Get into O2 guys, if you're serious about nicer beer

[Goose]

As far as "medical grade" o2 goes, it is filled with the same stuff that fills the industrial one.

When an industrial bottle is returned it will simply be refilled, regardless of what is left in the bottle.
"Med grade" bottles will be emptied first, purged, then filled in a vacuum environment.

Just depends how fussy you are I suppose...

If you fill up at BOC then it is the same stuff and I do not doubt the BA on this point. The regulations and classifications that distinguish medical grade from others are in fact detailed (albeit vaguely) on the BOC website.

For a bit of a laff I did find a similar discussion and another person that claims to be an (ex) professional from the gas industry:

At most suppliers, they will be filling your tank...or theirs...from a LOX supply, and all the oxygen will be the same...whether it is graded Research, Medical, Welding or Aviation. Aviation grade has the lowest specified dewpoint, along with Research. Medical grade is in fact technically the LOWEST grade of oxygen. As long as you conform to that, you are golden.
If your oxygen is coming from a LOX supply, and your tank is clean, then it will be Research or Aviation grade.

Here:

Medical grade: 93% pure or better, dewpoint 100 F, CO2 <0.01 ppm, CO <0.1 ppm, THC (total hydrocarbon) <0.01 ppm(as per FDA and USP)
Welding grade: 99.5% pure or better, dewpoint 0 F, inert gases <0.5%, THC not allowable
Aviation grade: 99.5% pure or better, dewpoint -80 F, inert gases <0.5%, THC not allowable
Research grade: 100% pure, dewpoint -80 F, no inert gas, THC not allowable

FYI, I'm a certified oxygen and high-pressure gas systems designer...I left that behind for beer

They don't actually filter oxygen. The problem being that most filter media combust in a pure oxygen environment...so if not fire, then at least lots of CO and other nasty stuff! Even stainless steel will readily combust in the right conditions...high pressure O2, a spark or superheated metal spur...goes up like sparklers.

Of course this is not an Australian source but noticed with amusement there is also a "Research" grade for maximum anality, but no mention of "beer" (food) grade in there.

 

[Lyrebird_Cycles]

So what's the process of getting medical o2 or clean o2. It's not like you gas people with it. I know it can combust with oil and it support's combustion but that is the only negative I an see with it.

Sign up to a BOC account and order a medical cylinder: Size C is approx 750g for $30, size D is about 2.5 kg for $45. You need to add about $15 / month rental on the cylinder. You'll have to answer some questions on what you want it for.

High purity and food grade cylinders only come in larger sizes: smallest food grade is an E which is about 6 kg for $80, smallest high purity is a G which is 10 kg for $400.

 

[Rocker1986]

The guy at BOC looked at me a bit funny when I was there last week when I told him I was using it to oxygenate unfermented beer prior to pitching yeast :lol: But, I have my cylinder and reg now.. just gotta get a couple of other bits this week and it will be all set to try out on my next batch, which is a Cz Pils. Will be a good one for testing actually because it's a regular recipe so will be interesting to see how it turns out compared to previous ones that only got the "pour cube in from a height" method of aeration.

 

[Dave70]

The calculations are way off, I think that flow rate calculator is for water not gas*.

Even if you use a gas flow calculator the results wouldn't be useful: the rate limiting component on your oxygenation rig is usually the sinter, not the line. I have a sinter flowrate calculator somewhere but I only ever use it to calculate the size of sinter needed to do a particular job, there's too much variability to use it for process control.

In industial practice we use an on cylinder flow gauge, for accuracy you must convert the pressure unless you use one of the special pressure compensating gauges.

For home I use an upturned jug in a bucket to calculate the output of the sinter at a known O2 pressure and go with that.

These days I don't even do that, I just give it a shot at roughly the right pressure and time; I only use O2 as a backup for the oleic acid addition (I think O2 still helps with ergosterol synthesis and since I'm paying rent on the cylinder already I might as well use it).

Can I bother you to put training wheels on that.
I've got a 6mm silicone tube plugged into the industrial regulator with a 2 micron stainless air stone plugged into it.
How many kpa for how many seconds would you recommend? Plain old beer, nothing super high gravity or otherwise in need of special attention.

 

[Batz]

Bunnings Coregas, $69.00 for a D size cylinder - 2.1m3.

Cheap as chips. No rental.

 

[2much2spend]

So what to dive shops use? For o2

 

[peteru]

Do they use O2? Not just compressed air?

 

[Matplat]

Correct, much easier to just compress the gas that is all around us....

 

[SBOB]

Bunnings Coregas, $69.00 for a D size cylinder - 2.1m3.

Cheap as chips. No rental.

$200 deposit though

 

[2much2spend]

Do they use O2? Not just compressed air?

nitrox mix. Can go a blend up to 32% o2

 

[Batz]

$200 deposit though

True, I guess you need to find $200, but it is a deposit which you get back if/when you return it.

Works out good if you were a brewer who scored a very cheap regulator for one of these bottles though. There's a few here who have.

 

[hotmelt]

$200 for a C size bottle and O2 at Gasweld.
http://www.gasweld.com.au/speed-gas-gas-kit-oxygen-c-size-includes-bottle-oxygen-gas-oxygen-c-kit

Might get one meself to go with my $60 reg from Masters.

 

[Phoney]

the one from bunnings is an m10 thread. Brewman's one is an M12 from memory, so they are different

Though, the price/value comparison is pretty much the same.
Bunnings is like $50/136g bottle, Brewmans is $55/136g bottle (and you get to support a much nicer guy than bunnings)

The smaller bottles at supercheap etc are worse $/g comparisons

Fair enough. I'm more than happy to support a nice guy & shun bunnings.

How many litres of wort can a 136g bottle oxygenate anyhow?

 

[Liam_snorkel]

here's an estimate.

[...] In terms of length of life, I'm not sure. If you were adding 2L/min for 60sec, you would get over 50 brews from one of those Trade Flame disposable oxygen cylinders from Bunnings, they hold 930ml of oxygen or around 110L.[...]

 

[2much2spend]

$200 for a C size bottle and O2 at Gasweld.
http://www.gasweld.com.au/speed-gas-gas-kit-oxygen-c-size-includes-bottle-oxygen-gas-oxygen-c-kit

Might get one meself to go with my $60 reg from Masters.

. C type bottles are not that common. But seems like the best deal so far.

 

[Tony121]

$200 for a C size bottle and O2 at Gasweld.
http://www.gasweld.com.au/speed-gas-gas-kit-oxygen-c-size-includes-bottle-oxygen-gas-oxygen-c-kit

Might get one meself to go with my $60 reg from Masters.

Just a thought....

It looks as though this one from Gasweld has a female thread that takes a standard O2 reg. However, the c size O2 bottles from BOC have a male thread and use a female regulator. Best to check before you buy.

 

[Killer Brew]

Can't see a size for the Supercheap bottle online. Is only $33 though.

 

[Tony121]

The guy at BOC looked at me a bit funny when I was there last week when I told him I was using it to oxygenate unfermented beer prior to pitching yeast :lol: But, I have my cylinder and reg now.. just gotta get a couple of other bits this week and it will be all set to try out on my next batch, which is a Cz Pils. Will be a good one for testing actually because it's a regular recipe so will be interesting to see how it turns out compared to previous ones that only got the "pour cube in from a height" method of aeration.

Please keep us posted, I would be interested in the results.

Regardless though, I have just ordered a wand and am piecing a set together at present following the feedback from this thread.

 

[niftinev]

. C type bottles are not that common. But seems like the best deal so far.

D bottle holds nearly 3 volumes a C bottle does

 

[2much2spend]

D bottle holds nearly 3 volumes a C bottle does

Yeah. I noticed that they are not in vic, will be hard to get a refill