45 replies to this topic

[Genesee Ted]

It’s usually like $17 here. Idk if it has gone up. I can’t remember what we pay bulk at work

[matt6150]

I have been paying $30 for a 20# for awhile. And it's $12 for a 5#. I guess your area is catching up on current price.

[gnef]

I feel like prices overall have been increasing, but also there can be a huge swing in prices depending on where you go, so shop around.

 

Call welding supply places, soda refill places, fire extinguisher refillers, etc. 

 

Make sure to ask if they do swaps or fill on site, and if your tank is out of test how much they charge. Airgas tends to be more expensive for their swaps, but they eat the price of the test, so if it is out of test, they may be a good option depending on price. 

 

If you have a tank that you really want to keep though, you need to find a fill on site location. We have one that is local in Atlanta, close to where I live, called beverage control, and they do a lot of the soda in the area, but if my tank is out of test, it is an expensive fill!

 

Now we have a club member who works for airgas, and was able to get us a club discount, so now I just go there for everything.

[positiveContact]

I've just been using this same industrial supply place in the next town over for a while.  They were one of the few places I found that would actually fill my tank vs forcing me to do an exchange.

[MyaCullen]

I've just been using this same industrial supply place in the next town over for a while.  They were one of the few places I found that would actually fill my tank vs forcing me to do an exchange.

Strangely, I've always preferred swapping tanks, heck I actually purchased my first ever tank as a swap tank, been swapping tanks for like 16 years at the same place.

[positiveContact]

Strangely, I've always preferred swapping tanks, heck I actually purchased my first ever tank as a swap tank, been swapping tanks for like 16 years at the same place.

 

my tank is pristine so I figure I should keep it

 

this place was also cheaper than doing an exchange from the places I priced out.  not sure if that is still the case.

Edited by Mando, 24 June 2020 - 09:43 AM.

[MyaCullen]

my tank is pristine so I figure I should keep it

 

this place was also cheaper than doing an exchange from the places I priced out.  not sure if that is still the case.

My swaps for a 20# have been roughly $18 for many years, we'll see soon what they are now.

[positiveContact]

My swaps for a 20# have been roughly $18 for many years, we'll see soon what they are now.

Indeed!

[porter]

I need to investigate other options than Airgas. I started 15 years ago with a 5 lb tank that I purchased. Eventually that got traded for a 10 lb tank when the cert expired, now the local Airgas only deals in 20 lb tanks. $43 all told. In theory, should last forever. In reality, there are slow leaks in a system. Need to put more effort into finding that...

[gnef]

I need to investigate other options than Airgas. I started 15 years ago with a 5 lb tank that I purchased. Eventually that got traded for a 10 lb tank when the cert expired, now the local Airgas only deals in 20 lb tanks. $43 all told. In theory, should last forever. In reality, there are slow leaks in a system. Need to put more effort into finding that...

I've gotten into the habbit of disconnecting the QD's from the kegs and turning off the gas at the tank for the day, and only adding more gas as the pressure drops from use. This has saved me many tanks of CO2 at this point.

[positiveContact]

I've gotten into the habbit of disconnecting the QD's from the kegs and turning off the gas at the tank for the day, and only adding more gas as the pressure drops from use. This has saved me many tanks of CO2 at this point.

 

same here.

[ChefLamont]

When I have made/recycled enough to fill them up again. 

[Gusso]

Pretty sure both of my tanks are way out of date.

[Gusso]

Actually, I discovered I have 3. 2 fives and a 20. They're AirGas, any chance they'll exchange them?

[djinkc]

I need to investigate other options than Airgas. I started 15 years ago with a 5 lb tank that I purchased. Eventually that got traded for a 10 lb tank when the cert expired, now the local Airgas only deals in 20 lb tanks. $43 all told. In theory, should last forever. In reality, there are slow leaks in a system. Need to put more effort into finding that...

$40 is about what I paid for an out of date swap a several months ago.  If they're in date a local place is very reasonable.

eta 2#

Edited by djinkc, 07 August 2020 - 03:08 PM.

[gnef]

Actually, I discovered I have 3. 2 fives and a 20. They're AirGas, any chance they'll exchange them?

Our local airgas does swaps, and doesn't care if it is out of test, they just absorb the cost. The swap price is usually a bit higher than other places because of it, but I find it convenient.

[Gusso]

Hopefully, the same here. Strangely, the co2 I had connected to one side of my kegerator didn't leak in over 5 years. I connected the second keg a few days ago and - whoops. Leak somewhere. Hate that shit.

[gnef]

Hopefully, the same here. Strangely, the co2 I had connected to one side of my kegerator didn't leak in over 5 years. I connected the second keg a few days ago and - whoops. Leak somewhere. Hate that shit.

Yup, that is the reason why I've started to disconnect the QD's and turn off the CO2 tank when I'm done for the day. When I had first started kegging, I went through a lot of trouble to ensure that my system was completely leak free... and it was, for a while. It took years, but eventually I developed a leak, and lost a 20# tank of CO2. That is when I decided I would still try to keep my systems as leak free as reasonable (meaning I am ok with small leaks), and I would just disconnect the system so that those small leaks that were there had very little impact, and I can say that I haven't lost a tank since.

 

This is also important for me, since I also use 50# tanks, and those things are heavy! I try to move those as little as possible, and that is a LOT of CO2 to potentially lose to a leak.

[porter]

So what do you do about carbonation?

[positiveContact]

So what do you do about carbonation?

 

when I was force carbonating I would just fill the headspace with about 30PSI and disconnect the tank.  Later in the day or the next day after some of the CO2 had gone into solution I'd top it off again.  After a couple of days of this I'd check the carbonation level and see if I needed to keep going.

 

now I just naturally carb at the end of primary with a spunding valve.