Alas, you caught me; I misspoke.
Refilling a 5 pound CO2 tank
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It's not really about that, just being sure I have full understanding and if it clarifies for anyone else along the way.
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The local grow store here in MA started doing 5# swaps(aluminum only, they will send steel ones for refill) for $11/tank. They also swap 20's for $25. Cheaper and closer than airgas or other "local" gas places.
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Oh, do tell, says the guy from only a wee bit South of Amherst, which store might that be?
Here we Grow in Hadley. They are great about it...
Also, Why are you not at any of our Monthly SPARGE club meetings? SPARGE Homebrew Club we meet anywhere from Springfield to Northampton.. Not sure where the next one is, it's probably on the facebook side of things where I don't go.
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I'm a steel tank guy, if only from historical "what-had-happened-was"-ness.
And that's 45-50 min drive for me, which I'll do if I'm going to Tower Theater for instance.
beren
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That’s an awesome idea! A local hydroponics shop does a 20 pound swap for $31
beren
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But steel rusts. Esp inside the tank. Aluminum is just a strong, it’s slightly thicker and weighs less and can’t even manage nitrogen pressures
If a steel tank is filled with beverage grade CO2, could it rust?
Cheers!
Cheers!
beren
Well-Known Member
If it can’t, then we wouldn’t get it inspected for rust
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Here is my lash-up for refilling cylinders. In use the stand in the photo sits in a laundry sink so it can’t fall and is kinda/sorta shielded. I bleed the 20# tank into a 5# or 10# tank sometimes I record the weight transferred but usually it doesn’t mater to me. When the 10# tank is empty I just refill it. At the vendor’s where I buy my CO2 it is much less expensive to buy 20# than two 10# tanks. Then tank with the internal dip tube doesn’t work for me as it is a strictly exchange tanks operation. Yesterday 20# cost me $22.
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As for CO2 cylinders rusting…not as long as you keep Oxygen out you won’t have much Iron Oxide (rust).
I have been refilling 5 lb tanks from a twenty lb tank for several years now. I have a siphon in the 20 lb tank so I don't have to flip it upside down but do invert the 5 lb tank when filling. I use a simple jumper, high pressure mesh hose with a connector on each end. I have watched people at the local gas supply place refill 5 lb tanks from a larger tank and I have never seen them use a scale. I asked about it and they said there is almost zero chance of getting 5 lbs in the small tank much less enough to damage the it. The good one tip is the one of getting the 5 lb tank very cold. Transferring a small amount of gas into it and then purging it gives the best result. But at a couple dollars a pound, I don't want to waste the gas. A decent substitute is to put the 5 lb tank into the freezer overnight and then filling it immediately after taking it out. The biggest tip is to proceed carefully. Make absolutely sure you have closed both tank valves before removing the hose. Then loosen one side just enough to bleed off the gas in the hose and then remove it. Removing the hose with a valve open creates a really dangerous situation.
beren
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The guys that do it right have a pump to make sure you get the 5lbs you pay for. Reminds me of the gas stations selling 20lb fills and only pitting 16-17 in it saying they need to leave room for expansion.
If you make/drink more beer, you'll use more CO2. Otherwise, not so much.
Totally agree. This business does fill tanks with a pump but they have to send them to their HQ so the tank is gone for at least a week. In a homebrew emergency they will fill a 5 lb tank as much as is possible from a larger tank at the local business. My reference to them in my post was about not using a scale and I should have clarified that this is not the way they did all tank refills
Every place I've had a 20 filled it was scaled. But, yeah, those pre-filled convenience exchanges like Blue Rhino typically are 15lb (but it does say that on the sign). Usually comes at a convenience premium price too.
When one can find a lower cost outlet for those it's not too terrible a way to get a recertified tank and some gas too.
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