Compressed Air As Opposed To Co2

[chill73]

I am just getting my keg system together and hope to be up and running in a month or sooner if possible. But I am in need of info on using compressed air instead of CO2. I have heard some talk from some old bar men who used to use comp air, they have said that it does the same job as CO2. If anyone has any thoughts or ideas on this it would be great to hear as it would help me decide which one to set up for.

chill73

 

[Thirsty Boy]

I am just getting my keg system together and hope to be up and running in a month or sooner if possible. But I am in need of info on using compressed air instead of CO2. I have heard some talk from some old bar men who used to use comp air, they have said that it does the same job as CO2. If anyone has any thoughts or ideas on this it would be great to hear as it would help me decide which one to set up for.

chill73

Pretty much a big old fashioned no I'm afraid.

Compressd air would push the beer out of the kegs in a pinch, but it it would also let oxygen at the beer. It would become stale and go flat very quickly indeed. You would taste the difference in the beer the next day and it would become undrinkably stale in only a few days after that. plus flat.

If you were going to drink the whole keg in one or two nights, you might get away with it, apart from that it needs to be C02. And at any rate, unless you have a food grade aircompressor, you would also be shooting an unhealthy amount of oil into your beer. It comes off the compressor's piston, into the air and would thence go into your beer.

The old barmen you heard talking were a unique subspecies of the breed... dodgey old barmen

You'll have to pony up for the C02 I'm afraid

Thirsty

 

[Adamt]

*sigh*

Oh dear.

 

[sqyre]

Hi Chill73,
Firstly Welcome to the forum!.
Unfortunatly, Thirsty Boy is correct. Compressed air is Not an option.
The bubbles in your beer is CO2 and when using kegs the simplest way to put them there is through forced carbonation which is putting the beer under high pressure co2 to force the gas into the beer. You then use very low pressure co2 to push it out your tap which will uses bugger all co2 to do. Like TB said you could use compressed air to push it out once carbonated but unless your going to drink that whole keg in the next couple of hours i wouldn't advise it..

I have used Compressed air in an emergency, when my co2 ran out about 6pm on a saturday night but i only hooked it up to a keg that was a third full and i knew i would pretty much pollish it off that night.

In a nutshell, your going to have to use Co2...

Sqyre...

 

[HKS]

I have never heard of a food grade air compressor either. I've never seen a food grade oil/water separator either.(I would buy 1 if I could find 1) I had to replace my oil/water separator recently as it split down the side after I bumped up the pressure to 65psi to pump up a bike tyre.

I decided I will also replace the coiled hose for longer straight hose. When I took the fittings out I noticed there was quite a bit of oil residue in the coiled air hose. This was with using an oil/water separator. That would be the last thing I would want in my beer.

I have heard that when the hand pumps are used its recommended that the keg gets polished off within 8 hours.

I would use a hand pump before I would use an air compressor and make sure that keg gets drunk very quickly.

If you are going kegging you need CO2. You are only a set of CO2 gauges and bottle away from kegging. Check the site sponsors for CO2 gauges and go down to your local BOC distributor and lease a gas bottle. I got prices locally recently and it was $119 per year for a VT (10kg, comes filled) and $117 for a D type (6kg, comes filled). Also the price difference to fill them is next to nothing.(like $24 for the D and $27 for the VT) Unless you are going through heaps and heaps of kegs a year you won't need to refill a VT. So it will cost you about $10 a month.

Cheers

 

[domonsura]

Geez that's expensive for CO2............if I recall properly, I paid around $60 for my 10kg bottle...................

 

[HKS]

Geez that's expensive for CO2............if I recall properly, I paid around $60 for my 10kg bottle...................

Wow that is cheap, 1/2 the price. I was quoted those prices from BOC Gas and Gear at Carrington (suburb of Newcastle, NSW)

 

[kevnlis]

I paid $65 for 22 kilos of CO2 at the BOC here in Bundy. Plus $12 or so per month rental charge.

 

[verock]

Don't use air, it'll ruin your work, not to mention the oil blowby. If you are on a budget try a "keg charger" available at www.grapeandgrainery.com for $21 (US) but it or something like it is probably available in you 'neighborhood'. You can naturally carbonate your beer with cornsugar, like a giant bottle; then use the keg charger to dispense it. One or two cartridges will empty a 5 gal keg. We use it on hunting/fishing/camping trips so we don't have to take the gauges, hoses, cylinder, etc.

 

[Trent]

Domonsura
Is that $60 a yearly rental price, or an outright purchase price? I am *fairly* sure that the cylinder rental prices vary greatly from state to state. I have been led to believe that NSW is one of (if not the) most expensive states in Oz to rent from, at the happy price of around $120 or so a year.
I think that Victoria used to be the cheapest state to rent in, but I cannot recall the cost. Be interesting to see what people pay through the same supplier (eg BOC) in each state, I cant understand why the price varies, but have heard it has something to do with the amount of cylinders that go "missing". Hence, the more cylinders that go awol, the more they raise the rental prices to cover their losses. Maybe the Victorians are really honest?
And, to keep it on topic, I wouldn't use compressed air either. Much smarter to fork out the $$ and get the right gear for the job, in my opinion.
All the best
Trent

 

[chill73]

Thanks for the feed back!

I think I shall check out my local fire extinguisher people, before renting from boc. And I also have a contact number for a guy in Adelaide who does refits on old steel extinguishers specifically for kegging.

Cheers

Chill73

 

[SJW]

I just paid $48 for my VT c02 exchange in Newcastle.

 

[masculator002]

compressed air will do a good job....... of sending your beer to the toiletpay the cash and get a co2 bottle. They are easy to get and not that expensive. I paid about 35 bucks for 3 months rental and I think it was like 42 bucks for the gas. It is cheaper to get it with 12 months rental. If you need a reg I have a spare one I am willing to part with. It is a cig one and is designed for food grade c02 dispensing. DO NOT try to use compressed air unless you want to drink a keg in one sitting and are willing to put up with it tasting like shit.

 

[masculator002]

compressed air will do a good job....... of sending your beer to the toiletpay the cash and get a co2 bottle. They are easy to get and not that expensive. I paid about 35 bucks for 3 months rental and I think it was like 42 bucks for the gas. It is cheaper to get it with 12 months rental. If you need a reg I have a spare one I am willing to part with. It is a cig one and is designed for food grade c02 dispensing. DO NOT try to use compressed air unless you want to drink a keg in one sitting and are willing to put up with it tasting like shit.

oh and if you are using more than a vt bottle a year you are drinking way too much or you havent achieved a good seal in your kegs.

carbonate at 3.5 to 4 bar for 2 days at 0 degrees c, and pressurise for dispensing at about 10 psi or approx .5 to .75 bar

 

[masculator002]

Thanks for the feed back!

I think I shall check out my local fire extinguisher people, before renting from boc. And I also have a contact number for a guy in Adelaide who does refits on old steel extinguishers specifically for kegging.

Cheers

Chill73

dont waste your time go to boc

 

[KGB]

^^^ I disagree completely, BOC are damn expensive! ~$100 or more per year rental, + gas, + whatever deposit on the cylinder. If you go to the right places you can get a fire extinguisher setup for less than a years rental - and its yours forever!

 

[mfdes]

^^^ I disagree completely, BOC are damn expensive! ~$100 or more per year rental, + gas, + whatever deposit on the cylinder. If you go to the right places you can get a fire extinguisher setup for less than a years rental - and its yours forever!

Yeah, and then you have to have it hydrostatically tested regularly before anyone will fill it up for you. legally at least.

MFS

 

[ausdb]

If you are going kegging you need CO2. You are only a set of CO2 gauges and bottle away from kegging. Check the site sponsors for CO2 gauges and go down to your local BOC distributor and lease a gas bottle. I got prices locally recently and it was $119 per year for a VT (10kg, comes filled) and $117 for a D type (6kg, comes filled). Also the price difference to fill them is next to nothing.(like $24 for the D and $27 for the VT) Unless you are going through heaps and heaps of kegs a year you won't need to refill a VT. So it will cost you about $10 a month.

I think they are quoting you for the rental only, BOC always charge for cylinder rental plus the fill when you start off

 

[devo]

I am just getting my keg system together and hope to be up and running in a month or sooner if possible. But I am in need of info on using compressed air instead of CO2. I have heard some talk from some old bar men who used to use comp air, they have said that it does the same job as CO2. If anyone has any thoughts or ideas on this it would be great to hear as it would help me decide which one to set up for.

chill73

Surely this gotsta be a troll?!

 

[pint of lager]

Double check your figures. Out here in rural NSW. it is about $120 a year rental and $45 a refill on a VT 10kg BOC cylinder. A cylinder lasts about 18 months, so that works out about $13 a month.

Owning a cylinder is not feasible out this way. No-one actually refills them, they are just swap out. The BOC or Air Liquide empties go back to the big smoke to be refilled.

If you do go down the buy your own cylinder, make sure that the refilling station is not an hour's drive away and only open 8am-4pm 5 days a week. Also calculate in regular cylinder retests. Many people on the forum are happy fire extinguisher users, but it is not feasible for everyone.