5 lb. or 10 lb. tank

[OhioBri]

It seems that I can buy a reconditioned 10 lb. steel tank for about $10 cheaper than a new 5 lb. aluminum. It's going inside a refrigerator. I have never owned a steel tank before. Any thoughts?

 

[Yooper]

Bigger is better. A little rust on the outside won't hurt you, but the steel is heavier than aluminum. I like a 10 #, as it is much longer between fills. Unless you have a leak. So I have both now, actually. The 5# is my "emergency" tank and goes in the portable kegerator. The 10# is in the kegerator.

 

[FastAndy]

Here in Vegas where i live all the shops just swap co2 tanks like propane tanks so you get a full tank that isnt the tank you brought in. If shops in your area operate that way it doesnt make much sense to buy a new tank in my opinion. If the 10 lb tank is functional sounds like a deal to me.

Cheers

 

[weirdboy]

I assume you've done measurements so that you know the tank and whatever else you're putting in there will all fit, right?

The advantage the 5# has for me is that it fits on the little hump in my kegerator where nothing else can go anyway. The disadvantage is I can't see the gauge on it unless I pull out a bunch of kegs and dig around in there. So my first sign that I'm out of CO2 is when I suddenly start losing pressure on all my secondaries.

 

[ChadS99SVT]

If you have a tight system and no leaks a 5# tank is more than enough......I am on over 12 - 5 gallon kegs and still have 3.5lbs of gas left in the tank...

 

[lschiavo]

The bigger the better. My 20 pounder has held out for a long time now that I'm leak free.

 

[caver95]

Airgas does not care what you bring in as long as it is a tank that is not stolen. I got a 20lb that was out of hydro and looked like hell from a restaurant supply for FREE(with the purchase of two perlick towers) AG swapped it out, granted I did teach the office manager scuba diving, but I don't think I was treated special.

 

[iaefebs]

I would check with your local supplier. The availability of tanks might be local related. I didn't want to buy a nice aluminum tank because I couldn't get it filled on demand. I would have to drop it off and pick it up on fill day. I ended up buying my 1st tank from them (steel) and I just swap it out when needed. On another note, I was having trouble in my area swapping out the 10# tanks. The supplier I was dealing with just didn't have a large supply. Most of the tanks that they had were up for hydro testing and so many failed that supply was limited. He ended up giving me a 20# (No charge) because they are always in stock. With the 20 I can just show up anytime they are open and swap for a filled one.

 

[LakewoodBrew]

The price difference for the different sizes really leads you to larger tanks if you want to save some money. The fill on 20# is not a lot more than a 5# fill, maybe double at most, for 4x the gas (liquid actually). Get the largest that is feasible for your application.

I just moved to a 20# in January and routed a line into the fridge from outside. There is a manifold inside the fridge to distribute to the kegs.

 

[OhioBri]

I appreciate all of the input. I went with the smaller tank for the simple reason of maximizing space. I found that shipping also doubled with the larger. The local supply company that fills beverage canisters told me that they often acquire inexpensive 10 and 20 pounders. In the end i'll probably get both.

 

[Yooper]

I appreciate all of the input. I went with the smaller tank for the simple reason of maximizing space. I found that shipping also doubled with the larger. The local supply company that fills beverage canisters told me that they often acquire inexpensive 10 and 20 pounders. In the end i'll probably get both.

Our local gas supplier doesn't fill the tanks, he just exchanges them. So my brand new shiny aluminum tank disappeared and now I have a fairly beat up looking tank. I don't reallly mind (it's in the kegerator after all) but if yours fills yours for you, it's nice to have one that looks nice!

 

[OhioBri]

I definitely would have found an old one if I could only swap it out. My biggest concern was that I wanted to use a fridge in the garage, leave some shelves in it, and have room for at least two kegs. I remember how tight things were several years ago when I did this with a similar setup. If I remember correctly, it was always the regulator that made things awkwardly oriented. Once I know how it all fits, I hope to spring for a spare tank.