I have been following the threads on CO2 with interest; I own a home brew shop and am exposed to most of the questions and problems that people encounter. After looking at the various options I would like to offer some thoughts, this isnt an add, I just hope it helps some when you are deciding which option to take when your looking for gas.
Sources and supply of CO2 cylinders:-
There appear to be three reasonable ways to get CO2 bottles:-
1. Hire from BOC, Air Liquide, Lindy etc
2. Purchase a bottle, Air-Up, Mykegonlegs some others
3. Cheep Air Liquid, as is in the Victorian model.
There are also what I call micro bottles, Soda Stream and Bulbs. At over $10.00 for a Soda stream refill on the new Aluminium bottles you are paying around $30.00/Kg for your CO2. Bulbs are even more expensive. They both have the saving grace of being highly portable but remember you are paying a premium for the gas, I would only consider these as valid options when portability was the only criteria.
Please note that Soda Stream, when I approached them regarding using Soda Stream bottles for beer systems were vehement that there bottles were only to be used in Soda Stream appliances.
First however I would like to point out that Australia has among the most stringent Pressure Vessel laws in the world. These laws came about because there were several large boiler explosions on the gold fields in the 1880s, the resulting deaths and injuries inspired what were at the time some of the first Occupation, Health and Safety laws.
Australian pressure vessel laws grew out of the early boiler rules; you could reasonably argue that some of these laws are too strict. However they are in place to protect you, me and the public from stupid, ignorant or unprincipled supply of what is a dangerous good.
Pressure vessels have to be tested and certified at regular intervals, this is done by Hydro Static testing, the container is filled with water, the volume measured precisely with a manometer, a test pressure is applied, the volume is again measured. Any discrepancy between the two readings determines the elasticity of the vessel, if the vessel grows, i.e. doesnt spring back to its original volume, it fails the test.
One of the reasons fire extinguishers are of lighter construction than service bottles is that they arent expected to under go the repeated strain being pressurised and discharged very often, the stretching and contraction of the container over time work hardens the vessel, reducing its elasticity, and it will eventually fail, catastrophically.
The cheep Air Liquide bottles are widely available if you can get your hands on one, they are the cheapest, safe legal way to get gas. The old steel bottles are not up to the standards for workplace OH&S, as they generally lack safety shields and some for being too heavy. These bottles have been written off and as they go through the testing cycle, fewer and fewer of them are available. From my personal experience there are hundreds of these in circulation. Given the chance, grab one, you wont have it forever but its a great option while it lasts.
You are probably all familiar with the hire options, a lot of people dont have an issue with spending $120-140 a year to have a safe reliable supply of CO2 as this comes down to what 35-40c/day. I hire O2, Argon and CO2. I to wish my bills were lower, but not enough to engage in dangerous work practices.
Buying a bottle; Air-Up and Mykegonlegs are the two mostly talked about options, the retail price of all the bottles on offer is close to $300.00 with both you only pay for the gas you use on a $/Kg basis. I have elected to stock both ranges and all are selling well. For me the deciding factor would be how portable you want your system to be, if it is totally static, the biggest bottle is probably more useful, if you want mobility, go for the smaller bottle. Apart from the gas included in the initial fill and built into the price, the ongoing costs are identical.
You will have gathered from the above that I am not impressed with people trying to circumvent the laws pertaining to pressure vessels. At around $300 for a bottle and 10 years before it even needs testing, $30.00 a year isnt too much to spend on a gas bottle.
Try thinking of it as life insurance.
Good Brewing
MHB
Sources and supply of CO2 cylinders:-
There appear to be three reasonable ways to get CO2 bottles:-
1. Hire from BOC, Air Liquide, Lindy etc
2. Purchase a bottle, Air-Up, Mykegonlegs some others
3. Cheep Air Liquid, as is in the Victorian model.
There are also what I call micro bottles, Soda Stream and Bulbs. At over $10.00 for a Soda stream refill on the new Aluminium bottles you are paying around $30.00/Kg for your CO2. Bulbs are even more expensive. They both have the saving grace of being highly portable but remember you are paying a premium for the gas, I would only consider these as valid options when portability was the only criteria.
Please note that Soda Stream, when I approached them regarding using Soda Stream bottles for beer systems were vehement that there bottles were only to be used in Soda Stream appliances.
First however I would like to point out that Australia has among the most stringent Pressure Vessel laws in the world. These laws came about because there were several large boiler explosions on the gold fields in the 1880s, the resulting deaths and injuries inspired what were at the time some of the first Occupation, Health and Safety laws.
Australian pressure vessel laws grew out of the early boiler rules; you could reasonably argue that some of these laws are too strict. However they are in place to protect you, me and the public from stupid, ignorant or unprincipled supply of what is a dangerous good.
Pressure vessels have to be tested and certified at regular intervals, this is done by Hydro Static testing, the container is filled with water, the volume measured precisely with a manometer, a test pressure is applied, the volume is again measured. Any discrepancy between the two readings determines the elasticity of the vessel, if the vessel grows, i.e. doesnt spring back to its original volume, it fails the test.
One of the reasons fire extinguishers are of lighter construction than service bottles is that they arent expected to under go the repeated strain being pressurised and discharged very often, the stretching and contraction of the container over time work hardens the vessel, reducing its elasticity, and it will eventually fail, catastrophically.
The cheep Air Liquide bottles are widely available if you can get your hands on one, they are the cheapest, safe legal way to get gas. The old steel bottles are not up to the standards for workplace OH&S, as they generally lack safety shields and some for being too heavy. These bottles have been written off and as they go through the testing cycle, fewer and fewer of them are available. From my personal experience there are hundreds of these in circulation. Given the chance, grab one, you wont have it forever but its a great option while it lasts.
You are probably all familiar with the hire options, a lot of people dont have an issue with spending $120-140 a year to have a safe reliable supply of CO2 as this comes down to what 35-40c/day. I hire O2, Argon and CO2. I to wish my bills were lower, but not enough to engage in dangerous work practices.
Buying a bottle; Air-Up and Mykegonlegs are the two mostly talked about options, the retail price of all the bottles on offer is close to $300.00 with both you only pay for the gas you use on a $/Kg basis. I have elected to stock both ranges and all are selling well. For me the deciding factor would be how portable you want your system to be, if it is totally static, the biggest bottle is probably more useful, if you want mobility, go for the smaller bottle. Apart from the gas included in the initial fill and built into the price, the ongoing costs are identical.
You will have gathered from the above that I am not impressed with people trying to circumvent the laws pertaining to pressure vessels. At around $300 for a bottle and 10 years before it even needs testing, $30.00 a year isnt too much to spend on a gas bottle.
Try thinking of it as life insurance.
Good Brewing
MHB
