OLD CO2 tank worth anything

[MilwaukeeGoiter]

I bought an old kegerator a few weeks back and the guy threw in the CO2 Tank, I knew it was worthless as far as being used with the kegerator but I am wondering if these are still used by welders or any other trade? Its probably from the 70s, looks like steel, not aluminum. Worth anything to anyone or should I just Scrap it???

 

[brewingmeister]

There are Co2 tanks out there that have been in service for over a hundred years. I'll take it if you don't want it.

 

[BetterSense]

If you were closer I would take it. I want a big CO2 tank to use for filling up small paintball cylinders. All the benefit of small handy cylinders, all the volume-discount from buying CO2 40lb at a time.

 

[Airplanedoc]

I just got one filled that hadn't been certified in 20 years. It had positive pressure when I got it, I took it in, a week later my wallet was $30 lighter, but I had a full certified tank.

If you don't want it and the deal with the previous poster falls thru. I will gladly take it off your hands.

 

[BetterSense]

I have a real nice paintball tank but it's out of hydro and fiber-wrapped tanks have to be retired (meaning they drill a hole in it) after 15 years. It was made in 2000, so it's not worth getting re-tested. Bummer.

Do 20lb tanks like the ones for soda dispensers have to by hydro-tested? Where do you get that done?

 

[erikpete18]

Yeah, I guess I'm trying to figure out why you don't think it will work. If its out of hydro date, a lot of places you can get co2 (welding stores, airgas, etc.) will either do the hydro test for you and charge you, or some will even swap out your old tank for a full one. I had a 20lb co2 tank that was about a year past the hydro date and called up the local welding place, they said as long as the tank looked fine they'd be happy to swap my out-of-date one with a full one, no extra charge (besides the gas). Don't toss it til you give it a shot!

 

[MilwaukeeGoiter]

Interesting, Im gonna take a closer look at it tonight. I just figured it was so old that the fittings would be different than the newer ones today and the bigger problem that it wasnt certified.

 

[carlisle_bob]

Hi

High pressure cylinders are just a bit over 100 years old. The fittings haven't changed for at least 50 years. I have several tanks that originally went into service in the 1950's, they get re-tested every so often and keep on running. About the only thing that stops them is a *LOT* of rust on the outside.

Bob

 

[TimpanogosSlim]

Yeah, I guess I'm trying to figure out why you don't think it will work. If its out of hydro date, a lot of places you can get co2 (welding stores, airgas, etc.) will either do the hydro test for you and charge you, or some will even swap out your old tank for a full one. I had a 20lb co2 tank that was about a year past the hydro date and called up the local welding place, they said as long as the tank looked fine they'd be happy to swap my out-of-date one with a full one, no extra charge (besides the gas). Don't toss it til you give it a shot!

My first keg purchase was $100 for 1 pin lock keg, hoses, disconnects, and a 20lb steel co2 tank w/o regulator, empty, and 15 years out of test. Ugly. Many layers of chipped paint. Numerous hydro stamps in it. Probably 50 years old.

Lugged it into a welding store, gave the man some money, walked out with a full 20lb steel co2 tank that is also ugly, but ugly by nature of having been sandblasted to bare metal and then painted green and red by some child with a couple rattle cans.

The steel tanks are heavy SOBs but they work just the same.

 

[MilwaukeeGoiter]

Im going to take it in this weekend, looks like I will have a backup...

 

[Bsquared]

Look if it has a stamp or a sticker from a gas distributer. I had an older tank that was last hydro tested in 1984, but it had an airgas tag on it. I took it to my local airgas retailer and they swapped out the old tank and gave me a newer one for the price of a normal exchange no extra charge.

 

[carlisle_bob]

Hi

All they will do with an "old" tank is run it through a re-test. It then gets a stamp and goes back to work. The cost of the test (they do it themselves) is essentially nothing. The risk of the tank failing is also very small.

That in no way stops some outfits from hitting you with a $30 charge for the test. They also seem to hit you with a lot of other odd charges. As with most strange charges it is something that you can yell about and likely get reduced. You also can shop around ...

Bob