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Is it possible to order canisters filled with Carbon Dioxide online (yes I know the possibilities of doing it cheaper with a DIY unit but don't feel comfortable doing it)?

I'm not sure if you can get a full cannister sent to you (a bit dangerous shipping them, I'd think, although it's certainly possible people do and I'm wrong about the danger) but you can certainly buy an empty one and have it filled locally. And, hey, DIYers all dream of cannister CO2, you're the good one, not us.

-Molly
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Filled locally?? Where? I live in a small town in the middle of nowhere ... closest pet shop (PetSmart) is one hour away.

I have seen the empty canisters for sale but just wondered if there was someone who delivers them filled.

It's not a pet-store thing, it's more a ... okay, I don't really know who does it. But I know who would know, and that's almost as good. Check out the CO2 section at The Krib, there should be scads of information there.

-Molly
Visit shelldwellers.com!

I'm pretty sure CO2 tanks can't be shipped full.

But you could check the local liquor stores to see if they fill CO2 tanks, since they are also used in kegorators.

A place that recharges fire extinguishers can also probably fill CO2 tanks. You'll want to call first and ask.

Or if you have a place that sells paintball equipment, they might also fill them.

I take my tank to a home brew supply store, since it is the closest place to my house that can fill CO2 tanks.

[span class="edited"][Edited by AndyCLS 2004-09-06 16:31][/span]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll keep looking.

there are also places which deal with welding supplies, some of them can fill co2 tanks. there's a place on the other side of town from me that *only* deals with pressurized gases, and they charge about $1/lb for co2 refill. really, what it is is that you bring in your used bottle and they replace it with the same size bottle, refilled. make sure you get a new washer every time you get it refilled as well, just to make sure you don't have any leaks

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"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman

I use CO2 for my paintball gun, and I have my 12 oz. cannister filled for five dollars at the paintball place. Even if you have a 20 oz. they still fill it for only 5$ and even for a 9 oz., but maybe that's only that store.

Hi,
This is a copy/paste of a reply to Lindy who was
asking some similiar questions on the Technicial
Tinkering section of this forum. It addresses
some of the questions/comments on this thread.
Frank


Hi,
Here in the states, we can purchase a new, empty tank
of any size, or, we can rent them. As he has found
you can purchase the empties from several sources online,
or simply go to the nearest "gas plant." By "gas plant,"
I mean a place that fills the tanks for wielders, or
a place that provides CO2 for bars, and restaurants, we
call them Tap sites.

You cannot ship those type of tanks, filled.
As was mentioned in a previous note, the CO2 will
eventually try out common hose, and that leads to cracks,
loss of pressure, and excessive use of the gas. Purchase
CO2 tubing from an aquarium site, or visit a beer & tap
store and get the hose from them. Commonly, here in the
states, CO2 "proof" hose is black in color and less
flexible than regular "airline" aquarium hose.

The system should consist of a regulator (preferably
dual stage) with a needle valve and two gauges (tank
pressure, and output pressure), a bubble counter,
and a reactor or diffuser.

To secure the connection between the regulator and the tank,
you wrap a turn or two of Teflon tape, (commonly called
"pipe tape" around the threads of the CO2 bottle and then
tighten the regulator with a wrench. The tape helps to seal
the connection without leaks, and not damaging the threads.

The tanks are seemless, stainless steel, or "just" steel.
They have a 5 year warranty, and then must be tested, or
certified doing a procedure called Hydrostatic Testing.
The shop that tests the tanks is government certified, and
once the tank it is tested, a dated is stamped on the
neck of the bottle. A tank that is out of date MAY NOT
be refilled until it is tested, and recertified.

Here in the states, I have my tanks filled at the local
beer&tap store. I pay a total of 9$ for 10 pounds, and
that amount lasts (at slightly over one bubble/second)
for 8 months.

With pressurized, or "bottled" systems, you are dealing
with deadly pressures. I have seen tanks go through
cinder block or aircraft hanger walls and then travel
across the runways. However, simple common sense will
prevent injuries. Use only parts specifically for
a pressurized system, seal the connections, and operate
your regulator ONLY as the instructions indicate.

In general, you wrap teflon tape around the tank threads,
and then attach the regulator with a wrench.
Then back off (counter clockwise) the regulator valve
( it will turn freely as the springs loose tension)
and close the needle valve.
Then open the tank valve.
The tank pressure gauge will now indicate the pressure
of the gas in the tank.
Then adjust the regulator to give you about 1 pound
of pressure, output.
If you have a bubble counter, and you should, now
adjust the needle valve for a bubble per second
(to start with).
Let the system run with one bubble/second and watch
the pH reading (I have a pH probe that connects to
a digital CO2 saturation meter). Plot the value
of the KH and pH readings on the chart and that will
give you the CO2 saturation in mg/l at any given time.
Shoot for something above 15mg/l and generally less
than 30mg/l. If your KH is above 3, then you can leave
the system run 24/7 as that KH will buffer the CO2
and the fish will be fine during the lights off part
of the daily cycle.

DO NOT use CO2 disposable cylinders such as those for
paint ball guns, etc. The volume of gas in them is
too small. Forming a safe, leak proof seal, for aquatic
purposes is very nearly impossible, and home made
holders are subject to catastrophic failure.

DIY CO2 systems are generally cumbersome when supplying
CO2 to tanks larger than 30 gallons. DIY systems
generally provide a tremendous surge of CO2 when freshly
mixed, and then as the yeast ferments (time goes by)
the amount of CO2 tapers off to nothing and a newly
mixed bottle must be added. This causes another surge,
etc. The result, since it cannot be regulated, is that
the pH drops with the surging input of gas, and then
rises as the production drops off, only to drop again.
The continuous rising and falling of the pH stresses
the fish, and can kill them.

Hope this helps some.
Frank


[Edited by FRANK 2004-09-08 05:04]


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