CO2 Tank for airing up

~Ace~~ said:
NOT true if the guage is on the High Side... the Low side maintains the Regulated Pressure, so it stays the same... the High side reflects the True pressure in the tank, and WILL indicate the amount left VS Full.... ~Ace~
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SPOBI. CO2 stores as a liquid so tank pressure remains constant until the liquid is gone. High side pressure reads full right up to the point it starts dropping quickly and you are out. It works more like an idiot light than a guage. . .
 
3XJFamily said:
SPOBI. CO2 stores as a liquid so tank pressure remains constant until the liquid is gone. High side pressure reads full right up to the point it starts dropping quickly and you are out. It works more like an idiot light than a guage. . .
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Glad you caught that before I did.
 
Chris @ GATR said:
Glad you caught that before I did.
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Carbon_dioxide_pressure-temperature_phase_diagram.jpg


At room temp and greater pressure than 1500psi, CO2 is a liquid. Below those conditions, all the liquid in the bottle changes to gaseous state, and even at 1500psi, such a small bottle of gas wont go very far. There is lots of energy stored in the CO2 when it is coverted to liquid.

An analogy is how much energy it takes to boil water. It takes alot. And thats why steam burns the @#$%#@$ out of you. The steam has tons of energy it transfers to your skin when it condenses.



:dunce:
 
3XJFamily said:
SPOBI. CO2 stores as a liquid so tank pressure remains constant until the liquid is gone. High side pressure reads full right up to the point it starts dropping quickly and you are out. It works more like an idiot light than a guage. . .
Click to expand...

Thanks for backing me up. I think the guage would be helpful to see the pressure increasing, say if you left it in the back of a vehicle on a hot summer day. It wouldn't take long for my burst disk to go on a hot summer day. I only keep my tank in the jeep during offroad trips though, and those trips are rare in the summer.
 
If you are using a compressed gas, CO2 is the logical choice and the 20lb tanks give the best value on fills. CO2 stores as a liquid and SCUBA tanks or the portable air tanks just can't compete volume wise. One of the guys I run with uses a nitrogen / CO2 mix to fill big tires fast without icing issues - he loses quite a bit of volume but he gets fills for free at his work so, it's not an issue for him.

I keep (3) 20lb aluminum CO2 tanks (gotta deal on them. . .), nothing fancy and I can exchange them at any welding shop. The 20lb are a common size and they don't charge much less to fill a 10lb tank. I keep a bunch of guage washers on a twist-tie attached to the guage set (so I can find them. . .) an just put a fresh one in when I put on a new tank.

I use an adjustable TAPCO beverage regulator that I go off EBAY cheap, since I use it to run impacts, an air nailer, trim gun, etc. being able to fine-tune pressure delivery around 90psi is necessary for me. I just leave it at 90psi for filling tires. . .
 
Mosephus said:
This is correct, the highside guage is very useful to me at times.

You can sort of see the guage on the left.
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I still don't see why this is useful, unless you are just about to go empty. Any fluctuations that you are seeing are probably due to ambient temperature changes.
 
So wait what is the verdict on leaving a co2 tank in your hot jeep in the summer heat?
 
slcpunk74 said:
So wait what is the verdict on leaving a co2 tank in your hot jeep in the summer heat?
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I have never heard an instance of a CO2 tank exploding. Not to mention, most regulators have a relief valve should the pressure get ridiculous. My 150 psi regulator relieves at 200psi.
 
slcpunk74 said:
So wait what is the verdict on leaving a co2 tank in your hot jeep in the summer heat?
Click to expand...

Hydrotest every 5 years is required and they've got a burst disk in the stem if it goes over pressure. If it were really a problem, welding supply trucks would have them going off every other day come July. . .
 
Mosephus said:
It tells me the tank is a 1/4 full and I need to go get it refilled before a trip. That's how I find it useful, but it's def. not a must have.
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A 1/4 full tank will have the same pressure as a 1/2 full tank, or full tank for that matter. Also, one wouldn't be getting their money's worth if they filled up once the gas hit 1/4 (you could only tell by weighing the tank). Unless you are going on a multi-day trip, that should be more than enough to fill 4 tires. It's not like the refill place will charge you less because they didn't have to fill it up all the way. You should be able to tell if it's almost empty just by picking up the tank.
 
Markos said:
A 1/4 full tank will have the same pressure as a 1/2 full tank, or full tank for that matter. Also, one wouldn't be getting their money's worth if they filled up once the gas hit 1/4 (you could only tell by weighing the tank). Unless you are going on a multi-day trip, that should be more than enough to fill 4 tires. It's not like the refill place will charge you less because they didn't have to fill it up all the way. You should be able to tell if it's almost empty just by picking up the tank.
Click to expand...

Ditto. I can explain it further but debating is a waste of time. . .

A full tank is mostly liquid. The guage measures the pressure of the gas ABOVE the liquid and NOT the amount of liquid in the tank. Temperature causes some variation but, you should see about 850PSI at 70F (IIRC. . .). The guages I'm familiar with, have a green area reflecting the normal operating pressure at typical temperatures. Other than fluctuations due to temperature, it is not until the liquid CO2 in your tank has been depleted that you will see the pressure begin to drop. If you are reading 1/4 of normal PSI, you are all but empty.

The guage was designed for bar jockeys, the needle is in the red when the kegs quit flowin' = simple enough to diagnose. . .
 
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