co2 cold?

[Bigapinnc]

So trying to a new set up. I have always had the co2 tank inside the fridge but would love to make more room with it being outside. Does the co2 tank need to be cold when serving off draft or can it be room temp?

 

[TonyG]

Room temperature is fine, it's just usually easier to have it inside the fridge for a cleaner look, and avoids the need to run a hose into the fridge.

 

[msa8967]

If your CO2 tank is cold the fill gauge (how much is left in the tank) will seem to be low even though there is plenty of CO2 in there. Thought I would mention this so you didn't assume your system had a leak (which I did the first time I hooked up my keeging system).

 

[FLbuckeye]

@msa
How much could one expect the pressure to "drop off" when cold? I kegged my first batch on Sunday and it read 60 psi and by the time I got off work the next day it was just below 40. I can also hear a leak when I wiggle the co2 line but don't have any problems when I don't touch it
Just tryin to figure out if the apparent pressure drop is from the change of temp in the tank or if i need to attack the co2 input to fix a leak

 

[jeepinjeepin]

@msa
How much could one expect the pressure to "drop off" when cold? I kegged my first batch on Sunday and it read 60 psi and by the time I got off work the next day it was just below 40. I can also hear a leak when I wiggle the co2 line but don't have any problems when I don't touch it
Just tryin to figure out if the apparent pressure drop is from the change of temp in the tank or if i need to attack the co2 input to fix a leak

If you can hear a leak when you wiggle something its probably leaking some all the time. Tell us more. Do you have a dual gauge or single gauge regulator? What are the pressure on both(if you have a dual)? Was it 60psi out of the fridge and 40psi in the fridge? What do you have it turned up to 60psi for? Soda?

 

[david_42]

If you suspect a leak, FLbuckeye, start looking for it. Otherwise, you'll have an empty tank is no time.

The temperature of the CO2 tank doesn't matter at all. The pressure being delivered to the beer is determined by the regulator. If you move a tank from a room into a fridge, you might have to adjust the regulator once or twice, but after that it should be stable.

 

[FLbuckeye]

It's a dual. It reads 60 psi on one (which dropped down to aroun 40 after it cooled down to the temp of the kegerator set at 40 degrees) an I have it set at 12 psi to carb. It only leaks when I wiggle (for lack of a better term) but when I'm not touching it it's fine. I sprayed it with starsan to check go bubbling and it don't show anything.

 

[FLbuckeye]

Correction: it's a single regulator with splitter. Has two gauges. My bad

 

[jeepinjeepin]

The gauge that reads 60 and is down to 40, are you sure it's PSI? Is it 60 Bar?

 

[FLbuckeye]

It's this one. When I initially hooked it up the gauge on the left went to the middle of the green at 60 (full) then after getting to the temp of the fridge dropped to around the border of the green and white. I was just wondering if that's normal once it gets cold because I'm not finding any leaks

 

[FLbuckeye]

You were right the one to the left that reads 50 I bar. I assumed they were both psi.

 

[jeepinjeepin]

Ok, here is a picture of my regulator primary gauge to give you a reference. I did the conversion earlier. I think 60 Bar = 870 PSI. The tank pressure will drop when refrigerated. I think mine would fall to around 600 PSI when it was refrigerated.

 

[nickmv]

It's this one. When I initially hooked it up the gauge on the left went to the middle of the green at 60 (full) then after getting to the temp of the fridge dropped to around the border of the green and white. I was just wondering if that's normal once it gets cold because I'm not finding any leaks

Yes that's completely normal. It'll read low when it's cold. It's fine. Thing is with CO2, the gauges only serve the purpose of telling you that you're going to run out of CO2 pretty much the next time you try to fill a keg. Theyll show the same reading for a really long time, then near the end, they'll rapidly drop.

 

[FLbuckeye]

Perfect. That's exactly what I was hoping to hear. Thanks a lot guys
Josh

 

[Curtis2010]

...I sprayed it with starsan to check go bubbling and it don't show anything.

A couple of suggestions for checking for leaks. One, use a sponge with liquid soap to apply foam (not water) to the suspected fittings. Two, use your gauges, apply pressure, shut off the tank valve and and low pressure valves. If the pressure on any of the gauges drops over time then you have a leak.

 

[IceFisherChris]

It doesn't matter where the tank is. Pressure is pressure. Your tank WILL read a lower pressure when it's cold than when it's warm but the same amount of gas is still in there.

 

[jeepinjeepin]

It doesn't matter where the tank is. Pressure is pressure. Your tank WILL read a lower pressure when it's cold than when it's warm but the same amount of gas is still in there.

No, volume is volume. Pressure changes with temperature. Ideal Gas Law.

 

[SweetSounds]

Another thing - The pressure gauge will not move (Assuming the same temperature) until the tank is COMPLETELY empty of liquid Co2. So as soon as you see it go from say 50 bar to 30 bar, as long as the temperature hasn't changed, it means you are OUT of Co2.

And as soon as it does, it's too late - You're probably only going to get a few more pulls from it. Be prepared to go swap tanks then.