CO2 Refill - Tampa Area?

[FarSide792]

Anyone in the Tampa/St. Pete area have a good location to get tanks refilled? I recently had a 5# refilled at Crumpton's Welding Supply in Tampa, and they charged $16! Damn.

 

[tesilential]

I paid 22 for a swap at Airgas. My aluminum tank was out of hydro date so I got an aluminum replacement from them.

Ironically I plan on filling at crumptons from now on to save a few bucks.

 

[FarSide792]

I paid 22 for a swap at Airgas. My aluminum tank was out of hydro date so I got an aluminum replacement from them.

Ironically I plan on filling at crumptons from now on to save a few bucks.

Gah....doesn't that seem a *bit* on the pricey side? I've asked some of the paintball places here in South Tampa, and one even told me $32 to fill up a 5#!!!

 

[ChadLadensack]

I'm slowly building up my parts for a keezer build and purchased two 5lb's off craigslist. $16 doesn't sound bad at all. Although, I haven't done much searching.

I normally checkout Boothsbrewing to baseline my prices. Seeing $25 for a since 5lb tank exchange almost knocked me off my chair.

 

[tesilential]

9 years ago when I played paintball, I remember paying from $4.5-$6.5 to fill a twenty ounce co2 tank. So 16 doesn't seem too bad to me. Unfortunately crumptons is pretty far from me. OP how long did it take for them to fill the tank? With a long drive + wait time it may be better for me to just spend the extra bucks on the instant swap.

 

[passedpawn]

Does it seem ironic to be buying CO2 for your beer, when your beer gave off a ton of it during fermentation?

 

[FarSide792]

Does it seem ironic to be buying CO2 for your beer, when your beer gave off a ton of it during fermentation?

No, no, no....don't go and put logic into this lol

 

[FarSide792]

9 years ago when I played paintball, I remember paying from $4.5-$6.5 to fill a twenty ounce co2 tank. So 16 doesn't seem too bad to me. Unfortunately crumptons is pretty far from me. OP how long did it take for them to fill the tank? With a long drive + wait time it may be better for me to just spend the extra bucks on the instant swap.

I went in on a Friday around 3:30pm....and the dude told that I might not get it filled then because the compressor might be off for the day??? Apparently I was *lucky* though, and they filled it.

Walking in the door to walking out might have been 10 min tops? Not that bad...Just be sure you go earlier in the day!

 

[AmusedBystander]

There's a place in Pinellas Park on 66th that fills 5lbs for 16 bucks, then its like $3 per lb after that.

Also, most places (if not all) that refill fire extinguishers should be able to do it

 

[dhoffman]

The B-21 liquor store in Tarpon Springs refills a 5 lb tank for $10. That's the only place I've found in the Tampa Bay area for less than $16.

 

[Lost]

I was about to post on this as well. I'm in the brandon/south tampa area. I need both co2 and beer gas. Airgas is pricey but appears to be the only supplier of beergas in the area.

I appreciate the tip about crumptons, $16 isn't terrible but it isn't good either. I was getting co2 refills for $11 prior to moving.

 

[AmusedBystander]

What is beergas?

 

[day_trippr]

What is beergas?

75%/25% Nitrogen/CO2...

Cheers

 

[Lost]

What is beergas?

It's used with a stout faucet to give your beer a 'guiness type' pour (you know, with the cascading creamy head). You can serve any beer this way but it's typically done with dark beers. It's a matter of taste but I strongly prefer it for serving my stouts and even porters.

Basically the nitrogen doesn't readily dissolve into the beer like CO2 does so you can serve the beer with tremendous pressure (typically about 30psi) without worrying about the beer being overcarbed. You need this pressure to serve the beer with the stout faucet. The stout faucet has a little disk in it with tiny holes (a 'restrictor plate') that the beer is forced through. This is what makes all the bubbles in the cascading foamy head. If the beer has too much CO2 in it then it'll will just be all foam and will take forever to settle.. so that's why you use the beer gas - so you can serve with a lot of pressure but only have a lightly carbonated beer with a foamy but not overly foamy head.

It's a combo - beer gas + stout faucet. You need both for a 'nitrogen' served beer.

 

[AmusedBystander]

Thanks, I'm going to look into that when I start making stouts. Airgas is the only place I know of that sells nitrogen also. You may want to talk to the people at Booth's Brewing on Falkenburg, if you haven't already. They are great people. Also, since your in Brandon, Bootleggers says there is a place on Parsons that sells CO2, but I've never been there.

 

[dhoffman]

It's a combo - beer gas + stout faucet. You need both for a 'nitrogen' served beer.

Thanks for the info, Lost. It makes sense, but if you need the faucet, do you know how a widget in a pub draught can works?

 

[tesilential]

Where do you all get propane fills? Cheapest I've found is $15 for 20lbs tank at ACE and produce market on linebaugh just east of the dump.

Edit: vvvv do you know how much they charge?

 

[AmusedBystander]

many uhaul stations sell propane

 

[Lost]

I once worked at uhaul and you can get propane there. They fill so that's an option if you don't want to exchange your tank.

As for what is cheap in the area I can't help since my brewery is electric. Sorry.

 

[dhoffman]

I used to go to the BP gas station on Memorial Hwy, near the airport, for refills - cost $20. Now I just swap at Lowes for $17+.

 

[carlspeed]

Anything further on this? I was hoping to find a place near Palm Harbor, but everyone I call only wants to do a tank exchange. Crumpton's said they would fill it for $16, so I'm prolly gonna head over there in a few minutes after traffic dies down.

 

[TopherM]

Somehow everyone started talking about propane refills when the OP was about CO2.

For CO2, I go to Tackleshack Watersports at 7801 66th Street North in Pinellas Park. It's about a mile south of the Beer and Winemaker's Pantry LHBS on 66th, so it's convenient to get the CO2 at the same time I go buy grain.

It is about $16 for a 5lb CO2 refill, which seems to be about average pricing.

 

[AmusedBystander]

16 bucks is about as good as it gets. I get mine from Tackleshack as well.

 

[passedpawn]

So am I the only one who connects the airlock on a fermenting carboy to a cornie through a check valve, and "naturally" carbonates?

 

[ThreeCircles]

Anything further on this? I was hoping to find a place near Palm Harbor, but everyone I call only wants to do a tank exchange. Crumpton's said they would fill it for $16, so I'm prolly gonna head over there in a few minutes after traffic dies down.

As mentioned, B21 on US19. They fill your tank (no exchange) while you wait. $10.

 

[Lost]

So am I the only one who connects the airlock on a fermenting carboy to a cornie through a check valve, and "naturally" carbonates?

You're joking right? I mean it would work on theory but in practice I think the glass carboy would burst. You could do it if you were fermenting in a keg though. Of course you could just naturally carb in the keg using a spunding valve, there's a lengthy thread around here to that effect which I am sure you've seen.

Really interesting though, using the primary to carb a corny would save you the hassle of transferring carbed beer (that is if you were doing the pressure fermentation thing).

 

[carlspeed]

As an update, I went to crumptons. $16.50 after tax for a full 10lbs of c02.

 

[passedpawn]

You're joking right?

Joking? No, but I haven't actually done this. But I intend to. I've just started kegging.

So many experiments, so little time.

 

[skylervm]

Anyone know of a place that'll do exchanges? Just picked up a kegerator over the weekend. Not sure what shape the tank is in (seems kinda old and beatup) so I'd rather just swap it for a new one.

 

[carlspeed]

There are a lot of them. Call an airgas place.