Okay, so my thinking was that I absolutely HATE to waste any CO2, particularly at twenty-two bucks a bottle. But, I still have to use gas to push cleaning/sanitizing solutions through the lines. I also hate using CO2 to pressure-test my kegs (I'm hyper-anal and do that every cleaning. You only have to lose your second bottle of gas before you start getting anal about seal integrity.) because THAT'S also a waste of precious gas.
Then I remembered one of my junk-store purchases. Years ago, I picked up a tiny little medical air compressor. Just a little fella, about the size of the little compressors that car companies are selling with cars instead of a proper spare tire. Rated for medical use, it's an oilless compressor with regulator that will easily pump up 60-70 PSI - no reserve tank, of course, so it won't HOLD pressure unless it's running, but it'll pump plenty of pressure out the front end, so long as it's switched on.
So, I hooked it to a gas disconnect via a couple of feet of gas line and tried it out - pumped up a 5-gallon corny to 20 PSI in just a few seconds, and pushed water through the bev port without any problem. So, for technical purposes, it works great.
So with a medical-grade compressor, designed to pump breathing air, I've got a limitless supply of "utility air." I'd never use it to carb or serve a beverage (actually, I imagine it'd be fine for service, but the little bastard is LOUD, so the noise would get irritating), but it seems like it's fine for pumping cleaners and pressure testing.
Am I on track here, or is there something I'm missing?
Then I remembered one of my junk-store purchases. Years ago, I picked up a tiny little medical air compressor. Just a little fella, about the size of the little compressors that car companies are selling with cars instead of a proper spare tire. Rated for medical use, it's an oilless compressor with regulator that will easily pump up 60-70 PSI - no reserve tank, of course, so it won't HOLD pressure unless it's running, but it'll pump plenty of pressure out the front end, so long as it's switched on.
So, I hooked it to a gas disconnect via a couple of feet of gas line and tried it out - pumped up a 5-gallon corny to 20 PSI in just a few seconds, and pushed water through the bev port without any problem. So, for technical purposes, it works great.
So with a medical-grade compressor, designed to pump breathing air, I've got a limitless supply of "utility air." I'd never use it to carb or serve a beverage (actually, I imagine it'd be fine for service, but the little bastard is LOUD, so the noise would get irritating), but it seems like it's fine for pumping cleaners and pressure testing.
Am I on track here, or is there something I'm missing?