I'm on the verge...!

[Trough Lolly]

Heals, give Ross at Craftbrewer a call...he should be able to let you know where to get your gas locally...

Cheers,
TL

[Heals]

Yeah had a chat to him before - I'm a bit far away from where he's at so he wasn't sure.

Said to try Air Liquide or BOC, not too sure which is the better option price wise though.

[Ash]

Up here Air Liquide is about 30% dearer than BOC, though I'm a light drinker so I went to Sodastream bottles & it works out to $11 every second month instead of $11 every month with BOC rental.

Each Sodastream bottle (available from Kmart) seems to be able to carbonate and pour roughly two cornys (I drink about a keg a month), though I go fairly low carbed for my ales - natural carbonation would extend it a fair bit in theory.

So, you could put a sodastream bottle inside one of those fridges so you don't butcher it & naturally carb the kegs to keep it a bit more economical if you're a bigger drinker than I, for christsakes get at least 3 kegs, two is a PITA cause they always seem to be empty at the same time.

Also, I'm a fan of those smartstrips Ross sells, so I can have a refill waiting in the fermenter when I empty a keg.

Then when running out of gas all the time gives you the shits & you won't think twice about drilling the fridge.

[Heals]

Oh no worries there - next pay day I'll be getting an extra four kegs, and payday after that it's a full tap getup for the spare fridge in the shed.

It means I'll need to go out to the pool shed everytime I want to pour a beer, but alas - I don't mind..

[Tyberious Funk]

Where there's a will there's a way. I live in a small apartment in the inner city, but still manage to have the necessities of life on hand.

It's a nice setup in no mistake, but I don't live in a small apartment... I live in a really small apartment. I could accommodate a kegging setup if I got rid of the washing machine (and believe me, I've considered) but I doubt Mrs Funk would be impressed.

Some time next year, though

[Heals]

Alright, well after doing some research I managed to track down some prices for gas hire at an Air Liquide dealer in Murwillumbah (northern NSW) and BOC in Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast.

C02 from Air Liquide is $66.33 for the gas and $146.19 per year (new accounts must be on a 12 month contract, after that you can rent on a 6 month basis.)

C02 from BOC is $62.90 for the gas and $12 per month with no minimum contract for new accounts, it's even 5% less if you rent for the year.

It's pretty much a no brainer if you ask me. I know I'll probably have the gas for years but still, I like the idea of not being committed to renting a cylinder for a full 12 months.

I didn't think to ask the guy on the phone, but is the gas from BOC industrial or food grade?

[Kevnlis]

I reckon that price would be for "beer gas" as BOC call it. But it seems to me those prices are higher than what BOC quoted me up here. WHat size cylinder is that for?

[rwh]

From all accounts I've heard, food grade and industrial CO2 are the same thing. At least the bottles get filled from the same big tank.

[Kevnlis]

From all accounts I've heard, food grade and industrial CO2 are the same thing. At least the bottles get filled from the same big tank.

I have heard that as well, but BOC actually have it listed 2 different ways, and I believe they charge 2 different amounts too

[rwh]

Yeah they do charge differently. I think the cylinders are different?

[Kevnlis]

Yeah they do charge differently. I think the cylinders are different?

Yeah I think it has something to do with the quality of the cylinder and how clean it is etc.

Supposedly it is possible to infect your beer by using a non food grade gas (or cylinder how ever you want to look at it). How many things are going to survive inside of a high pressure CO2 tank and then infect a fully fermented beer?

[Heals]

Good point.

Those prices are for a 22kg cylinder. I don't really see the point in getting the smaller size bottle as it's only slightly cheaper and you get half as much gas! How much do you get them for up north Kev?

Oh btw - how the fark do I replace the small seals on these kegs!? I'm such a nub at this shit..

[Kevnlis]

Ahhhh... I only enquired about the 9 kilo cylinder. Which is only $9 and change per month to rent and about half as much to fill. I am going to go in there once I get my chesty collared and nut out the cheapest and best way to do things.

I may just buy an extinguisher if I can find one at a reasonable price. At $120 per year for the rental thats about twice what a 3.5 kilo extinguisher usually sells for... full

[rwh]

Those prices are for a 22kg cylinder. I don't really see the point in getting the smaller size bottle as it's only slightly cheaper and you get half as much gas!

How does "the ability to lift the cylinder" sound?

Oh btw - how the fark do I replace the small seals on these kegs!? I'm such a nub at this shit..

Which seals? The smallest ones? Perhaps this series of images will give you a hint...

[Heals]

How does "the ability to lift the cylinder" sound?

Ever heard of a trolley?

Thanks for the images of tools btw - I did, in the end, manage to figure it out.

[Kevnlis]

How does "the ability to lift the cylinder" sound?

Ever heard of a trolley?

Thanks for the images of tools btw - I did, in the end, manage to figure it out.

I loaded and unloaded a 22 kilo cylinder into the back of the ute yesterday and it was suprisingly not very heavy. rwh might have problems with the broken bones and such, but most people would be able to get them around easily.

[KEG]

i don't know the gas capacity of my cylinder, but it stands about 5.5 feet tall and is as heavy as rosie o'donnell. i'm storing it strapped onto a furniture trolley, because if it fell, it would go through a wall.

[gregb]

It's not the size that counts fellas....

Cheers,
Greg

[KEG]

don't worry, i use it well

[Trough Lolly]