CO2 Tanks: Are they really this expensive?

[jayhoz]

I'm trying to piece together parts for my Sanyo conversion and am a bit surprised at that cost of 5# CO2 tanks. Do these things really cost $70? Any advice on getting one of these on the cheap?

 

[Cheesefood]

That's expensive for a 5#, unless it comes full. http://search.ebay.com/search/searc...action=compare&copagenum=1&coentrypage=search

 

[the_bird]

Just be careful if you buy it used, that the hydro test is in date, or you've effectively cost yourself another $15 - $20.

 

[Bobby_M]

You think CO2 bottles are expensive? Try buying a steel SCUBA tank - $325 +

 

[Ed_Savage]

Buy it from craigslist. Thats where I get most of my big ticket brewing equipment, for pennies on the dollar.

 

[HarvInSTL]

Buy it from craigslist. Thats where I get most of my big ticket brewing equipment, for pennies on the dollar.

I'd have to agree with this. I bought a used 20# tank for $15. Granted it was expired, but the hydrostatic fee was $13 and the exchange was $18.

So for $46 I now have a 20# tank that is full!

 

[gnef]

i agree with craigslist. it usually takes a while, and you usually have to get it hydrotested.

in the end, for a 5# tank though, it isn't going to save you much.

on craigslist, most likely you'll have to pay around 20 for the tank, and then another 20 for the test, then another 10 or so for the fill. that's 50 already.

in austin, i can get a full, used, 5# tank for 65. when i heard that, i was amazed, i thought it was cheap... to me, that conveniece is worth 15 dollars. whether or not it is worth 20 is up to you.

with taht said, i didn't buy the 5# tank, as i currently have 6 co2 tanks i bought off craigslist. a 50#, 3x20#, 10#, 2.5#. most of these were worth the wait. the most i paid for any of the tanks was 20 dollars, the fills cost at most 15, and the hydrotest cost 18. so for 50 a piece, i had a full tank in test, which is a fantastic deal for a 20#, let alone an even better deal for a 50# tank. for a 5# tank or less, that deal becomes less of an amazing deal.

try to get the largest tank you can though. it makes co2 that much cheaper. seriously. the swap cost for my 50# tank was 13.50. for the 2.5# tank, it was 8. you do the math. heh.

 

[Reidman]

Portland area craigslist sucks!

I've searched 2 months straight and unfortuantely no CO2 tanks yet (there was 1 listing but this thing looked like a bomb waiting to go off). I will probably just get one off ebay...

 

[GrantLee63]

Guess I really lucked out when a friend of mine gave me TWO 15 pounders (he said he recently swithced to a different type of welding system that doesn't require CO2) that were just certified in January of this year. It cost me a total of $24 to get them both filled at the local welding supply!