrade to a 20. Before overthinking it, I said “sure”.

Based on the nearly $23 I paid for my last 5lb exchange, I was bracing myself. However, it was only $32 with tax for the 20lb CO₂

I walked in with an old, expired, heavy, steel 10lb tank, and walked out with a shiny new 20lb aluminum tank for $32!

 

[beren]

Check the top of the tank, see if it has a company name engraved there. If no, nobody else is supposed to fill it and that could be one reason why its so cheap.

 

[Closet Fermenter]

Check the top of the tank, see if it has a company name engraved there. If no, nobody else is supposed to fill it and that could be one reason why its so cheap.

I’m OK with that; they are way cheaper than what it would cost me to exchange the 5’s, and less than half the time and distance I have been driving to do it.

 

[beren]

At the same time, if you gave them an unbranded/owned tank, next time you could ask them to swap it back, tell them you brought an unbranded one. refill price should be the same and just gives flexibility.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I definitely get hammered on the price. They charged me $40 this week for one bottle. For a gas which is a waste product.

Maybe I should get a bigger bottle for things other than dispensing.

 

[beren]

I gave in and bought a refilling hose. flip my 20lb tank over and it can fill my 5s.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Any reason I can't do that for beer gas?

 

[FloppyKnockers]

Any reason I can't do that for beer gas?

CO2 transfers as liquid. Beer gas is straight up gas.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

But is it feasible to transfer beer gas?

 

[beren]

You'll split the pressure i believe. Pressure x Volume = constant so if you had a 20lb tank size with beer gas and hooked up an empty 5lb, that adds 25% volume, it'll decrease the pressure by that much and equalize in both containers. You also need to be careful, a full nitro tank is 2100-2200psi, way higher than the 500-700psi of a co2 tank.

You shouldn't be using beergas to carb your beer anyway, its just for pushing beer out. A small 20cu ft. tank should be able to dispense 9-12 5gal kegs.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I'm using it for dispensing, but I have to drive 75 miles to get it in small tanks. Airgas is 20 minutes away.

 

[beren]

AirGas swapped my small tank no problem. The only issue around here they charge hazmat fees and stuff, it's like $50 for a small tank, a local welding shop carries beer gas and charged I think $22.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Here, it's CO2 only.

 

[beren]

Here, it's CO2 only.

What if you call ahead? They are an industiral gas supplier, I can't imagine they won't get product for customer's needs.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

No dice.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Maybe it's not clear, but the tank size is the issue. They sell beer gas in big tanks.

 

[beren]

Ah sorry. I guess you could use something like https://www.amazon.com/JOES-RACING-PRODUCTS-Transfer-Nitrogen/dp/B08TDPN36J Just make sure your small tank is rated for at least whatever pressure is in the big tank. Do you have the option of using the large tank directly, maybe through a hole in the back of the kegerator or keezer collar?

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I would never cut up the keezer and make my wife deal with a big tank in the kitchen. It looks nice as it is. Close to the wall. Nothing hanging out.

I don't like spending even more money on beer stuff, but with the tolls and gas, transferring may make sense.

It's weird that with so many old men in my county, there is no market for small beer gas tanks.

 

[beren]

Yeah, I get it. What's on the other side of the wall? Could hide the tank there and build a small decorative cabinet around it to keep it hidden ;-) Maybe keep an eye out for a 2nd nitro/argon tank used and fill both at once?

 

[FloppyKnockers]

Maybe it's not clear, but the tank size is the issue. They sell beer gas in big tanks.

I ran across the same ting at my Airgas. I decided not to fight the man and just go with a bigger tank. Not sure if that's something you can do in your set-up, but the 40 cu ft tank is only slightly larger than a 5 lb CO2 tank. I can take a pic later on and share if you want.

 

[beren]

I asked to swap to a different, larger tank and they told me no.

 

[Broken Crow]

Maybe. They only do exchanges so that would work if I decide to go with 10lb instead.

Look at the refill prices...they're usually kinda logarythmic in that $/lbs is lower on a larger refill. If you have no health issues that make lugging a 20lbs tank around, then stick with it. As to the savings; Do yourself a favour and 'forget' it and set the saved money aside toward the purchase of your next regulator and 2 more tanks. Unless your kegerator/keezer is in the same area you do tranfers and keg-purges in, it's very useful to have a utility CO2 rig around. Running out of CO2 can be a real PITA as well, so having a spare set aside will eventually become a priority. @Clint Yeastwood is doing a pretty good job of illustrating 'supply issues' some of us run in to in the above comments.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Thanks for the offer of help.

A bigger tank can't be more than about 3.5" taller than my existing tank.

 

[beren]

There is a limit however. 7-8 tanks are a bit much so I'm selling a few

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

The beer gas tanks I have now are about 17.5" tall, to the top of the valve.

 

[beren]

Thanks for the offer of help.

A bigger tank can't be more than about 3.5" taller than my existing tank.

• 20 cu ft. Height: 14’’ Diameter: 5.25’’
• 40 cu ft. Height: 18.5’’ Diameter: 6.75’

You can however likely use it tilted/on it's side, as there is no liquid in it, I believe. You might blow a little rust into your regulator, maybe get a screen for it.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I appreciate it.

I may be able to jam a 40 cu. ft. tank in my keezer vertically, in the spot where the smaller one is. I don't see any cheap used ones around here. Amazon has new ones for $114.

Can't stick it in there horizontally.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

One nice thing about a small CO2 tank is that if something fails to seal, you can't lose more than 5 lbs. of gas.

 

[hilljack13]

AirGas swapped my small tank no problem. The only issue around here they charge hazmat fees and stuff, it's like $50 for a small tank, a local welding shop carries beer gas and charged I think $22.

The hazmat fee caught me off guard. It was $18 of the total!

 

[hilljack13]

One nice thing about a small CO2 tank is that if something fails to seal, you can't lose more than 5 lbs. of gas.

I plan to get a smaller tank for transfers and purging. And those times when I run out of the big tank. Sounds like Airgas doesn't have 5lb so probably have to go 10. Don't think anyone else in my area sells CO2.

 

[beren]

I plan to get a smaller tank for transfers and purging. And those times when I run out of the big tank. Sounds like Airgas doesn't have 5lb so probably have to go 10. Don't think anyone else in my area sells CO2.

Look around for welding shops and fire extinguisher service shops. You might be surprised how many places do it. Also by me a lot of the liquor store swap 5 pound tanks no questions asked and it’s not expensive.

 

[hilljack13]

liquor store swap 5 pound tanks

Interesting. Never heard of this, but good info. Why would they carry CO2?