CO2 Aluminum Tank : trade in or have it hydro tested?

[JesseRC]

My wifes granfdather gave me a 20# aluminum CO2 tank, and when trying to get it filled, it turns out it needs to be hydro tested.

I called another company and they said if they have one on hand they will swap it out, but charge me $28 extra since they will have to have the old one hydro tested. Not sure if that common practice. I also don't know what tank i will be recieving, could be steel.

While this old aluminum tank needs some cleaning up, I'm thinking it would be best to hold onto it. Since it might go into my keezer, do you guys suggest keeping it. Those of you with steel tanks, do they rust and stain alot in your keezers?

 

[kirscp]

You can paint a steel one very easily. Don't have to worry about rust then.

 

[surfbrewer]

This is just my experience with my local gas supplier....When I need to get a refill I have them swap out the bottle, this keeps me from from ever having to pay for a hydro test of my own or pay the hydro charge that they charge for turning in a tank that needs hydro (it is common practice I believe). The first time I exchanged my bottle they did charge me a small hydro fee, which was less than the cost of having the tank hydro'd myself, and since then I have recieved a nice shiny, new, aluminum botlle ever since. No extra charges or concerns about hydro test dates.

My very first bottle was steel and I keep my bottle inside of my fridge, the bottom did rust a little bit but not all that bad. Although I didn't have it for very long before I swapped it for an aluminum one. Hope that helps.

 

[JesseRC]

thanks guys. I think I will try my luck with a swap. If I end up with a nice one, then I'll gett'r filled next time.

 

[conpewter]

The couple place I have exchanged at don't worry about the hydro fees, they just swap you out.

 

[monty73741]

yeah find a local liquir store that does that. that what i did

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

I hadn't used my CO2 tank for about 10 years when I took it in and the gas place I went to (there are several 'gas suppliers' around here...probably because the Space Center is so close) swapped it out for a couple of bucks. My 'old' tank was shiny aluminum and the 'new' tank was painted grey...but that's not really an issue for me.

At my job we have two outdoor (covered but not 'under air') fenced areas that are loaded with full-sized K-bottles (the ones that stand about 4.5' tall). Some of these K-bottles sit out there for a very long time because we use so little of that specialty gas...but we still have to have a spare bottle. Some of them have stood in rainwater for extended periods (I fixed that). Many of these bottles have gotten pretty rusty but the integrity is still there...it's just surface rust. I'm not saying to just ignore any rust but very often it's just surface rust. Maybe living in Florida and working on the coast has 'desensitized' me to surface rust...even poorly or unpassivated 300 series SS will rust out here (in less than a year).

The bottles probably just get sand-blasted to remove old paint and corrosion...then probably inspected while they're 'naked', hydrostat tested to 1.5 times the max working pressure, then primed/painted.

 

[JesseRC]

Thanks for everyone's suggestions.

I initially tried Home Depot, tank exchange is not available in SA, TX. It looks like only the Dallas areas offer it in TX. So I finally found a place that would just exchange it. I tried to slip it by them, but nope, they charged me for a hydro test. $24 for hydro test and $15 for the tank exchange. So a total of $40 out the door, not bad figuring it was a free tank.