CO2 Tank

[theQ]

Hi,

I am in the process of making/building a keezer and I noticed that I would have some space in front of the refrigeration panel and that triggered the wildest thought. Install the CO2 tank horizontally!

However I do not know the internal guts of a CO2 tank. Would it be an issue to use it horizontally ?

 

[bracconiere]

co2 tanks are actually full of liquid......i'd guess it would mess all kinds of things up.....

 

[Zemillard90]

Did a search, and no you do not want to lay the tank horizontally. Inside the tank is liquid co2 under pressure, and you want to avoid having the liquid get to the nozzle.

Lots on here about keezer builds, hope you can find an alternative. Cheers!

 

[theQ]

the liquid state of it does concern me... At atmospheric pressure, CO2 is gaseous. At temperatures between –56.6 and +31.1°C, and pressures of at least 5.2 bar, CO2 can exist in liquid form.

 

[grampamark]

the liquid state of it does concern me... At atmospheric pressure, CO2 is gaseous. At temperatures between –56.6 and +31.1°C, and pressures of at least 5.2 bar, CO2 can exist in liquid form.

Whether that concerns you, or not, it is what it is. A CO2 tank contains X lbs of liquid CO2. The liquid is under high (1200-1500 psi) pressure. The liquid is in the bottom of the tank. Above the liquid level is vapor. The regulator attached to the valve on top of the tank reduces the high pressure in the tank to the desired pressure in your keg(s). As the liquid vaporizes, and is discharged into the keg as a gas, the high pressure in the tank drops. When the pressure nears the red zone at the bottom of the high pressure gauge the liquid is almost gone. That’s when it’s time to weigh the tank and subtract the empty weight of the tank (stamped into the top of the tank as “T. W.” (tare, or empty, weight) from the scale reading. That’s how you know how much is left.

A 5lb tank, when full, contains approx. .6 gallons of liquid. The tank must remain vertical in order to dispense gas through the regulator.

 

[bracconiere]

the high pressure in the tank drops.

not UNTIL all the liquid is gone....the only time the high pressure gauge will change when there's liquid is when the temp changes.....


i had a thought about burst carbing about this though......i think i've seen people use weighed amounts of dry ice before.....something similar? lol, a keg is only rated at 80 psi, so it's not something i think anyone should do.....

 

[Vale71]

However I do not know the internal guts of a CO2 tank. Would it be an issue to use it horizontally ?

Definitely. Unless the tank is more than half empty you'll be pulling liquid CO2 into the regulator thus damaging it. CO2 tanks must be stored vertically especially when in use. They should also be firmly attached to a wall or a support so that they can't tip over.

 

[soccerdad]

So this brings up a question for me that some of you co2 wizards. I exchanged a tank yesterday and I asked the guy at the welding shop for some tips. I explained to him that I was having trouble completely filling my 20 oz paintball tanks. If I followed all the You Tube vids for significantly chilling the small tank, I was still only getting 8 to 12 ounces in a 20 ounce tank. I use the 20 pound tank as a bulk tank when I do this with a specialty valve for filling the smaller cylinder. The guy at the welding shop is a man without a whole lotta book learnin' but 30 years of working with all sorts of gasses in tanks. He said that I should turn the bulk tank upside down. Although we did not discuss liquid v gas, I presume he was indicting that moving liquid from the bulk tank would have a better yield than moving cooled gas. Any thoughts? I refill small LP tanks on occasion (camp stove tanks). And this is what you do ... turn the 20 pound tank over to refill the camping tank ... transferring liquefied petroleum gas as opposed to just gas.

 

[Vale71]

Filling in a liquid phase directly is what professionals do. Transferring through evaporation and subsequent condensation is extremely inefficient (the giving tank will get cold fast, the receiving tank will get hot even faster as it's the smaller one) and will always give you at best a 50% fill.
If you want to perform a liquid gas transfer at home you do that at your own risk, I'm obviously not advocating it (mandatory disclaimer). Also don't forget that CO2 is toxic and must be handled accordingly.