The CO2 you're using is not safe...

[xoxxx]

First, I don't mean to be freaking anyone out or causing panic.
Just letting you know that if you are brewing and kegging a LOT of beer you should invest the money in food grade Co2.

Its my understanding that trace amounts of oils get into the Co2. I worked at a gas distribution center for 2 years.

 

[AZ_IPA]

Don't you fill scuba tanks with air, not co2? And don't welders who use co2 worry about impurities too?

 

[xoxxx]

Don't you fill scuba tanks with air, not co2? And don't welders who use co2 worry about impurities too?

I mentioned the scuba tanks because you can't use a regular air compressor, you need to use a specialized process that extracts the harsh chemicals in the compressor.

Yes they worry about impurities, but carcinogenic oil will do nothing but get instantly burned away the second it reaches the flame. Not the same for your Co2.

 

[AZ_IPA]

Do you any scientific citations for this carcinogenic oil and its effects, other than the usual 'this chemical causes cancer in California'?

 

[xoxxx]

Do you any scientific citations for this carcinogenic oil and its effects, other than the usual 'this chemical causes cancer in California'?

I dont have any studies on the specific chemicals.

I worked at a natural gas distribution center for 2 years that also distributed other gases. They werent able to sell Co2 legally to restaraunts to use it for cooking purposes because they didn't have a FDA approved filtration system for the giant Co2 process. This was 9 years ago.

The best thing to go is to get a large tank and put dry ice into it, heat it slightly, and allow for the sublimation of the dry ice to create Co2.

The ice should theoretically be sanitary, and you can make the inside of the tank sanitray. At the end of the day, the ppm of the oils is probably extremly minute. But its something to worry about if you go throught 30+ kegs a year!

 

[AZ_IPA]

How do you know the dry ice is sanitary? See what I am getting at?

 

[xoxxx]

How do you know the dry ice is sanitary? See what I am getting at?

If you purchase dry ice at the grocery store, it is food grade. And Sanitary, and theres no way any bacteria could thrive at those temperatures.

 

[IffyG]

The best thing to go is to get a large tank and put dry ice into it, heat it slightly, and allow for the sublimation of the dry ice to create Co2.

Really? How would one even do that?

The ice should theoretically be sanitary, and you can make the inside of the tank sanitray. At the end of the day, the ppm of the oils is probably extremly minute. But its something to worry about if you go throught 30+ kegs a year!

I disagree. I use dry ice in my lab all the time and what's left in the container after it sublimates away ranges from a thin film of something to large black flecks of stuff...

 

[xoxxx]

I don't mean to be freaking anyone out or causing panic.
Just letting you know that if you are brewing and kegging a LOT of beer you should invest the money in food grade Co2.

 

[IffyG]

Yet you can't provide any solid evidence to back up your claims...

Since you can't show us anything, I'll provide the following:

http://www.plantphysiol.org/content/75/1/275.full.pdf
-shows that ethylene contamination in 'food grade' CO2 is higher than welding grade CO2.

I can't find anything else, but I'd venture a guess and say it follows similar trends for other 'contaminants'. If you are really worried about it get an in line CO2 filter and take your fear mongering elsewhere.

 

[broadbill]

I dont have any studies on the specific chemicals.

I worked at a natural gas distribution center for 2 years that also distributed other gases. They werent able to sell Co2 legally to restaraunts to use it for cooking purposes because they didn't have a FDA approved filtration system for the giant Co2 process. This was 9 years ago.

The best thing to go is to get a large tank and put dry ice into it, heat it slightly, and allow for the sublimation of the dry ice to create Co2.

The ice should theoretically be sanitary, and you can make the inside of the tank sanitray. At the end of the day, the ppm of the oils is probably extremly minute. But its something to worry about if you go throught 30+ kegs a year!

If you purchase dry ice at the grocery store, it is food grade. And Sanitary, and theres no way any bacteria could thrive at those temperatures.

Based upon what you wrote in these posts, I am of the opinion that you don't know what you are talking about.

 

[jonp9576]

I sell co2. Almost all co2 is at least food grade. There are medical grades as well but we won't get into that. Here is why most co2 is food grade. It's the same reason why most oxygen is medical grade.

The major distributors, air gas prax air air liquide, don't want to have different transport containers and different cleaning processes. It costs more money to clean and separate different grades of co2 than it does to just treat it all the same.


Example, our co2 is delivered as food grade. We sell it to our welders as well as our restaurants.

Same thing with our oxygen. It comes from the same storage tank and goes into the medical and welding tanks. The only differences is the label. Why, because it too expensive to have separate storage.


I'm not saying all co2 is food grade, but most of it is.

 

[skibumdc]

Yup.
Follow the money.
Whatever is cheapest to produce and transport is what a manufacturer will do

 

[sudsmcgee]

OK, first of all, we intentionally make a beverage that is technically a poison (ethanol). Realistically, what's going to kill you first: the ethanol or some trace amount of contaminant in CO2? My guess is the ethanol itself is far worse for you.

 

[simtel20]

OK, first of all, we intentionally make a beverage that is technically a poison (ethanol). Realistically, what's going to kill you first: the ethanol or some trace amount of contaminant in CO2? My guess is the ethanol itself is far worse for you.

Almost nothing is a poison without two factors working together: quantity per time. Alcohol, at the rate of a mild/casual drinker, isn't a poison afaik.

 

[sudsmcgee]

Almost nothing is a poison without two factors working together: quantity per time. Alcohol, at the rate of a mild/casual drinker, isn't a poison afaik.

It most certainly is. That's why your body processes it immediately and why you become intoxicated. I'm not saying I don't drink (I most certainly do), but to say it's not a poison is plain silly.

We've all heard of cirrhosis of the liver.......

The only way to consume alcohol in a sub-toxic potency is to never catch a buzz.

 

[_JP_]

It most certainly is. That's why your body processes it immediately and why you become intoxicated. I'm not saying I don't drink (I most certainly do), but to say it's not a poison is plain silly.

We've all heard of cirrhosis of the liver.......

The only way to consume alcohol in a sub-toxic potency is to never catch a buzz.

Oh come on. Tylenol, Advil (and every other drug) is also processed by the body as it tries to expel it. When ingested, they (and ethanol) are impurities in our system, not poisons. A near-lethal dose of these (or ethanol) would be considered a poison, since it could "destroy life or impair health." http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/poison

Ethanol, in low doses (1-2 drinks/day) has shown to have actual health benefits, the most significant of which would be lowering the risk of CPD.

To get back to the discussion, the best info I could find on this subject is that "food-grade" CO2 is only dispensed from glass lined tanks, which would prevent damage in case there was a backflow of the dispensed beverage. Otherwise, the gasses are the same.

Further, on Airgas's website, the MSDS for their industrial gas is the same as for their food grade.

 

[ozzy1038]

Well I guess I'm good then. Because where I go, they supply CO2 for most of the pubs/bars in my city. It seems that EVERYTHING can give you cancer. Just ask California!

 

[xoxxx]

Don't shoot the messenger.
Im not trying to strike fear into everyone here. Im just letting you know what I learned working at a natural gas districution center 9 years ago. Granted technology may have changed since then.

As OP posted, it is probably true that today mostly all Co2 is food grade since its cheaper to not use two different process's to create two different grades of Co2.

 

[BrewKnurd]

As OP posted, it is probably true that today mostly all Co2 is food grade since its cheaper to not use two different process's to create two different grades of Co2.

... the OP was you.

 

[day_trippr]

... the OP was you.

Aw...I was hoping he'd get in an argument with himself, but you tipped him off!

Cheers!

 

[strumke]

I think he's right... if I drink 3 or more beers in a row, I get this drunk feeling.

Maybe it's the CO2 toxins building up

 

[bige9920]

ok so i'm a respiratory therapist and i work extensivly with medical/food/industrial gases all day long. the medical CO2 is pumped from the same tank that goes to industrial and food vendors. interestingly enough i called Air gas and merriam graves (had to make an order for the hospital) and asked them. they said that its bull too. also the guy from airgas explained that they use a pump system to ensure you get a full tank, not a pressure equalibration (i know where i'm going next time) and regulation says that they need to, and i'm assuming most do, replace thier micron filters every 30 days. Also all gas pumps CANNOT have oils to come in contact with any of thier gases of any kind as some would prove combustible if it did depending on use. also said he has never heard of "food grade" CO2 in our area cause its never treated any differantly just a differant sticker and regulator interface... medical is pin index saftey system and beverage is threaded. in other words dont worry about CO2. you can get cancer from anything these days... so drink up and enjoy it all before you do... lol!!!

 

[AZ_IPA]

If you purchase dry ice at the grocery store, it is food grade. And Sanitary, and theres no way any bacteria could thrive at those temperatures.

Have you ever put dry ice in a clean container, and then returned once all of the CO2 is evaporated? If what's left in the container is allowable for "food grade" than I don't want to eat...

 

[sudsmcgee]

It's clear that he's got stock in a dry ice company. LOL

Ever wonder where the CO2 for the dry ice comes from? You guessed it, the same C02 tank he's telling us to avoid. Hilarious.....

 

[SenorPepe]

"The Co2 your using is not safe"
First, I don't mean to be freaking anyone out or causing panic.

You might want to not put in your title that a widely used and ingested gas is not safe (without citations). Would reduce the potential panic/freaking out.

 

[audger]

another newly registered account posting an inflamitory-titled thread, unable to provide any evidence beyond "trust me, i know"...

you all have been trolled. move along, nothing to see here.

 

[D_Ranged_Eskimo]

Alabama has yet again provided us with useful knowledge.

 

[david_42]

I sell co2. Almost all co2 is at least food grade. There are medical grades as well but we won't get into that. Here is why most co2 is food grade. It's the same reason why most oxygen is medical grade.

The major distributors, air gas prax air air liquide, don't want to have different transport containers and different cleaning processes. It costs more money to clean and separate different grades of co2 than it does to just treat it all the same.


Example, our co2 is delivered as food grade. We sell it to our welders as well as our restaurants.

Same thing with our oxygen. It comes from the same storage tank and goes into the medical and welding tanks. The only differences is the label. Why, because it too expensive to have separate storage.


I'm not saying all co2 is food grade, but most of it is.

This "problem" comes up every year or two, but the people who point out the problem never seem to have any backup data.

 

[SwampassJ]

This thread kind of reminds me about the CPVC thread. "Oh it's going to kill you, and I have evidence but I signed a NDA about it because we are competing to make a replacement." It's fear mongering at it's finest.

 

[fuhmon]

your worried about contaminants in co2? how about you sitting in rush hour traffic huffing vehicle exhaust? or the trace amounts of metals exhausting out of your computer right now? there's more important things like filling your fermenters... troll much?

 

[beaksnbeer]

Most welding requires a "pure" gas to begin with. "FOOD GRADE" ss welding is a tight nasty bitch I have been their OP is NUTS

 

[diverpat]

This "problem" comes up every year or two, but the people who point out the problem never seem to have any backup data.

The same thing comes up in the diving realm also regarding pure oxygen for decompression gases. At most facilities, the medical and weldeing oxygen comes from the same liquid source. The difference comes in how the tanks are treated. Medicals tanks are supposed to be drained and vacuumed of all residual gases to avoid contamination, this is the stuff many divers use. Industrial O2 tanks don't get scrutinized as much. No one wants to suck down acetylene tainted oxygen when your stuck under water. I'd assume the same rules may apply to food grade gases but I'm not sure.

 

[Cpt_Kirks]

This...reminds me of a GD thread.

Thread did not go as OP intended.

 

[SwampassJ]

This...reminds me of a conical thread.

Thread did not go as OP intended.

Fixed

 

[Dwain]

Example, our co2 is delivered as food grade. We sell it to our welders as well as our restaurants.

Wow, y'all's Welders serve beverages?

 

[Shooter]

No one wants to suck down acetylene tainted oxygen when your stuck under water.

Bold words sir! Speak for yourself!!

 

[kinkothecarp]

In the title of this thread, it should read "you're" not "your". Your is a possessive adjective, you're is short for you are - never trust anyone whose grammar skills aren't up to par; especially when 'their' talking about CO2 safety and beer ;-)

 

[_JP_]

In the title of this thread, it should read "you're" not "your". Your is a possessive adjective, you're is short for you are - never trust anyone whose grammar skills aren't up to par; especially when 'their' talking about CO2 safety and beer ;-)

Technically, in the title, the "o" in Co2 should be capitalized as well, to read "CO2".

 

[DieterVonBrauhaus]

First, I don't mean to be freaking anyone out or causing panic.
Just letting you know that if you are brewing and kegging a LOT of beer you should invest the money in food grade Co2.

Its my understanding that trace amounts of oils get into the Co2. I worked at a gas distribution center for 2 years.

Come on...someone delete this thread. Mostly all Co2 is food grade nowdays.
This is redunkuloius, it's like saying the food grade plastic tubing that we use to keg will cause us to have cancer because it's made out of oils......