c02 tanks

[verbatum]

I am a Brit and live in Blockhouse, next to Mahone bay...fairly new to this ..I have 4 kegs and no c02!! I have an old c02 tank, and not sure how long these things are good for..( any thoughts ?? )if I have to replace it , I don't want to spend a fortune on one:is there anyone here who has one for sale..any tips, prices etc etc.?? I have the regulators- I just need a tank and c02...anyone in the south shore area want to get together and compare notes and beer!?? also I need advice on the storage of the beer, pressure wise, do i have to purge the tank of c02/oxygen each time I pour a drink..as I store my kegs in basement and it is a damned nuisance to do this! I hear that 20 lbs pressure to store the kegs and serving pressure 4 lbs else I ;ll get foamy beer...I have a beer tap at my sink with the pipe coming from the cold cold basement where the keg sits!

[GAM]

I got an old one and took it to Don Breton for testing and fill.

I do purge and fill then leave it under pressure.

Sandy

[mr x]

Many questions there, and some not so short answers for some of them. The CO2 tanks need to be hydrotested every five years. And they can outright reject them if they look bad on the outside (pitting, etc). Noble Grape has new aluminum tanks at what looks to be a reasonable price if you want new. Running a line from the basement could run into many issues depending on line size and temperature. Especially come summer. Warm beer will be a bitch to serve.

[ajcarp]

As mentioned above, CO2 tanks must be inspected/tested at least every five years before they can be refilled. The inspection normally costs about $45/50, while a refill is usually around $20. The date of the last inspection is stamped towards the top of the tank.

Don Brenton's is alarm/fire equipment supplier in the Lakeside area of HRM, between exit 3 & 2, on Hwy 3. Many of us have used them for their inspections/refills and been quite happy. These do take at least a few hours, so if you call first to arrange it, you could probably drop off in the morning, run some errands in town, then pick up on the way out of town.

I would think you would be able to find someone in the Mahone Bay /Bridgewater area to perform the same service. Check out your phone book for gas supplies or fire extinguisher service.

Cheers,

JLC

[chalmers]

I am a Brit and live in Blockhouse, next to Mahone bay...fairly new to this ..I have 4 kegs and no c02!! I have an old c02 tank, and not sure how long these things are good for..( any thoughts ?? )if I have to replace it , I don't want to spend a fortune on one:is there anyone here who has one for sale..any tips, prices etc etc.?? I have the regulators- I just need a tank and c02...anyone in the south shore area want to get together and compare notes and beer!?? also I need advice on the storage of the beer, pressure wise, do i have to purge the tank of c02/oxygen each time I pour a drink..as I store my kegs in basement and it is a damned nuisance to do this! I hear that 20 lbs pressure to store the kegs and serving pressure 4 lbs else I ;ll get foamy beer...I have a beer tap at my sink with the pipe coming from the cold cold basement where the keg sits!

Welcome!
The first few questions have been answered, but about purging every time you pour a pint and pressure storage:
With a tap setup such as yours, you do not need to purge the keg every time you take a pint. Most of us keep our kegs hooked up to our CO2 tanks the entire time during dispensing, so that as beer volume is removed, the headspace is kept full of CO2 at dispensing pressure. If you undo the gas line, the CO2 in the headspace will eventually become too low in pressure to push your beer, especially up a floor. Your kegs should be pressure-tight, so no worries about O2 getting in once you've closed the top after transferring from your primary/secondary. I always do a purge at that point (hook up to gas line at ~30psi with the top on, and then manually pull the pressure relief 3 times in 1 second bursts to remove any air in the headspace), but there's no need to later.
Serving pressure is a bit trickier in your case, as you have a longer line, and it is heavily dependent on line diameter and length and beer temperature. If 4 psi is working for you, great! I would imagine it will need to be closer to 12psi (or even higher), but that is a guess. As for serving vs. storing, check this thread for a chart on beer temp and psi for the number of volumes you want in your beer (aim for the green area unless you have a beer that should be more or less carbonated). It will take some tweaking to get the right balance between carbonation and pushing your beer in a reasonable length of time.