how long should five pound co2 last?

[mjc8870]

I force carbed at 10 psi my home brew. It took about 2.5 weeks to get carbing just right. Now, I am about half way through and the co2 is empty. It has been approximately 6 weeks since I started to force carb till now.

I checked for leaks the day I began force carbing and didn't find anything. How long should a five pound co2 cannister last if I force carb at 10 psi as described above?

I am assuming I have a leak somewhere but everything checked out prior to initially force carbing. Any feedback would be appreciated.


Thanks,


Mike

 

[brewmonk]

um, more than 6 months at YOUR rate!

(you have a leak)

 

[brewmonk]

I'm making all this up BUT ....

5 POUNDS of liquid CO2 is sort of the same as a KEEZER full of beer bubbles, in beer, cold, and unable to go anywhere. what's the pressure to start 500 psi? ok, so start dividing....... but first, I belive that y ou need to start spraying soapy water everywhere.

 

[mjc8870]

Figured I had a leak but now to find. I sprayed soapy water when I refilled and didn't find anything. I will have to keep checking.

 

[lumpher]

there'll be a leak somewhere. i force-carb, and have 3 kegs on tap at any time, and have a few friends who like to help me "test" my beer, and a 10lb lasts me 6-7 months

 

[gleytch]

It might not hurt to make sure you are actually getting 5lbs of Co2 when you get the tank filled. I watched a guy at the LHBS say he could only fit in 2lbs of Co2 to a 5 lb tank, even though the tank was empty. There should be a "TW" (tare weight) and a number beside it stamped on the tank. When full, the tank should be the TW + 5 lbs.

 

[Changeduser123]

if spraying star san does not work, try to soak every connection in a bowl of water. I just built a spunding valve, which is basically 3 pieces of well made fitting going together..... I had 3 leaks, just because I did not put enough force when putting it together. Spraying was just not enough to see the slow leaks.

 

[samc]

Leak detector fluid is far superior to soapy water in finding leaks. Submerging in water is even better for finding the slow leak.

Did you set the lid on the corny with 30 psi first? Also some keg lube on the o-rings.

 

[ruffdeezy]

I have 2 5lb tanks. One is for force carbing and bottling with the beer gun. I filled that one approx 6 months ago and have carb'd about 10 kegs. That one is nearly empty. The other is in the kegerator and was filled around the same time and has about half left I think and has served nearly the same amount of kegs.

 

[emetcalf]

It might not hurt to make sure you are actually getting 5lbs of Co2 when you get the tank filled. I watched a guy at the LHBS say he could only fit in 2lbs of Co2 to a 5 lb tank, even though the tank was empty. There should be a "TW" (tare weight) and a number beside it stamped on the tank. When full, the tank should be the TW + 5 lbs.

If the person filling your tank doesn't really know what they are doing they can very easily underfill it. I worked in a paintball shop for 4 years, so I learned how to fill CO2 while I was there and we filled 5 lb tanks for people all the time. The trick is to get the tank as cold as possible right before you fill it so the liquid doesn't expand as much when it goes in. And if it doesn't fill all the way, just vent some of the CO2 and that will cool down the tank so you can fill it all the way. A warm tank usually won't even get to the halfway point before the pressure equalizes with the bulk tank.

 

[Brewfat]

Are you judging by the gauge? Is the tank in the fridge?
If yes, the gauge is meaningless.

 

[stunsm]

If you really are curious, get a kitchen scale, weigh your tank full, then weigh it after carbing a brew, then again after you burn through the keg. This should give you a pretty good idea of what you'll use per operation. (PS: The tare weight of an empty aluminum tank is about 7.5 lbs).

 

[Gunfighter04]

I replaced a keg 3 weeks ago. I evidently did something to loosen the liquid clamp on 1 of the kegs. the other keg was almost empty. It was a simple drip about 1 a second from the connector, I didn't notice it, and since I had to wait 2 weeks for it to carb up I never checked it. I lost a 20 lb tank and 5 gallons of beer into the bottom of the keezer.

I would have never guessed that small of a leak would empty the tank in 2 weeks.

 

[IrishBrewer74]

Ok now I know I am getting hosed at my local liquor store that fills tanks. First time I took my 5 pounder in there I thought it died too early. My 10 pounder got filled at the same place and is so full that when I purged the hefe set at 25, I saw dry ice shoot thru the line. Well, I took my 5 pounder back today thinking I'd try again... Tare weight of 11.555. Weight after filling 12. Not going there again. They only charge 5 bucks regardless of tank size, so I'm not gonna bother complaining. But I'm not going back there. My LHBS does a tank exchange, I think I'll do that next time!