On Wed, 19 Nov 2003 22:26:31 -0800, someone who calls themselves Grant
Erwin wrote:

Is there *any* way to avoid paying $75 for a 5 pound CO2 bottle?
My daughter wants to learn to carbonate her own soda, and I might
need it for MIG after she is done with that.

You want to carbonate (or refresh) soda, you find the little
stainless clamp-in back flange Schrader valve stems they use at the
Phone Company for the pressure cable caps.

Drill a hole in a 2-liter soda bottle cap, stick the valve stem
through, and tighten the nut. (The seal on the bottle cap will seal
the stem also.) Pressurize to 10 PSI with a CO2 regulator and
Schrader chuck, and wait a while. Seltzer bottle! ;-)

Just looking to save a buck ..

Grant Erwin
Kirkland, Washington

Go talk to your local fire extinguisher service business. They run
across the occasional CO2 extinguisher where the cylinder is perfectly
serviceable, but either the valve head and horn are damaged and they
don't have another available for parts. Or the instruction band with
the certification label and serial number is missing or damaged, and
they can't refill it as an extinguisher without one.

Or the cylinder was way out of date and the old owner didn't want to
pay for the hydrotest and a refill too. The only thing to avoid if
you want to shop for old extinguishers cheap at garage sales is the
WWII-era cylinders that are stamped "SPUN" on the head as a warning -
you want a regular forged one. Stay away from aluminum cylinders
unless you know they're in good shape.

I have acquired three CO2 cylinders like that for welding gas, and
have a few more that are still full CO2 extinguishers. And a whole
pile of dry chemical units for around the house and in the cars. I
only have a few I bought new, mostly 2 1/2 pounders.

Your extinguisher guy will show you what to look for in old
extinguishers that can be refilled and put in service again, and
ALWAYS bring them in for an inspection and service before you keep
them around. It is a pressure cylinder, there is a lot of potential
mayhem bottled up in there - Remember Roy and the Mrs, who both got
banged up really badly (darned near killed) when the valve head blew
off an old extinguisher they found by the side of the road...

Either way, you empty the cylinder (fwoosh!), have the extinguisher
service change the valve head from extinguisher to CGA (under $10)
(and let them have the old valve and horn for parts), get the cylinder
hydrotested (around $12), a little sanding and a quick grey paint job
(Krylon $3), and fill it up (around $10).

-- Bruce --
--
Bruce L. Bergman, POB 394, Woodland Hills CA 91365, USA
Electrician, Westend Electric (#726700) Agoura, CA

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