Beverage grade CO2?

I'm just kegging my ipa and noticed the CO2 bottle has a label which says beverage grade.

I filled the bottle at a fire extinguisher company. Would this cause issues? is there anywhere that uses beverge grade CO2? I have used the bottle for 2 other kegs until I realized.
Thanks.

 

I get mine filled at the local welding supply as do all of the other brewers I know locally who keg. Never a problem.

 

I just started keging and the only warning I got from a long time home brewer about the CO2 was when using a new bottle have the place purge the AIR out by putting a little co2 in and then turn it upside down and release some of the pressure and when your bottle is empty don't leave it with the valve open so you don't let any air back in and potentially anything going into your keg of fresh beer.

And I also get mine filled at the local gas supply

 

There is such a thing as beverage grade CO2, and you do have to be careful. Carbon Dioxide is produced by collecting and purifying an exhaust gas from some chemical process like a refinery or something. The exhaust gas can have all kinds of nasty stuff in it that has to be removed to make it safe for consumption. If the CO2 is going to be used for industrial purposes or to make dry ice, they may not put as much effort into purifying it.

I used to work for a company that made CO2. I won't say who, but we supplied a popular soda company that I also won't name. Well, at one point we discovered the CO2 we supplied them was laced with cyanide. :cross: It was a very small amount and you would probably have to consume a hundred cans of soda before it became toxic (all of the phosphoric acid in soda would probably kill you first), but nonetheless the soda company was pretty pissed off when we broke the news to them.

Moral of the story: I use beverage grade CO2.

 

Just to add to what I said above so I don't scare y'all to death. In all likelyhood, the industrial CO2 probably comes from the same tank at the same plant that makes beverage CO2. The difference is probably only in how they test it. A tanker truck designated for a beverage customer may undergo additional testing and be certified with additional paperwork to satisfy government standards.

So you could have two cylinders from the same source standing side by side, but one could be industrial grade and the other one beverage grade. The only difference would be the label, but the beverage grade is certified safe for consumption. The industrial grade is most likely safe, but it's not certified.

 

Thanks all for the replies. Some of which are a little worrying!

Where can I get beverage grade CO2 usually?