who exactly is going to fill my CO2 tank

[dinnerstick]

europe is in the dark ages for homebrewers..., for a very simple kegerator build i had to get all shanks, faucets, etc etc etc sent over from the us, managed to find some beat up cornys here (i won't admit what i paid for them) and luckily they held pressure (not possible to test at the brew shop), and got a brand new CO2 tank. i have enough gas to last me a while, i thought long enough for me to figure out where to get it filled, but i can't find anywhere. the only brewing supply is prohibitively far (on my bicycle... ha) and doesn't do fills. i can't find a helpful beer distributor who will help me to get it filled. so my question to anyone who will read it, where should i be looking? i saw one suggestion of a fire extinguisher place, and the possibility of an aquatic plants / aquarium place... where would you go for a 'beer-grade' CO2 fill if you were in a bind? or in europe
thanks for any suggestions
anyways i am going to go relax have a homebrew and not really worry about it; proost

 

[bob1852]

welding shop
paintball shop
fire extinguisher place (often same as welding shop)

 

[SarahMatt]

Soda distributor?? A place that fills propane, NO2, etc.
Good luck!!
Sarah.

 

[JRems]

Ask a pub or bar where they get their tank filled or exhanged. Maybe if you are lucky they can have the gas man swap your tank when they service their tanks.

 

[buffalobrewer]

I swap my tank out at a welding shop.

 

[subliminalurge]

where would you go for a 'beer-grade' CO2 fill if you were in a bind? or in europe

Well, the obvious answer is to get the hell out of Europe and move to the States....

Sorry, had to throw that jab in. No harm intended.

The first thing I would ask is that you want to get your tank filled. Check into finding a place that will do an exchange. I don't know how things work across the pond, but where I live exchanges are much easier, cheaper, and more convenient to come by than fills.

If you're worried about getting a banged up steel tank in exchange for your shiny new polished aluminum one.... My advice would be to get over it. Do you want pressurized co2 to serve your beer, or do you want a pretty tank?

And what is "beer grade" co2? We don't really have such a thing over here. I've heard of "food grade", "industrial grade", and "research grade". What I hear from people behind the scenes is that it's all the same stuff, just different price tags. It's cheaper to buy the machinery to produce the good stuff and sell it at different levels than to buy additional machinery to produce the lesser stuff.

But your best answer is what JRems said. Just talk to the bar/pub down the street and find out where they get their co2. Call that place up and find out what the minimum size tank they'll fill or exchange is, then get a tank that size. If you're a good and regular customer, the bar might even let you throw your tank in with theirs at the wholesale prices they get. Just don't forget to always tip well if they do that for you.

Easy as pie.

 

[beerandloathinginaustin]

Ahhh, You-treched. Had a lot of good times in that fun little town. Ik zou gokken dat je nederlands spreekt maar ik ga gewoon antwoorden in het engels.

Finding a bar to work with you does sound like best bet. Even if you have to modify your operations rather heavily. Otherwise asking around at local bars may be the way to go. Or finding a local club. Surely homebrewing isn't totally unheard of around those parts.

 

[subliminalurge]

Finding a bar to work with you does sound like best bet. Even if you have to modify your operations rather heavily. Otherwise asking around at local bars may be the way to go. Or finding a local club. Surely homebrewing isn't totally unheard of around those parts.

Hmm... This might be a little outside the box, but what about checking out local trade schools that teach welding? I bet they'd know of a good gas supplier.

Just a thought.....

 

[dinnerstick]

thanks everyone for all the useful suggestions. it's great to know that so many people out there are as concerned as am i by the potential ticking timebomb that is my fury when my full kegs are no longer pressurized and therefore my wrath no longer tempered by their soothing elixir. i guess one of the questions i didn't know the answer to but didn't actually ask is, does the grade of CO2 matter... i know there are different grades in the research industries, but i didn't know if it was ok to use paintball (is there paintball in europe? must be. probably trenchfoot-stricken world war i re-enactment societies in the belgian trenches) or fire extinguisher stuff. great to know you can use whatever. there is an artsy welding place nearby, i will offer a bottle of last year's cider for gas advice.

Well, the obvious answer is to get the hell out of Europe and move to the States....

the obvious problem: just get rid of ounces quarts degrees F and i'm there. anything divisible by 10 and you've got me!
and stop that pesky reliance on cars. what you need to do is shrink the country down to the size of, say, maryland, flatten it, make it so it's never very warm, and then bike everywhere
btw if anyone with a car wants to come drive me and my co2 tank around, pm me
(btw i started homebrewing in the us in the 90's)

The first thing I would ask is that you want to get your tank filled. Check into finding a place that will do an exchange.

i just want more CO2!! however it works here i don't mind. 'tank-shmank' we say over here

beerandloathing: was je echt in utrecht?? niet zo veel mensen bezoeken... it's a very nice city, and i live almost under the 14th century dom tower and its 50+ clangy (24/7) bells. nearest bar: out my door, turn right, walk 25 steps, they serve 3 'de lekkere' local utrecht beers on tap, or turn left, 40 steps, hundreds of belgian bottles and 5 or 6 on tap... can roll home

 

[brewingmeister]

. the obvious problem: just get rid of ounces quarts degrees F and i'm there. anything divisible by 10 and you've got me!
and stop that pesky reliance on cars. what you need to do is shrink the country down to the size of, say, maryland, flatten it, make it so it's never very warm, and then bike everywhere
btw if anyone with a car wants to come drive me and my co2 tank around, pm me
(btw i started homebrewing in the us in the 90's)

You're not gonna make any friends like that...

Apart from the other suggestions, welding shop, bar, fire extinguisher. You do live in the netherlands...got a hydroponic shop around?

Say hello to my long lost relatives for me.

-cheers

 

[TopherM]

I get my CO2 from a dive shop. If you live near a coast, that may be an option.

 

[dinnerstick]

meister- with all the legal(ish) weed bars your relatives allow but never visit, i don't know of any hydroponic places but it's a good idea and i will check around. i might have to go all the way to amsterdam whitch is on the other side of the country (ie 25 minute train ride). topher- also a good idea. there is a depressing dive club on the nearby highly depressing muddy artificial lake
Thanks all for the suggestions!!

 

[beaksnbeer]

Made a "device" years back when a friend managed a bar, 1 foot piece of high pressure hose with 3/8 hydraulic crimped ends high pressure valve and 2 tank connectors just hook your tank to theirs open valve free co2.the 5lbs you need is next to nothing for them as they can't run the tank out anyway.......my.02