How long should a 10 lbs CO2 tank last on two cornies?

[Atl300zx]

Here is the scenario:

2 cornies were sitting hooked to my 10 lb co2 tank for 5 weeks at 15 psi before i could get my kegerator functioning. My kegerator started working saturday. i had a party and we finished ~ 2/3 of each keg. Yesterday while pouring a couple pints, i decided to open her up. The hi-pressure gauge is in the red at around 500-600 psi. Should the co2 have been used up so quickly or do i have a leak?

TIA

 

[Ó Flannagáin]

Most likely a leak, that sounds quick from what I've been hearing. I just got a 20lb tank and was told it should last me a year.

 

[JoSeR]

Don't trust the gauge if the tanks in the fridge. Sometimes they don't work right when they're cold. Is it still flowing?

 

[Atl300zx]

Don't trust the gauge if the tanks in the fridge. Sometimes they don't work right when they're cold. Is it still flowing?

The tank is in the fridge and the beer is still flowing.

 

[jdoiv]

Don't worry about the gauge. When the CO2 is cold the gauge will read low. It will go from the 500-600psi you see now to 0 almost immediately as the CO2 goes from a liquid state to a gas state and the cylinder will empty really fast. I pushed a good 8 or 10 kegs on just a 5# tank.

 

[Robar]

I have a brand new 20# tank that I know doesn't leak. I had it filled and the guage read 800# put it in my controlled freezer at 37* and it dropped to 600# over night. Tripped me out at first but that was well over a month ago and the tank is still heavy as hell and the gas is still flowing. Sounds like you have the same situation.

 

[TheJadedDog]

Sounds perfectly normal to me. Pressure is a function of temperature and is not in any way an indication of how much gas is left in the tank (other than when the gauge reads 0). In order to truly know how much gas is left you have to weight the tank (CO2 is sold by weight) and then subtract the tare weight of the tank itself.

 

[david_42]

Don't worry until the gage gets to 200 psi. A #10 tank should be good for 20-30 kegs.

 

[Bobby_M]

In theory, 1 pound of liquid CO2 should be good for 30 gallons of homebrew carbonated to 2 volumes. That means a 5lb tank would carb 150 gals or 30 cornies and a 10 would be 60 cornies. The problem though is we use a lot more when we prepurge the kegs, vent here and there, etc. Also, when you carb 5 gallons to two volumes, then dispense the whole thing, it takes about 15 gallons. That would be 4 cornies per pound of CO2 if you wasted absolutely no gas.

 

[rohanski]

I get about 25 kegs to a 5lb. tank.

 

[Bobby_M]

Is that force carbing and dispensing or just dispensing?

 

[Reverend JC]

Just dispensing i am on about keg # 14 and it is still pretty full.

I have one 5 gallon to force carb and one to serve.

 

[Bobby_M]

Dispensing only uses a 1/3rd of what it takes to carb and serve (assuming a 2 volume carb level). That's why you can get away with serving with those little 12 gram CO2 chargers.

 

[Atl300zx]

force carb and serve

 

[skou]

Here's an explanaion.

That Co2 in your tank, is a liquid, under pressure. It boils off, to keep the pressure in the tank constant. When you lower the temperature, the liquid Co2 boils at a lower pressure.

Now, that pressure will remain constant, (even at a lower pressure, when cooled) but will start to drop when the liquid has boiled off.

Watch your high-pressure gauge. When it drops, you just boiled off the liquid, and need to get the tank re-filled.

Hope this helps.

steve