CO2 Bottle inside vs ouside of Kegerator?

[jwheelz]

I've got all my stuff for my Kegerator and I'm debating wether to put the CO2 bottle and gauges inside with my two corny's or leave them outside the fridge. My set up will support having a bottle outside or inside so space/logistics is not a concern.

Anyone know of any other advantage/disadvantage to this?

 

[tomije87]

either way, make sure the bottle is up right. If you have the co2 in the fridge, your high pressure gauge (which, in reality, doesn't really do anything), will go a little whacky, but it's not a big deal.

Plenty of people on here have their co2 bottle both ways. For most people, I'd say it comes down to a space issue, which you said wasn't a concern. For ease of plumbing, I'd probably put it in.

 

[cvstrat]

It's just aesthetics, but I prefer mine inside the fridge. It's harder to make adjustments to CO2 pressure if it's behind the corny's, but honestly once you're honed in you won't be making that many changes. It's just nice to have it all tidy, it looks more professional.

There may also be less of a chance to knock over the tank if it's inside. The gauges get ruined pretty easily when the tank tips over

 

[jwheelz]

Speaking of whacky gauges...my high pressure gauge was reading 600psi when I got it yesterday. The section of the gauge from 500-0psi is all colored red and actually says right on it, order more gas (or something very similar.) Anways, last night I noticed it's reading about half way through the red...about 300psi right now.

I've only put one Keg on it and set it for 30psi over night. I did do a bit of venting on my corny before I filled it up, but no way I could've gone through half my gas already! I've checked all my connections by feel and listening. I havnt tried the soap and water yet, but I dont notice any apperant leaks.

Is this normal for the high pressure gauge to read crazy like this? or is it normally pretty accurate?

 

[Walker]

Speaking of whacky gauges...my high pressure gauge was reading 600psi when I got it yesterday. The section of the gauge from 500-0psi is all colored red and actually says right on it, order more gas (or something very similar.) Anways, last night I noticed it's reading about half way through the red...about 300psi right now.

I've only put one Keg on it and set it for 30psi over night. I did do a bit of venting on my corny before I filled it up, but no way I could've gone through half my gas already! I've checked all my connections by feel and listening. I havnt tried the soap and water yet, but I dont notice any apperant leaks.

Is this normal for the high pressure gauge to read crazy like this? or is it normally pretty accurate?

When you read the gauge last night (600psi), was the tank warm?

When you read the gauge today (300psi), was the tank cold?

The drop in temp causes the pressure to drop, too.

Either way, forget that high pressure gauge. It's useless and can only tell you one thing: tank is empty, or tank is not empty. it is in no way an indicator of how much is left in the tank.

CO2 is store in a liquid form in those tanks. The gauge will read the exact same pressure for the entire life of the tank (provided you keep it at the same temp) until all of the liquid has evaporated and you are left with just the last bits of gas.

 

[jwheelz]

When you read the gauge last night (600psi), was the tank warm?

When you read the gauge today (300psi), was the tank cold?

The drop in temp causes the pressure to drop, too.

Either way, forget that high pressure gauge. It's useless and can only tell you one thing: tank is empty, or tank is not empty. it is in no way an indicator of how much is left in the tank.

CO2 is store in a liquid form in those tanks. The gauge will read the exact same pressure for the entire life of the tank (provided you keep it at the same temp) until all of the liquid has evaporated and you are left with just the last bits of gas.

Ah, that is good to know. The temp may have veried slightly but I dont think enough to make that big of a differance. I guess I'll just wait it out and see when I run out of gas The gauge will read 0, and beer will stop coming out of the taps when it's time for a refill then right?

 

[xenophobe2020]

either way, make sure the bottle is up right. If you have the co2 in the fridge, your high pressure gauge (which, in reality, doesn't really do anything), will go a little whacky, but it's not a big deal.

Plenty of people on here have their co2 bottle both ways. For most people, I'd say it comes down to a space issue, which you said wasn't a concern. For ease of plumbing, I'd probably put it in.

this is why i left mine in the kegerator, one less hole to drill when i converted the refrigerator

 

[Special Hops]

Both work just fine. Comes to personal preference and space requirements.

 

[Walker]

I guess I'll just wait it out and see when I run out of gas The gauge will read 0, and beer will stop coming out of the taps when it's time for a refill then right?

Exactly.

If you want to know how much is actually in it, every tank has a "tare weight" stamped on it, which is the weight of the tank when empty (and without the regulator attache).

So, take your tank, remove the regulator, put it on a scale, subtract the tare weight, and then you'll know how many pounds of CO2 are in it.....

I just wait for the beer to stop flowing, cause that **** above is a bit of a pain in the ass.

 

[Pick]

Well, you could have a leak. I went through a 5 pounder in 2 kegs, before I got smart and dipped everything in a bucket of water. It did not leak at 10 PSI, but was a volcano at 30.