enough Co2?

[wangdango]

Hi-
just finished a keg and getting ready to pick up another (1/2 barrel), i keep my Co2 tank (small one), in the Ref w/the keg. Gauge reads about 250psi, (in the red), is there enough to get thru another keg or do I need to get it refilled?

[cubby_swans]

Hi-
just finished a keg and getting ready to pick up another (1/2 barrel), i keep my Co2 tank (small one), in the Ref w/the keg. Gauge reads about 250psi, (in the red), is there enough to get thru another keg or do I need to get it refilled?

That guage is not a co2 level indicator. It only tells you if you have liquid co2 in the tank, still. The guage will remain constant until your tank is very near empty. Once the guage starts to drop, you're running on fumes, literally. The only way to determine how much co2 you have left is to pay attention to how many kegs you've used, and to weigh the co2 tank.

What's a "small one"? A 5lb co2 tank will dispense roughly 8 1/2 barrels of beer.

Here's how it works. When your tank is filled, it's filled with liquid co2. Some of that co2 evaporates, and THAT is what the pressure reading is indicating. The gas pressure. When you dispense beer, and a bit of co2 gas gets released into the keg, a little bit of the liquid co2 evaporates to replace that co2 gas in the gas cylindar. When you are all out of liquid co2, and you dispense more co2, only then will that pressure gauge begin to drop.

[marzsit]

Hi-
just finished a keg and getting ready to pick up another (1/2 barrel), i keep my Co2 tank (small one), in the Ref w/the keg. Gauge reads about 250psi, (in the red), is there enough to get thru another keg or do I need to get it refilled?

if you have no leaks, and you have a 5lb bottle containing 250psi of gas pressure, you should be able to push one more 1/2 barrel. but, if it were me, i'd get the tank refilled at the same time as i pick up the next keg....

[cubby_swans]

if you have no leaks, and you have a 5lb bottle containing 250psi of gas pressure, you should be able to push one more 1/2 barrel. but, if it were me, i'd get the tank refilled at the same time as i pick up the next keg....

Please read my post, prior to yours. Once again, the guage reading has practically no bearing on the amount of co2 remaining.

[Skinsfan1311]

Please read my post, prior to yours. Once again, the guage reading has practically no bearing on the amount of co2 remaining.

Agreed.

For someone with a personal kegerator, I'm not sure what the advantage of having a 2-gauge regulator is, especially if the CO2 cylinder is stored in the fridge.

I've given the subject a little thought, because a regulator will be the next thing that I replace.

The dual-gauge only costs around $2.00 - $3.00 more than the single gauge but, (for my purposes), I can't think of a good reason for having one. With all the mods, (tower cooling blower & circulating fan), I don't have much room left in the box anyway, and storing the CO2 cylinder outside of the fridge is not a viable option.

[cubby_swans]

I have a dual guage, with the co2 outside the unit. I check it every few days out of habit to make sure the pressure is still correct. I've 'caught' the co2 running out every time and have been able to get a refill prior to running out. So it has worked for me.

[ga_steelersfan]

Thanks guys for these replies to the original poster as I wanted to know the answer to these questions too. I have a follow up though.

My 5# tank is reading 500# (right above the red) and is kept in the kegerator at about 37 degrees. I read somewhere that at 72 degrees, the tank pressue should read 750. With mine at 500, what does this mean? Is it as simple that If there is still any pressure, I have CO2? From the earlier posts, when i see the needle start to drop, that means the tank is losing pressue, thus I should replace?

Thanks in advance!

[psychodad]

I've found that once my gauge gets in the red it is close to time to refill, but not time to panic. Not only do I serve beer but I force carbonate all my home brew and I've not been left in a lurch from not being able to anticipate running out. If I thought I was on the hairy edge and having a big party where I was going to push a half barrel I may go with a new tank just to be safe, but I wouldn't worry.

It seems like two commonly asked questions on the board are how do I know how beer is left in my keg and how much co2 is left in my tank. It is hard to explain, but over time you seem to get a "feel" for these two things.