Liquid CO2?

[anycrew]

I called a gas distribution company regarding tank fills. The guy says their 5lb tank fills will last much longer because they use liquid CO2 to fill the tank rather than filling from another tank like what a lhbs would do.
Is this true?

I'm skeptical.

 

[drunkwookiee]

Possibly true, most gas like co2, propane etc turns to a liquid form when it's under pressure, I just got my kit and filled my 10lb tank for the first time at a welding shop. So I'm rather new at this...

 

[BigB]

Yes, it certainly could. At very high pressures, CO2 is in liquid form. Industry uses liquid C02 because you can fit more in any given container in liquid form than gaseous form. Therefore, if your tank is rated for the pressure, then you would have more in the tank.

 

[cfrazier77]

As I understand it all CO2 fills are liquid, as are propane. If someone just filled it with gas at a low enough pressure that it would not liquify then it would only last for about 1 keg.

 

[ArcaneXor]

Yeah, all fills are with liquid CO2. However, some homebrew stores don't have the equipment to pressure the receiving tank any higher than the pressure of the source tank, which can result in underfills.

 

[anycrew]

Yes, it certainly could. At very high pressures, CO2 is in liquid form. Industry uses liquid C02 because you can fit more in any given container in liquid form than gaseous form. Therefore, if your tank is rated for the pressure, then you would have more in the tank.

So if the industrial supply company fills a tank and it weights 5lb more than an empty tank. And, A lhbs shop fills a tank from a larger tank (looks like the helium balloon tanks at the grocery store) and the tank also weighs 5lb more than the empty weight, What you are saying is the tank filled at the industrial supply company could fill more kegs than from the one filled at lhbs?

 

[kpr121]

So if the industrial supply company fills a tank and it weights 5lb more than an empty tank. And, A lhbs shop fills a tank from a larger tank (looks like the helium balloon tanks at the grocery store) and the tank also weighs 5lb more than the empty weight, What you are saying is the tank filled at the industrial supply company could fill more kegs than from the one filled at lhbs?

No I believe he is saying that sometimes you will not get a full 5 lbs from the LHBS. I run into this issue all the time at my local beer distributors. So much so that I wont fill my tanks there unless a phone call verifies that they recently received a new filling station tank. I have had 1,2,3,4, and 5 lb fills from them. It still doesnt make sense to me because I thought that all liquid CO2 was at the same pressure. I think maybe they either intentionally do not fill them all the way, or they are incompetant and don't know the process correctly.

Now I just use my 20 oz paintball tanks and take them to Dicks.

 

[drunkwookiee]

after getting mine hooked up for the first time its reading just over 500 on the tank pressure gauge....the tank is rated for 1800 psi, after getting the first keg purged it went down considerably....its almost in the red refill area now, i just had it filled, hell its still cold!

did i just get screwed?......

 

[jd3]

There fill is no different than the LHBS. It'll never read over 1000 if properly filled. 800 is a room temp, normal fill. 500 is common to see when they are very cold.

 

[drunkwookiee]

oh ok thats what i was thinking, it will expand when it warms up.

 

[JuanMoore]

Yeah, all fills are with liquid CO2. However, some homebrew stores don't have the equipment to pressure the receiving tank any higher than the pressure of the source tank, which can result in underfills.

+1.
My friend kept thinking he had a leak in his system because his tanks wouldn't last very long. Turns out he was having it filled at a liquor store, and when we had them weigh the tank after "filling" it, it showed 1.8# over tare weight on a 5# tank. That's why I go to the welding supply store for my gas.

 

[bja]

So if the industrial supply company fills a tank and it weights 5lb more than an empty tank. And, A lhbs shop fills a tank from a larger tank (looks like the helium balloon tanks at the grocery store) and the tank also weighs 5lb more than the empty weight, What you are saying is the tank filled at the industrial supply company could fill more kegs than from the one filled at lhbs?

5# is 5#, regardless. A Co2 filling station uses a large storage tank with a diptube (just like kegs) so the smaller bottles are filled with liquid from the bottom of the storage tank.

 

[cruckin78]

I just got my 50lb CO2 tank filled and it was much heavier when full (like a metric ass ton!)....gauge is currently reading ~1000lbs.

I was gifted this tank for Christmas from a friend who works maintenance for McDonalds, they were throwing this one away for a larger tank....So it was free and only cost $50 to fill....If the 5lb tank lasted me 3-4 months, this tank should last over a year!!! SCHWHEAT!!!!

 

[integrator]

don't go by the gauges, they are rarely accurate. Weight is the best thing to go by on a CO2 tank. Given, it's gonna be a pain to weigh your tank if its in a kegerator.

 

[snccoulter]

50 lbs should last you well over a year shoot my 20 lb one is over a year and it gets used a lot. I have had a 20 lb tank last me over a year filling my tires when I would get off the rocks with my jeep

 

[cruckin78]

50 lbs should last you well over a year shoot my 20 lb one is over a year and it gets used a lot. I have had a 20 lb tank last me over a year filling my tires when i would get off the rocks with my jeep

good to know! :d

 

[BigB]

50 lbs should last you well over a year shoot my 20 lb one is over a year and it gets used a lot. I have had a 20 lb tank last me over a year filling my tires when I would get off the rocks with my jeep

Per micromatic, a 20lb tank would serve 62-87 corny kegs... My God a 50lb tank would last for years!

 

[rosier9]

So your gas distributor could be right or wrong... If your lhbs is refilling the tanks on premise it could go either way. If they are using a regular tank you won't get a good fill unless their tank is freshly filled. The way to get around this is if they use a "dip tube" tank, that way they are directly filling your tank with liquid not just gas hoping for it to liquefy... The best fill will probably still be from the gas distributor because they will pump it. The price/convenience difference here would be important

 

[bestbrewtap]

when they fill paintball tanks, they blow some in and let it out. the rapid release cools the tank so that it can take liquid with minimum boil off. I suspect (but don't know for sure) that larger tanks are the same. Also supply tanks made for filling other tanks have a dip tube. A dip tube works like a corny key output tube. It make sure liquid comes out of the tank. Tanks made for suppling gas don't have a dip tube and supply gas only. It is possible to invert a standard tank to fill, but this is a dangerous thing to do without having a way to support the tank. Also you don't want liquid co2 going into your regulator. Bad news for the regulator.

 

[HHP]

I live in a small military community with no LHBS, so I get mine filled at the welding supply store. The welding supply store is small and just fills them the same way that most LHBS's fill them (tank to tank).

They only charge for the co2 that you take, so if you only get a 3# fill, you only pay for 3#'s. I have a ten pound tank and have gotten 8# and 9# fills from them.

In order to maximize the amount that you are able to take it is best to open the valve completely and toss it in a freezer for 24 hours. They have one there, and when I need a fill I freeze it at home, drop it off at their freezer and then they fill it in the afternoon when I pick it up. Freezing it makes about a two pound difference in my ten pound tank.

 

[schmoe]

I go to my local beverage carbonation store.

 

[kpr121]

The price/convenience difference here would be important

+1. One of the beer distributors close by to me rarely ever got me to 5 lbs (Its usually around 2-3), but they only charge me 7 bucks. I consider that worth it since they have great hours (open till midnight or later on weekends), and I can run out there quickly if need be during a party or something. The other distributor charges 10 bucks, is quite a bit further away, and is also inconsistent with their fills. They happen to have a better beer selection, so I will sometimes take my tank there to avoid a second trip.

In order to maximize the amount that you are able to take it is best to open the valve completely and toss it in a freezer for 24 hours. They have one there, and when I need a fill I freeze it at home, drop it off at their freezer and then they fill it in the afternoon when I pick it up. Freezing it makes about a two pound difference in my ten pound tank.

Nice tip. I remember a guy at the second distributor got mad at me because I had left my tank in the car in in below freezing temperatures. He said it caused issues with filling. I think he was just trying to snake some money off me.