argon in a pinch?

[lincoln]

I agreed to keg a friends beer over lunch that had ben fermenting at my house (he lives in an apartment with out ac. and has a 7 gal plastic comical)

I had forgot that my co2 bottle was still in the the wife's car form camping this weekend .

running out of time i used my back purge setup to purge and pressurize the keg. I had to kick the psi up to 40 to get the lid to seal. As long as he pulls the release valve and carbonates with co2 I don't think there will be any problems argon is inert after all. It also wasn't going in to solution. What do you think?

link

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Several here use a blend of CO2 and Argon in lieu of Nitrogen. It is soluable in water. Just at a fraction of the rate of CO2.

 

[Scimmia]

I had forgot that my co2 bottle was still in the the wife's car form camping this weekend .

This worries me more than anything. CO2 tank in a hot car is a dangerous situation.

 

[lincoln]

This worries me more than anything. CO2 tank in a hot car is a dangerous situation.

I would tend to agree, however in this case the tank is light ( i was planning to refill) and she parks in an garage at work.

thank you for the replies.

link

 

[zymurgy101]

I want to hear more about the plastic comical; is it funny?

 

[lincoln]

it is hairlaous!

 

[zymurgy101]

Lol

 

[david_42]

Argon is about 1/4 as dissolvable as CO2 and completely inert, so it won't do anything to the beer.

 

[triethylborane]

No need to parrot what has already been said, but when you are pumping argon into your vessel, be careful that your room is ventilated. You can fall into a situation of argon asphyxiation if there is a leak in your equipment. If you are working in a small space, this is a concern.

 

[944play]

More so than with CO2?

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

More so than with CO2?

Or nitrogen?

 

[triethylborane]

More so than with CO2?

Well, both CO2 and argon are non-toxic. You can breath a partial mixture of argon and CO2 in limited concentrations all day long, as you are doing so now. CO2 is dangerous in concentrations above 10% in the atmosphere. When you have a high CO2 concentration, you are risking organ damage because:

CO2 + H2O <-> H2CO2 (carbonic acid)
H2CO2 + H20 <-> HCO3- + H30+ (bicarbonate anion and hydronium cation)

Carbonic acid and bicarbonate are the most important pH buffers in the body, weak acid and weak base, respectively. They work to keep your blood pH just right with the help of primarily the lungs (breathing rate/depth) and kidneys (excretion). Minor deviations in blood pH are highly toxic to your body. Acidosis can occur when you are breathing an elevated CO2.

Carbon dioxide is mildly tangy to the taste and argon is completely undetectable by your body. Both CO2 and argon will displace oxygen. Same precautions should be taken with both.

 

[triethylborane]

Or nitrogen?

Nitrogen is not toxic and we breath a lot of it by volume. However it also displaces oxygen and so the same ventilation precautions should be taken.