hooking a paintball bottle to a keg

[weasle708]

the tank that i am showing is a refillable co2 tank. you can also refill a 9oz tank. the 20oz tank cost about 4.00 to refill. the big blue connection has a dial that you can control the pressure that comes out of the tank. hope this helps

the tubing is 1/4 I.D. 3/8 O.D.

 

[Chello]

Any updates on how well this system works?

 

[weasle708]

patience young Jedi
not yet just racked my fest beer to the secondary. after Christmas i will be hooking it up. will have photos and information then.

 

[senorfartman]

I have a ton of old paintball gear laying around including one of these:

A 68 cubic inch, 4500 psi nitrogen tank. I haven't played in years so I can't remember if I have the 800 or 400 psi spring in the regulator. However I've got several inline regulators that could easily knock down the pressure to what the kegs need and supply enough volume.

Speaking of which, how much pressure do you need to feed the keg to get proper carbonation and have it still pour a an acceptable rate?

 

[weasle708]

I have a ton of old paintball gear laying around including one of these:

A 68 cubic inch, 4500 psi nitrogen tank. I haven't played in years so I can't remember if I have the 800 or 400 psi spring in the regulator. However I've got several inline regulators that could easily knock down the pressure to what the kegs need and supply enough volume.

Speaking of which, how much pressure do you need to feed the keg to get proper carbonation and have it still pour a an acceptable rate?

you cant use this tank. it is not for co2. there is a nifty carbination chart that you can search for that will help. the carbination level depends on the type of beer you have in your keg and the temp.
hope this helped somewhat.

 

[senorfartman]

I thought you could use nitrogen/compressed air for this? Or is there something specifically about CO2 that is useful in brewing?

Worst case I could just use the tank for pouring like the Guinness kegs.

 

[weasle708]

I thought you could use nitrogen/compressed air for this? Or is there something specifically about CO2 that is useful in brewing?

Worst case I could just use the tank for pouring like the Guinness kegs.

you need co2 to carb beer. oxygen will harm beer. there are other people here that can answer you question better than i can. for they know more than me.

 

[weasle708]

so i hooked it up it works great and looks cool

 

[Chello]

I guess that knob on top is used to adjust the pressure?

And when you buy it from lowes does the tank come full already? (just out of curiosity)

 

[weasle708]

yea the knob on the side controls the press. yes if you buy a tank from Lowe's it will be full. I play paint ball so i have the CO2 tanks all ready so that was one thing that i did not buy.
a word of caution is that the knob needs to be turned fully out to shut the air off if you get it and turn in the knob that will give the reg full pressure 120 psi.
one nice future is that you could strap the CO2 tank to the keg.

 

[Chello]

one more question... does the regulator come with a tank or do they try to sell you that too?

 

[msiler]

All you need is one of these$10 a spare regulator $30 and about $5 worth of hardware store fittings i built mine for well under $20 with a regulator i already had on hand.

 

[Chello]

All you need is one of these$10 a spare regulator $30 and about $5 worth of hardware store fittings i built mine for well under $20 with a regulator i already had on hand.

Where can you find that piece of hardware?

 

[weasle708]

You get the regulator as a kit that includes a air line, tire pressure gauge, tire inflater, a blower wand and safety glasses. It does not include the tank which was fine with me. I had extra tanks that i could use.
what i like about it is the fact that i can use it for so much more that just beer. I can use nail guns inflate tires. (thing to keep the SWMBO happy). priceless

 

[mZnthebend]

Nice work weasle708!! I too came across the same system. I got a 5# set-up through Craigslist and have been at a loss for CO2. I can buy another steel tank and take time off of work to get there in time, but no-one in the area will fill my aluminum. I remembered the Kobalt system from Lowes and picked it up the other day. I came home and did a seach and saw you had already posted your work. It is my first time kegging, I set the pressure for 14 psi and went on vacation for a week When I came back the system was great and I've pulled a dozen or so drafts off of the system!! As far as I can tell, it is a great option for people with limited access to CO2, I talked to Dick's and it was between $2 and $3 for a fill on a 9, 12, or 20 oz. tank. Quick question for you, did your set-up come with two tanks? I got a free filled 9 oz. tank and an empty 9 oz. in the packaging.

 

[weasle708]

Glad to here that it worked for you. glad this thread could help.
No the one i got did not come with a tank. I had some already.

 

[Sean from New Hampshire]

I seem to remember reading somewhere that Co2 varies between food grade and what they call "dirty" Co2. I thought paintball Co2 was dirty gas because its unfilter, and has traces of oil in it.

As a paintballer of 6 years I've been around it alot, but my local field filled kegerator tanks as well as our co2 tanks. Maybe I'm wrong though.... hows it taste?

Sean

 

[weasle708]

I just finished drinking my first keg using this method and it tasted fine to me. I don't think there is a difference. I will have to google it now that you brought that up.

 

[Chello]

I used to hear that some of the small 12 or 16 gram(whichever they sell for pellet guns) disposable co2 things did contain trace amounts of oil to lube the gun. Not sure about paintball co2 fill ups however.

 

[weasle708]

I guess if you are really concerned about anything getting in you beer you could in stall a small inline filter to remove anything that would be in the CO2 tank.

 

[shafferpilot]

To anyone with CO2 fill problems:

check with the local fire extinguisher services in your area. Most fill CO2 onsite, and are fairly cheap.

 

[Sean from New Hampshire]

WOw this is great, I have TONS of tanks lying around I can use, I also found a 5 pound fire extinguisher.

Sean

 

[ipscman]

I'm told I can't use the 8 gram bulbs for sale at local hardward stores for BB guns in my "Beer Machine"...that it has to be "food grade bulbs." Does anyone know if the gas is different or is this just hype? THANKS.

 

[Displaced MassHole]

It may just be hype, I ran into this problem with my O2 tank. I went to airgas to have it filled with "medical grade" oxygen and the guy said its all the same. Its the tank thats different. My tank is for welding as apposed to a tank for breathing. With the little cartriges I'd assume that you'd be ok as long as their the same size.

 

[pen25]

I'm told I can't use the 8 gram bulbs for sale at local hardward stores for BB guns in my "Beer Machine"...that it has to be "food grade bulbs." Does anyone know if the gas is different or is this just hype? THANKS.

those co2 tanks have oil in them. helps lube the gun if i remember correctly.

 

[Displaced MassHole]

That makes sense.......I'd def stay away from those then.

 

[ipscman]

Now I'm confused. Look at the first advertisement at the top of the page. It is for 8gram co2 cartridges used for paintball and carbonated beverages. Here's the link:

http://www.gas-depot.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=20

Would the site allow ads from a company selling a product that would wreck out beer?

Say it ain't so.

???

 

[shafferpilot]

medical and food grade tanks are glass lined. that's the difference.

 

[pen25]

i had just been reading about those little 8 gram tanks and read they had oil but again i am not 100% sure. i know when i used one to clean my laptop there seemed to be a film left behind. ill see if i can spray some on some white paper and see if there is an oil mark

 

[IrregularPulse]

you cant use this tank. it is not for co2. there is a nifty carbination chart that you can search for that will help. the carbination level depends on the type of beer you have in your keg and the temp.
hope this helped somewhat.

You can use fiber wrapped tanks for CO2. You have send it out to be hydroed and approved for Co2 for teh proper sticker so places will fill it and you need to replace the regulator with a CO2 Valve so it can be filled. When I first got into PB I had a 45/45 Fiber Wrapped tank that was exactly this before getting really into it and jumping up to Compressed Air. I plan on taking my current 45/45 CA tank and converting it again since I no longer play in the NCPA after graduating and am downgrading to play occasional woods ball with the neighbor.

 

[thickmakdaddy]

Problem: I got a 3lb paintball style bottle on Ebay for thirty dollars and a typical taprite fassco dual gauge regulator for 26 bucks. the regulator threads match the bottle but there is nothing to depress the plunger on the bottle.

Solution: I used a hack saw and flat file to cut a piece of a hex key (allen wrench) that fit inside the hex shaped indentation on my regulator. The tricky part is getting the length of hex key perfect so that just before the regulator seals down tightly it begins to depress the plunger. Wear gloves and eye protection and have the bottle held down securely in a vice or something when you do this. lucky for me, my bottle has a seal on the end of the fitting that seals against the flat face of the regulator fitting. Good luck trying to find some kind of adapter in case you want a simple solution. Else just quit dorking around and fork over the cash for a regular co2 bottle and avoid a lot of messing around and frustration.

 

[Dpostman]

For those in Canada with no lowes in the area, Here is the link for the Canadian Tire Solution:

JacPac

dp

 

[antsp1]

Stumbled across this.

Ant

 

[GillandCo]

I have always wondered this But looked through my rubbish and lost my paintball Co2 Tank...would have made a nice spare, just enough to fill the other in time! Or strictly for transferring beer form one carboy to the other (keg)...O well looks like i'll have to invest in another tank now~Another excuse to spend $