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why can't I make my own CO2 tank system?

You can! It's easy and simple. I don't have a compressor right now, so its all I use. Go to wheelersoffroad.com and get the 150psi fixed regulator. $49.00. Get a tank off Craigslist and fill it. That's what I did. Under a hundred dollars. And, I have a 20lb tank.


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I checked out your power tank link. Don't waste your money on that. You don't need a gauge with O2. The handle is nice, but WAY too much $. Also, find a tank on CL. Good luck.
 
76zimmer said:
Take a 15# DOT/CGA approved aluminum tank, http://www.beveragefactory.com/draftbeer/tanks/co2/C15.shtml

add a Powertank Superflow regulator kit, https://www.powertank.com/products/sfID1/38/productID/8

and save about $150?
Click to expand...

I've had a 'custom' CO2 system for a few years - tank + regulator procured from the local welding place. A regulator is nice to have so you can set outlet pressure - however, it won't tell you how much is left in the tank (because of the properties of compressed/liquid CO2) until the tank is almost empty. For that, you'd have to weigh the tank... but overall, I'd say it worked very well for my purposes.
Only reason I went to an air compressor - primarily for airing up after a run; my 3/8 IR impact is somewhat of an air hog - was logistics/timeliness of refills.
P.S. I think it's a good thing to have your CO2 tank certified. Compressed gases shouldn't be trifled with.
 
jms said:
I've had a 'custom' CO2 system for a few years - tank + regulator procured from the local welding place. A regulator is nice to have so you can set outlet pressure - however, it won't tell you how much is left in the tank (because of the properties of compressed/liquid CO2) until the tank is almost empty. For that, you'd have to weigh the tank... but overall, I'd say it worked very well for my purposes.
Only reason I went to an air compressor - primarily for airing up after a run; my 3/8 IR impact is somewhat of an air hog - was logistics/timeliness of refills.
P.S. I think it's a good thing to have your CO2 tank certified. Compressed gases shouldn't be trifled with.
Click to expand...
Certified as in DOT/CGA? or something else?
I was going with a Powertank Superflow regulator only because of the possibility of needing to reseat a tire on the rim....you know my 16.5's don't have a very big bead seat width to them. The powertank Superflow provides higher flow up to 48cfm, do you guys know what your regulator will flow?
I read to Michael that the weight of the tank is the only way to know how much you have, perhaps a portable fish scale would be handy to have???

Also, I will be using CO2, not O2 in it.
 
I don know what cfm my regulator is rated at, I would have to check the website, but I have a few times, re-seated my 42-15-16.5 TLS on 16.5x12" wheels. I use a big heavy duty tie down and take out the valve stem core.

The regulator I have and told you about will work. Actually, I need to seat the bead this weekend. Maybe I can make a video of it.
 
76zimmer said:
Certified as in DOT/CGA? or something else?
I was going with a Powertank Superflow regulator only because of the possibility of needing to reseat a tire on the rim....you know my 16.5's don't have a very big bead seat width to them. The powertank Superflow provides higher flow up to 48cfm, do you guys know what your regulator will flow?
I read to Michael that the weight of the tank is the only way to know how much you have, perhaps a portable fish scale would be handy to have???

Also, I will be using CO2, not O2 in it.
Click to expand...

I'm sure the 'O2' was a typo... at least I hope it was :eek1:

The places that handle compressed gases have a means to certify a container to meet certain specs, withstand x amount of pressure and the like. 'Some tank off CL' would leave me a bit nervous, but that might just be me.

Don't know the flow rate of my old 2-stage regulator, but I'd bet it was significantly lower that the 48cfm quoted above; some of these things are rated only up to 50 scfh...:eek1:. But keep in mind the intended usage: I (still...:laugh:) have 16" rims and 35s...
 
I should have clarified myself better. I bought a 20lb. Tank off CO for $20.00. It was out of date. It has to be pressure tested every 5 yrs. I believe. Anyhoo, I took that tank to a gas place, and paid $15.00 to get it recertified. They didn't do it on site, so they gave me a different aluminium tank. It looked brand new too. And then paid $15.00 to fill it. So, for $35, I got a new tank.

Hope that cleared thing up a little. I wouldn't trust a tank off CL without getting it tested. A lot cheaper than a new tank + shipping.
 
There will be a date stamped on the tank. It has to be static tested every so many years. 5, if I remember right.
This you must do!
Not just for legal reasons, but for safety reasons. Also, there is a rupture disk on the valve on the opposite side of the nozzle.

Take the tank to a compressed gas refiller, and get it tested or swapped out. If they give you the same tank back, make sure they replace the rupture disk.

The place I spent most of my life working at, went through about 200 20# cylinders and probably 60 50# cylinders per week in the summer.

So, I know a little about CO2 cylinders.
We bought the gas from a dealer instead of filling them ourselves. We had the ability, but not the ability to test them.
One day, one was sitting out in the sun, and it exploded. I heard the blast 8 miles away. Chunks of steel were blown through a double layer brick wall and out the wall on the second floor.
Two guys 100 feet away on an open ramp were blown off their forklifts.

I found the valve assembly imbedded in the back wall of a house across the street. It went through the front wall, 4 interior walls, and almost out the back wall.

When we investigated, we found someone had replaced the rupture disk with piece of thick copper.
The filling company pulled every cylinder off line and checked them. Found 3 more. No idea who did it.

Back when I started, all of them were heavy steel. Then the aluminum ones started coming out. I loved the difference in weight, but they made me nervous.

One day, they had a new guy on the filling line. He was filling cylinders by weight. He got through filling a bunch of steel ones, and started in on aluminum ones.
Did not reset his tripoff on the scales.

They dropped off about 30 of them. I got a call from a local bar. They said that a cylinder had exploded in the stock room.
I asked where they were calling from, and what did they want me to do? Look for bodies?
They said they were calling from the bar. I assured them that a cylinder had not exploded in the stock room.
As I started out the door, I heard the darnedest noise from the other room. Went in, and three cylinders were laying on their sides spinning faster than you could believe.
Bouncing all over the room.

When the guy tried to fill the aluminum tanks to the same weight as the steel ones, he had filled them all the way with no room for expansion. Fortunately all these had good rupture disks so that was all that happened.

If you are going to mount a cylinder in your vehicle, make darn sure it is well strapped down, the valve is not pointing at anyone in case it gets snapped off, and try to put it in a well protected position so that if something happens to the truck, it will be unlikely to receive a penetrating injury.

There are a lot of other suggestions I can make, but its midnight, and I got to get up early.
 
really appreciate the input guys, Fordum sounds like you've had your share of fun with em.
The tank I was looking at is new for 113 with shipping, has the certs and the proper valve/w rupture disc and is rated for 1800 lbs. w/ a 3000 burst limit.
I think I'll check my local gas supplier for pricing too.

The regulator specs say it will increase pressure by 10# in a 40x15 tire in 41 seconds, and with a 15# bottle will do it 14 times.

Fordum throw more suggestions out there when you get some time.
 
I'm kicking myself b/c a few years ago, while I was in college my buddies and I got a little tipsy and we found a few 20# tanks. Took em out in the canoe put the valve in the water and opened her up. It was fun, till the co2 ran out. Left em at the campground. If I would have grabbed em I would have a powertank like system.
 
Fordum said:
There will be a date stamped on the tank. It has to be static tested every so many years. 5, if I remember right.
This you must do!
Not just for legal reasons, but for safety reasons. Also, there is a rupture disk on the valve on the opposite side of the nozzle.

Take the tank to a compressed gas refiller, and get it tested or swapped out. If they give you the same tank back, make sure they replace the rupture disk.

The place I spent most of my life working at, went through about 200 20# cylinders and probably 60 50# cylinders per week in the summer.

So, I know a little about CO2 cylinders.
We bought the gas from a dealer instead of filling them ourselves. We had the ability, but not the ability to test them.
One day, one was sitting out in the sun, and it exploded. I heard the blast 8 miles away. Chunks of steel were blown through a double layer brick wall and out the wall on the second floor.
Two guys 100 feet away on an open ramp were blown off their forklifts.

I found the valve assembly imbedded in the back wall of a house across the street. It went through the front wall, 4 interior walls, and almost out the back wall.

When we investigated, we found someone had replaced the rupture disk with piece of thick copper.
The filling company pulled every cylinder off line and checked them. Found 3 more. No idea who did it.

Back when I started, all of them were heavy steel. Then the aluminum ones started coming out. I loved the difference in weight, but they made me nervous.

One day, they had a new guy on the filling line. He was filling cylinders by weight. He got through filling a bunch of steel ones, and started in on aluminum ones.
Did not reset his tripoff on the scales.

They dropped off about 30 of them. I got a call from a local bar. They said that a cylinder had exploded in the stock room.
I asked where they were calling from, and what did they want me to do? Look for bodies?
They said they were calling from the bar. I assured them that a cylinder had not exploded in the stock room.
As I started out the door, I heard the darnedest noise from the other room. Went in, and three cylinders were laying on their sides spinning faster than you could believe.
Bouncing all over the room.

When the guy tried to fill the aluminum tanks to the same weight as the steel ones, he had filled them all the way with no room for expansion. Fortunately all these had good rupture disks so that was all that happened.

If you are going to mount a cylinder in your vehicle, make darn sure it is well strapped down, the valve is not pointing at anyone in case it gets snapped off, and try to put it in a well protected position so that if something happens to the truck, it will be unlikely to receive a penetrating injury.

There are a lot of other suggestions I can make, but its midnight, and I got to get up early.
Click to expand...

Well this thread has sprung my interest so i searched cl and found some cheap options pretty fast.
20 pound tank here
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/scz/tls/2403147575.html

10 pound tank here
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/scz/grd/2393703171.html

Im thinkin i'd like to go pick up the 20 pounder. Do you see any red flags there or is their anything i should watch out for? It sounds like according to munepit getting these recertified only cost like 15 bucks :dunno:.

Speaking of, munepit is the 20 lber too big to have inside while your wheeling if properly strapped? Portable air is awesome especially at high psi's but shrapnel scares the shet out of me :eek:
 
I always wondered if one could use a Scuba tank.....?:dunno:
 
You are probably not going to like using a SCUBA tank. They work fine, are about the same level of danger as a CO2, but you have to be dive certified to get them filled.

CO2 tanks can be filled by anybody who sells the stuff. As for testing the tanks, like some folks here have said, most places just swap with you.
But be careful, if you own the tank, they might charge you rent on their tank. If so, just go somewhere else. Most places won't do that.

Also, don't forget your local Coca Cola plant. Most of them sell the stuff too.

As for worrying about shrapnel, don't worry. If one of those tanks goes off in your vehicle, there won't be enough left of you to find any shrapnel holes..............

Make sure wherever you mount it, is ventilated. CO2 is not poisonous like CO is, but it will make you sleepy or pass out if it gets too thick.

Most of the stories I have about that stuff are actual experiences. But one of the funniest I ever heard was third hand.
Guy was driving along with a car full of fire extinguishers. He sold or serviced them.
Suddenly one of them went off, instantly filling the car with this white cloud.

He said he was minding his own business, when suddenly everything went white. He could not even see his hands. His arms just seemed to disappear into the mist.

He said that the only thing he could think of was that he had died.
Everything was white. Said he was trying to figure out what to do next.
Lay down? Pray?
Fortunately it cleared out enough for him to see and he realized what had happened.

Couple of other things to consider.
You are dealing with a phase change when you release this stuff. Unlike an air tank, where you are just releasing pressure, you are converting this from a solid or liquid to a gas. Which means it is going to suck in large amounts of heat.
Everything that the "liquid" touches is going to hit about -100F.

If you are dumping it fast enough, the brass regulator and any metal fittings will cause bad freeze burns. As will the solid dry ice that will come out with fast release.

Not to mention that it could damage the rubber tire or valve stem.

If you were to get some of the solid into the tire, unlikely but possible, it would continue to sublime inside the tire until either it was all gone, the tire pressure reached about 1500psi, or it blew. Whichever came first.

I'm not trying to dissuade you from using it. But, its like a really strong winch. If you treat it with respect and know how to use it, it will do you a great job.

Handle it wrong, and it will hurt you.

Gonna post a story bout this stuff over in the lounge. Check it out later.
 
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Fordum said:
You are probably not going to like using a SCUBA tank. They work fine, are about the same level of danger as a CO2, but you have to be dive certified to get them filled.
Click to expand...
I've heard of and known several people who used SCUBA tanks. No issues filling them and a few of them were in places rather short on dive shops.

I do believe one guy had his tank marked with something so that it was no longer used for SCUBA use.
 
Why not just use Nitrogen tanks ? :dunno:

costs about 11 bucks to refill one of the big ole cylinders...

I keep a smaller one around the shop for when I need to run my impact at places where there is no compressed air... fill tires with it etc..

all the vato's use em in their lowriders for the air bags....:dunno::dunno:

heck,,we have 6 packs delivered out to the jobsite to blow up the refrigeration systems to look for leaks during start up...
 
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