I picked up a new(?) cylinder today. No collar stamping, 2015 on the end of
the numbers, indicating it is almost new. Labeled and all, with C-25. I
have seen these things rated at everything from 20 to 60 cubic feet. This
Google thing is getting frustrating, as you can specify search terms, and
get all sorts of things in results, not a lot of what you are looking for
included. The tank is about 24" to the top of the neck, and just over 6" in
diameter. What I see indicates it is a "C" tank. If it is, what's it
worth. Like I say, new. I bought it from the guy who bought it new, and he
says he gave $100 for it, but I find that a little low, as C-25 is expensive
by itself.

And I bought a keg dispenser with a tiny CO2 that is about 12" tall. The
guy at the welding store said he would give me $110 credit towards another
CO2 tank, which I thought very high. Maybe those little ones are in demand
among beer drinkers.

How big is the C-25 tank, how much it is worth? And why does the tiny CO2
tank cost so much?

Steve

On Mon, 26 Dec 2011 20:18:07 -0800, "Steve B"
wrote:

I picked up a new(?) cylinder today. No collar stamping, 2015 on the end of
the numbers, indicating it is almost new. Labeled and all, with C-25. I
have seen these things rated at everything from 20 to 60 cubic feet. This
Google thing is getting frustrating, as you can specify search terms, and
get all sorts of things in results, not a lot of what you are looking for
included. The tank is about 24" to the top of the neck, and just over 6" in
diameter. What I see indicates it is a "C" tank. If it is, what's it
worth. Like I say, new. I bought it from the guy who bought it new, and he
says he gave $100 for it, but I find that a little low, as C-25 is expensive
by itself.

Might be expensive new, full I'd expect it cost him somewhere in the
$125 - $175 range. But you're buying a mystery cylinder as to the
quantity of gas inside - you can't tell by pressure, the CO2 is in
there as a liquid, and you can't count on there being a marked
accurate Tare Weight. And that cylinder has some "time" on the
Hydrotest (check the date) so you should be getting quite a discount

The Hydrotest on those are good for 12 years, so if it's getting close
they might charge you for one when you get it exchanged or refilled.
Nothing really unsafe about having it in service when it's "expired",
they just can't refill it like that.

And if the supplier is charging you, look at the date on the exchange
tank they give you, too - they might sell you one with a year left so
they can nick you again when you bring that one back. It needs to be
a fair exchange, when you pay for a test you should get one that was
just done.

And I bought a keg dispenser with a tiny CO2 that is about 12" tall. The
guy at the welding store said he would give me $110 credit towards another
CO2 tank, which I thought very high. Maybe those little ones are in demand
among beer drinkers.

Standard 5-pound CO2, and you'll pay more for an Aluminum tank just
for the looks. But the beer really doesn't care if the gas is coming
from a steel or aluminum cylinder.

Don't spend a lot on a new CO2 tank - there is going to be a glut of
good used cylinders on the market.

The NFPA has revised the rules again - Extinguisher service shops
won't refill any CO2 Fire Extinguishers that are Pre-1955, or the
Original Manufacturer is no longer in business, and/or they have a
metal horn.

(They have to get the O-rings and all other service parts from the OEM
manufacturer on the label - and they can't do that if they're out of
business. You and I both know that's total BS and O-rings are O-rings
if they get the size and materials right, but the liability insurance
companies covering your local fire extinguisher shop do care.)

So you have a perfectly good CO2 cylinder that can't be used as an
extinguisher anymore - but if you don't let the Rust Monster get to
them the steel cylinders will last practically forever, and aluminum
ones are only limited to eventual metal fatigue from multiple pressure
cycles. And at the average rate of use that's going to take decades.

Get a service company to yank the FE handle, give it a fresh Hydro,
and install a CGA valve, fill it, and Bingo! You have a CO2 gas
cylinder for the cost of a valve. Oh, and you might want to clean it
up and paint it before you send it in.

It's even worse on Dry Chemical units - don't try to make Garage Sale
deals anymore. Anything made before October 1984 (when they changed
the labeling rules) is now trash, and again any units made by defunct
manufacturers. I used to pick up empties for $1, paint the cylinder
and get them Hydrotested and filled, can't do that any more.

-- Bruce --

On Mon, 26 Dec 2011 20:18:07 -0800, "Steve B" wrote:


How big is the C-25 tank, how much it is worth? And why does the tiny CO2
tank cost so much?

Steve


Check at Target/Kmart and other places for Co2 Paint ball cylinders.
They are about $25 last time I noticed


Gunner

One could not be a successful Leftwinger without realizing that,
in contrast to the popular conception supported by newspapers
and mothers of Leftwingers, a goodly number of Leftwingers are
not only narrow-minded and dull, but also just stupid.
Gunner Asch

On Tue, 27 Dec 2011 01:17:44 -0800, Gunner Asch
wrote:

On Mon, 26 Dec 2011 20:18:07 -0800, "Steve B" wrote:


How big is the C-25 tank, how much it is worth? And why does the tiny CO2
tank cost so much?

Steve


Check at Target/Kmart and other places for Co2 Paint ball cylinders.
They are about $25 last time I noticed

Oh, *that* small... Look at Sodastream.com and see if those are it -
they have two sizes in steel cylinders, one that's about 2" diameter
by 12" tall, and 4" diameter by 12" tall. They are $25 or $30 for a
full with a deposit, and $10 - $15 for an exchange refill.

But check the connector threads before you go "Right size, grab it!"
There are a few variations running around out there, all proprietary -
the thread major diameter is the same 7/8"-ish dia as a regular CO2
cylinder.

The Paintball cylinders and "Old" Sodastream (Still used in the UK)
look to be a real CGA-310 thread, with a scaled-up pin valve at the
center like a car tire.

But the current US Sodastream has a real coarse (6 TPI) round profile
thread on the CO2 bottle valve, and the same pin valve in the middle.

For the Paintball cylinders, the Blue Rhino "Rhino Power" cylinders
are available at Lowes as a portable air source, again ~$40 with the
deposit. Rather high for the volume of gas you get.

A Paintball store is going to try and sell you a Composite wrapped
Aluminum cylinder because they are lighter - for running around in the
woods. But they're also around $100 and have special Hydrotest
requirements.

Frankly, if you don't need it that small - it's only a beer tapper -
just go get a 5# or10# industrial CO2 cylinder that you can exchange
or get refilled anywhere they sell keg beer, and a new regulator for
your refrigerator. A good regulator will cost you ~$50 once, and you
won't need to get the tiny CO2 refilled after every keg.

And yet another wrinkle to look out for - if you are serving Guinness
Stout or other english ales, you need to use "Beer Gas" which is a
Nitrogen/CO2 blend. And that's a whole 'nother animal to handle and
dispense - and /then/ it would make sense to sell it in small
cylinders like that, one per keg.

If you are building a full-on British Pub, they sell systems that take
a CO2 cylinder and a Nitrogen cylinder and blend it on site. Not
cheap, but that's what you need.

-- Bruce --

"Bruce L. Bergman (munged human readable)"
wrote


Might be expensive new, full I'd expect it cost him somewhere in the
$125 - $175 range. But you're buying a mystery cylinder as to the
quantity of gas inside - you can't tell by pressure, the CO2 is in
there as a liquid, and you can't count on there being a marked
accurate Tare Weight. And that cylinder has some "time" on the
Hydrotest (check the date) so you should be getting quite a discount

The cylinder has the AirGas stamp of contents, plus a C-25 stamp, plus it
does not have the CO2 flat connector, so it is not CO2.


The Hydrotest on those are good for 12 years, so if it's getting close
they might charge you for one when you get it exchanged or refilled.
Nothing really unsafe about having it in service when it's "expired",
they just can't refill it like that.

Tank hydros are 5 years, propane are 12 years.


And if the supplier is charging you, look at the date on the exchange
tank they give you, too - they might sell you one with a year left so
they can nick you again when you bring that one back. It needs to be
a fair exchange, when you pay for a test you should get one that was
just done.

This was a yard sale, and it was from a guy on my street. My gas supplier
is more than lenient when I bring in any cylinders, and I have yet to pay a
hydro fee.


And I bought a keg dispenser with a tiny CO2 that is about 12" tall. The
guy at the welding store said he would give me $110 credit towards another
CO2 tank, which I thought very high. Maybe those little ones are in
demand
among beer drinkers.

Standard 5-pound CO2, and you'll pay more for an Aluminum tank just
for the looks. But the beer really doesn't care if the gas is coming
from a steel or aluminum cylinder.

Don't spend a lot on a new CO2 tank - there is going to be a glut of
good used cylinders on the market.

I have a $25 max.

I am now one short of maxed out. Backup big oxygen tank, backup mixed gas
tank, just need one backup CO2.

Steve