CO2 Tanks

[Beltran]

Hello All,
I have a question about Kegging. I'm looking into the cost of all the equipment needed and I wanted to see if any has used the CO2 20lb tank from Harbor Fright for $89.99?? My LHBS has them for $154.99.

Also has anyone used an old Medical Oxygen tank for kegging? I have a couple of these laying around after my grandmother passed away a few years back.

Not trying to be cheap here, just brewing on a budget

thanks for your help

 

[sandyeggoxj]

It will be next to impossible to get co2 filled into a medical o2 tank. Good luck.

I haven't used the HF tanks, but there is a guy on the forum called ezryder who sells tanks for cheap. You will still need to fill it but that is not too hard. I have bought a tank from ez as well as many other people. I haven't heard anything bad about it at all. Don't spend $150+ on a tank. At the very least watch craigslist. You can find some pretty damn good deals on CL.

 

[jbb3]

Also has anyone used an old Medical Oxygen tank for kegging? I have a couple of these laying around after my grandmother passed away a few years back.

Not sure about kegging but you could use it for oxygenating your wort just prior to pitching. Assuming your local gas supplier will swap tanks given your certification has probably expired.

 

[PapaFoxtrot]

I wanted to see if any has used the CO2 20lb tank from Harbor Fright for $89.99??

That's actually a 20 cuft tank, not 20 lb. A little over 2 lb., I believe.

Your profile doesn't say where you're at, but patience and Craigslist can be your friend. I snagged a couple of out-of-date cylinders with a pile of other stuff on CL. Swapped them at the local beverage place for newly certified cylinders for $40 ea plus the fill.

 

[Beltran]

Thanks for the info so far, I live in Austin TX area, haven't seen much on CL lately so I started looking around the stores to see what I could get.

If I where going to run 2 5gal corny kegs in a small kegerator would a 5lb tank be a enough to run it until the kegs go empty? And will I have enough to pressurize the kegs after the beer has been transferred from fermentation .

 

[bobeer]

I serve two 5 gallon kegs off of a 5lb tank and it works fine.

I'd sell an 02 tank or two and raise some funds to buy your draft setup!

 

[bobeer]

And yes, you'd have enough gas to carb the beer and serve. My 5lb tank lasts me for 5 or 6 kegs if i have it all dialed in right.

 

[SupervisingChildren]

Thanks for the info so far, I live in Austin TX area, haven't seen much on CL lately so I started looking around the stores to see what I could get.

If I where going to run 2 5gal corny kegs in a small kegerator would a 5lb tank be a enough to run it until the kegs go empty? And will I have enough to pressurize the kegs after the beer has been transferred from fermentation .

I heard that the tanks at harbor freight often don't have a certification and then need to get filled on top of that.

Maybe check with a large gas distributor like airgas to see if you can get a tank from them?

And like the others have stated, craigslist is your friend. That's how I got all 3 of my tanks for cheap.

 

[yohoe]

Don't buy a CO2 tank if you don't need to - get a filled tank from a gas supplier and pay the deposit for the tank.

You'll find that refilling your tank won't actually yield a full tank and you pay more. I was paying more to refill my own tank than exchanging a tank and paying the gas.

speaking of which, I have a 5# aluminum tank for sale

 

[tjramsey]

Thanks for the info so far, I live in Austin TX area, haven't seen much on CL lately so I started looking around the stores to see what I could get.

.

I'm in Austin as well. After more or less 18 years just got back into home brewing, been lurking here for months, but finally see a question where I might be able to help:

I got all my kegging stuff from kegconnection.com. I bought the tank from them, (10 lb not 20) but in researching fills, I found the best prices at Alamo Welding Supply. (As I recall they were pretty competitive on tanks as well as fills, definitely best price on fills; I thought I had taken notes on pricing, but couldn't find them.)
No pricing on their web site, but a quick call to them should get you a price. Willing to bet it beats LHBS.

 

[poptarts]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f16/co2-nitrogen-oxygen-tanks-sale-495277/

 

[ndinh]

definitely no on the medical O2 tanks. Most gas places won't fill them. You'll need one with a CGA 540 fitting (usually welding tanks) to get filled and connect to a regulator. For CO2, go for a minimun of 5lbs, which will last you 4-6 kegs.

 

[AdamBomb]

Don't buy a CO2 tank if you don't need to - get a filled tank from a gas supplier and pay the deposit for the tank.

You'll find that refilling your tank won't actually yield a full tank and you pay more. I was paying more to refill my own tank than exchanging a tank and paying the gas.

Learned this the hard way today. I took my brand new tank to my local gas supply people and they said they do not fill they only swap cylinders. So my nice new freshly painted tank that I never got to use got pitched in with the other empties and I got a banged up full tank in return.

But all in all I came out ahead due to the fact that I paid less for the tank than if i had gotten it there and mine was steel. The one I got in return is aluminum much lighter.

 

[Beltran]

Thanks guys for all the help, Turns out yesterday morning I happen to look on CL and found a 5lb tank w/regulator and gauge /2 corney kegs/ with lots of extras for $150.00 . Alamo and Airgas wanted to sell me a 10lb tank alone for that price.
Tjramsey, you are correct Alamo has the cheapest on refills $7.95 for 5lb and $13.95 for a 10lb tank. Airgas wanted $25.00 to fill a 10lb and $12.95 for a 5lb

Now time to find that Chest Freezer.

Thanks Again guys