15 replies to this topic

[Humperdink]

Sometimes it's worth a little more to swap a tank than to always fill it. I had a 5#er blow on me a while back. Took down all the art and made a fair mess in the bar. I heard it go, freaked me out, went and checked and sure enough, tank flew around and found a place to get hung up. I'd hate to think of what would have happened if me or the lady were in there at the time, pretty scary.

[MyaCullen]

yikes

[positiveContact]

Sometimes it's worth a little more to swap a tank than to always fill it. I had a 5#er blow on me a while back. Took down all the art and made a fair mess in the bar. I heard it go, freaked me out, went and checked and sure enough, tank flew around and found a place to get hung up. I'd hate to think of what would have happened if me or the lady were in there at the time, pretty scary.

 

were you not getting it hydro tested every so often (can't remember what the law says)?

[Big Nake]

Every 5 years here. HMC, tell me what happened if you know. This is what I meant when I said I didn't like to handle this 20# tank I have. It's a missile if something happens. I remember when I first started kegging and I read something that said, Even handling a 5-pound tank in your home is not for the faint of heart... they can create a lot of damage if they go off...

[positiveContact]

Every 5 years here. HMC, tell me what happened if you know. This is what I meant when I said I didn't like to handle this 20# tank I have. It's a missile if something happens. I remember when I first started kegging and I read something that said, Even handling a 5-pound tank in your home is not for the faint of heart... they can create a lot of damage if they go off...

 

I should probably secure my 20# tank in my basement that's just sitting on the floor

[Big Nake]

Three of my five are in a fridge. I don't know what would happen if they went off inside the fridge. The other two are usually just sitting on the floor in my beer bunker. I think there was a Mythbusters thing on this. They put a tank inside a warehouse and they built a cinder block wall. They pointed the tank at the wall and they made something that would sheer the neck of the tank clean off (so that the tank would cruise straight at the wall instead of spinning around) and the tank crashed right through the cinder block wall. These things are missiles. Luckily, it's rare when you hear about this happening to someone.HMC: Did you not have this tank tested? Here, the date of the latest test is on the tank and no one will fill it if it's longer than 5 years ago. The place I fill my tanks also does hydro tests. I actually have to take my 10# tank in today.Cheers peeps.

[3rd party JKor]

HMC, where did the tank fail?  Sidewall, valve?

 

Ken, the mythbusters episode was with a nitrogen tank, they're much higher pressure, like 3,000 psi vs. 500 for CO2.  They're also completely gas, as opposed to CO2 which is mostly liquid.  The Nitrogen/oxygen/etc. tanks have a lot more potential for damage than a CO2 tank if they blow.  Although, as HMC found out, there's plenty of potential for damage with a CO2 tank as well.

[Big Nake]

HMC, where did the tank fail?  Sidewall, valve? Ken, the mythbusters episode was with a nitrogen tank, they're much higher pressure, like 3,000 psi vs. 500 for CO2.  They're also completely gas, as opposed to CO2 which is mostly liquid.  The Nitrogen/oxygen/etc. tanks have a lot more potential for damage than a CO2 tank if they blow.  Although, as HMC found out, there's plenty of potential for damage with a CO2 tank as well.

Thanks for the clarification. I'll be honest... this 20# tank has been sitting in my brew bunker (about a 6x15 closet behind my bar) for about 2 years. Every time I looked at it, I winced. When I decided to use it this weekend, I didn't want to pick it up, move it, connect a regulator or turn it on. I know I was just being a nancy and when it came down to it, everything was fine. I just have an issue with something that can do that much damage. It also has a plastic handle on it to make it easier to carry. I envisioned the plastic snapping, the tank hitting the ground and all hell breaking loose.

Edited by KenLenard, 20 October 2014 - 11:20 AM.

[positiveContact]

Thanks for the clarification. I'll be honest... this 20# tank has been sitting in my brew bunker (about a 6x15 closet behind my bar) for about 2 years. Every time I looked at it, I winced. When I decided to use it this weekend, I didn't want to pick it up, move it, connect a regulator or turn it on. I know I was just being a nancy and when it came down to it, everything was fine. I just have an issue with something that can do that much damage.

 

I've never been overly concerned with my CO2 tanks.  I mean - I'm careful when I transport them to/from the welding supply place but I never even approached the level of concern you seem to be expressing.

[HVB]

Thanks for the clarification. I'll be honest... this 20# tank has been sitting in my brew bunker (about a 6x15 closet behind my bar) for about 2 years. Every time I looked at it, I winced. When I decided to use it this weekend, I didn't want to pick it up, move it, connect a regulator or turn it on. I know I was just being a nancy and when it came down to it, everything was fine. I just have an issue with something that can do that much damage. It also has a plastic handle on it to make it easier to carry. I envisioned the plastic snapping, the tank hitting the ground and all hell breaking loose.

Maybe it is because I was introduced to tank safety at a young age, my father has always had large oxygen and acetylene tanks in the garage, but CO2 tanks have never concerned me as long as proper precautions are taken.

[realbeerguy]

Can only swap out here.  Takes the guesswork out of the equation.

[3rd party JKor]

Thanks for the clarification. I'll be honest... this 20# tank has been sitting in my brew bunker (about a 6x15 closet behind my bar) for about 2 years. Every time I looked at it, I winced. When I decided to use it this weekend, I didn't want to pick it up, move it, connect a regulator or turn it on. I know I was just being a nancy and when it came down to it, everything was fine. I just have an issue with something that can do that much damage. It also has a plastic handle on it to make it easier to carry. I envisioned the plastic snapping, the tank hitting the ground and all hell breaking loose.

 

 

They're not very careful with them at the tank supplier.  I wouldn't worry about it.  This is actually the first time I've ever heard of a tank having a spontaneous failure.

[Big Nake]

There was a story on NB a long time ago when I still bottled. A guy had just come back with a full 5# tank and left it by the basement door. His young son came around the corner and knocked it over and it went down the basement stairs where his other kid was playing. Nothing happened to either of the kids and the tank was just fine. But you should have heard the people on the forum ripping this guy a new asshole for being careless. Things like, "Why on Earth would you put your kids in jeopardy by leaving a full CO2 tank where they could come in contact with it?!?!?". I also read a story about how you really need to be gentle with them. I'm sure the guys at the welding shop or fire extinguisher place are not as gentle as we are but I am just gentle. I don't bang them around. When I set one down on concrete, I'm deliberately careful.

[SchwanzBrewer]

I always trade mine in. Even the nice shiny new one. I don't give two shits what it looks like, only that it works when I want it to. Not having to get it serviced is worth the un-shininess.

[StankDelicious]

I always trade mine in. Even the nice shiny new one. I don't give two shits what it looks like, only that it works when I want it to. Not having to get it serviced is worth the un-shininess.

Yup.

[Humperdink]

I generally fill as it's like half the cost. This one tank in particular was a few years old, not sure exactly how many TBH. I had just had it filled, set it in the bar and left it for a while. It failed at the valve.