CO2 Tank

lojeff

New member
Any thoughts on the power tank and/or power shot?

www.powertank.com

After using the 4runner on beaches, I have to either wait in line for a compressor or some of the beaches do not have a compressor available.

Any input would be helpful. It seems like alot of money but it looks like it will do the trick.

Thanks for the help,

Lojeff
 
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CO2 tank refills - Pasadena CA?

Anyone have suggestions as to where to go for CO2 tank refills in the vicinity of Pasadena CA? Should I just start calling welding supply shops? How about Airgas ( www.airgas.com ) will they refill 10 lb tanks?
 
Shop around is my best advice. I have had a big range of prices and practices. For my tank, I have had prices from as low as $8 to as high as $25. The $8 place only filled tanks once a day, so I would have to leave it and pick it up the next day. Best luck I have had was at paint ball shops. One by me charges $10 and will do it on the spot. My biggest complaint is that they determine if it is full by "feel". When I got home and checked it on a bathroom scale, it looks like I am only getting 8-9 pounds of CO2. (I'm getting shorted a bit but it is very convienent)

A friend of mine has a kegorator and he fills his a local beverage distributor. My problem there are the hours.

Best of luck. Let me know how you make out.
 
My biggest complaint is that they determine if it is full by "feel".
They really should weigh it. Better though that they underfill than overfill. If they overfill and leave no room for the liquid CO2 to expand when it gets warm then the safety pressure release diaphragm could rupture giving you an exciting dump of the entire tank in just a few seconds.
 
Victor,
Thanks for the link. I was thinking of maybe saving a few bucks by getting a plain brushed aluminum 10# tank instead of one of those pretty powder coated tanks but then it might just be easier to buy a complete offroad package.

Do you have your tank mounted or just carry it around loose?

Refills at a SCUBA shop eh? Hope that they don't mix up gases, it could be a nasty surprise for a diver. How much do they charge to refill the 10 pounder?

Alhambra is very near where I live. I would appreciate it if you would send me a PM with the name of the shop!
 
Leeper Bros
10702 Van Owen (enter on Clyborn)
N. Hollywood/Burbank

818 761 4672

I've gone there and they do it while I wait. Only takes about 5 minutes...I think it was $10 ?
 
Paintball shops fill CO2 tanks by weight. If you have a 20 oz tank, they purge the tank (empty it) and then weigh it with a digital scale. They zero the scale and then fill the tank until it weighs 20 ounces..
 
dcampen said:
Victor,
Thanks for the link. I was thinking of maybe saving a few bucks by getting a plain brushed aluminum 10# tank instead of one of those pretty powder coated tanks but then it might just be easier to buy a complete offroad package.

Do you have your tank mounted or just carry it around loose?

Refills at a SCUBA shop eh? Hope that they don't mix up gases, it could be a nasty surprise for a diver. How much do they charge to refill the 10 pounder?

Alhambra is very near where I live. I would appreciate it if you would send me a PM with the name of the shop!


I don't have it mounted, don't do that much wheelin to justify a mount. I'll find the name of the shop and send it to you.
 
Hey Sharp,

Are you sure????

I have been to 2 shops and both have been shy a pound or 2 when I got home. The first was done in a back room so I couldn't see what they were doing. The second, I could see what they were doing, and when I asked about a scale they said they could tell how full it was by the pressure on the tank and the sound???

I thought the ONLY way to tell was by weight.
 
I asked about a scale they said they could tell how full it was by the pressure on the tank and the sound???

I thought the ONLY way to tell was by weight.
Yeah, the only way to tell is by weight. The CO2 in the tank is a liquid so the pressure remains constant as long as there is any amount of liquid in the tank. I wouldn't want to use a shop that didn't check their work by weight. Again, I would be more worried about an overfill.
 
lojeff said:
Hey Sharp,

Are you sure????

I have been to 2 shops and both have been shy a pound or 2 when I got home. The first was done in a back room so I couldn't see what they were doing. The second, I could see what they were doing, and when I asked about a scale they said they could tell how full it was by the pressure on the tank and the sound???

I thought the ONLY way to tell was by weight.

I'm positive bro. I've been playing paintball for a while and that's the only way I've seen it safely done. Any other way and you won't get full fills or worse, you'll get an over fill and then good bye Burst Discs!

It's actually very important that whoever is doing the fills knows what they are doing. these co2 tanks can turn into bottle rockets if not handled safely. There have actually been 2 paintball tank related deaths this year. One, a lady was at her son's paintball birthday party and someone was unscrewing the tank from the gun. Well the tank was purchased second hand off of ebay and was improperly re-manufactured and the tank shot off the gun and hit the lady in the head. Killed her instantly
 
Three vendors

Just to organize the information I will put links to the 3 vendors of offroad CO2 systems that I have found. Two of these vendors were mentioned in previous links in this thread:

Power Tank seems the most expensive.
http://www.powertank.com/

Offroad Air seems the least expensive.
http://www.offroadair.net/products.html

Outback Air is in between in price.
http://www.okieweb.com/outbackequipped/


It would also be possible to save a few tens of dollars by putting together your own system from components.

Here is a source of CO2 tanks:
http://www.beveragefactory.com/draftbeer/tanks/co2.shtml
 
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Ok so if my tank is a 10lbs capacity, how much should it weigh? Last time I filled it I paid $10 didn't even check to see if it was filled to capacity.
 
Biff said:
Ok so if my tank is a 10lbs capacity, how much should it weigh? Last time I filled it I paid $10 didn't even check to see if it was filled to capacity.

Biff,

They'll empty the tank and then weigh the tank empty. Then they should fill the tank so it is 10LBs heavier than when it was empty.

If you want, there is probably a way for you to empty the tank yourself. Empty it and then weight it. Take it to the place to get filled and when you get home, see how much it weighs and see if that place is honest...

July
 
If you want, there is probably a way for you to empty the tank yourself. Empty it and then weight it.
Just take off the regulator then open the valve and let it vent. The tank will get cold, you will probably want to be wearing some cotton gloves. Do this outside, not in your house.

Offroad Air gives an approximate empty weight of 17 lbs for a 10 pound CO2 tank. Here is their data sheet (sometimes it won't load for me):
http://www.offroadair.net/OAbrochure.pdf

Knowing the empty weight and having a spring scale so you can determine how much CO2 is left in your tank would be really useful so you can avoid both unnecessary refills and running out when you are in the field.
 
I finally got around to buying a CO2 setup. I ordered this OffRoadAir system from:
http://www.4x4rockshop.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=2132
I ordered mine in the yellow color. They have free shipping on this item. 4x4rockshop is in Alabama but the kit is being shipped from California so I should get it soon.

They also have another package that includes a set of Staun deflators and a tire pressure gauge at a good price. I wish that I had noticed that before I bought my Staun deflators separately from another place a few weeks ago.
http://www.4x4rockshop.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=2205
 
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lojeff said:
Shop around is my best advice. I have had a big range of prices and practices. For my tank, I have had prices from as low as $8 to as high as $25. The $8 place only filled tanks once a day, so I would have to leave it and pick it up the next day. Best luck I have had was at paint ball shops. One by me charges $10 and will do it on the spot. My biggest complaint is that they determine if it is full by "feel". When I got home and checked it on a bathroom scale, it looks like I am only getting 8-9 pounds of CO2. (I'm getting shorted a bit but it is very convienent)

A friend of mine has a kegorator and he fills his a local beverage distributor. My problem there are the hours.

Best of luck. Let me know how you make out.
they cant fill all the way to the top. its a law..also if u ripe offthe labels on the tanks.... they wont fill them..
 

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