[philm63]

Jim - I know; too late now, but check your area for beverage service companies that can fill your tanks - lets you keep your nice new shiny bottles, takes minutes in most cases.

[S. cerevisiae]

I am lucky in that I pay the same price per pound of CO2 regardless of cylinder size. 

[morticaixavier]

I am lucky in that I pay the same price per pound of CO2 regardless of cylinder size.

I am lucky in that I pay the same price per fill regardless of tank size. I have no idea why but the place I fill my Co2 charge ~19 bucks to exchange a 5 lb or a 10 lb tank.

[S. cerevisiae]

I believe that I paid $9.00 for my last 5lb cylinder fill.  I would not pay $19.00 to fill a 5lb cylinder.  I would buy a 10lb tank. 

I am fairly frugal with CO2, so 5lbs lasts a long time. I have always had a simple setup in which the kegs are stored in a refrigerator with picnic taps (this refrigerator/freezer holds my yeast bank, blank plating and slanting media, autoclaved starter media, and my hops).  I only open the valve on the cylinder during force carbonation and when the pressure drops to the point where I can no longer coax beer from a tap.  I used a 10lb tank with the kegging setup that I had before I took my extended hiatus from the hobby.  I could easily serve beer for two years between fills.   I am not a fan of "gassy" beer.

[klickitat jim]

Just exchanged my conditioning tank for a full one. $8.75

[Joe Sr.]

5 lb refills cost me $20.  20 lbs cost about $25, maybe $30.

Definitely some economies of scale.

[corkybstewart]

I run a 50 pound tank for my primary kegerator, and a 20 on my lagering/carbonating fridge.  Go big or go home.  It costs $12 to fill the 20#, but the 50# only costs $20 and has so far lasted 3 years, maybe 4 and pushed about 600-800 gallons of beer.  Yes I drink too much beer.

[hopfenundmalz]

I get fills for $2/lb at the LHBS. That is slightly cheaper than the fire safety place. Last time i got the 20 filled it was about $18 at the fire safety place. Paper work and time is the cost, the CO2 not so much. The 5 goes to the LHBS. The 10 goes to the LHBS if the fire safety store is not open - more limited hours.   You can figure where the 20 goes.

[sdevries42]

Would a 5 pound CO2 tank run 4 5 gallon kegs? I am working on a 4 draft kegerator system and plan on getting a bigger CO2 tank at some point down the road. Wondering if a 5 pound CO2 tank would get me by for now.

[a10t2]

Would a 5 pound CO2 tank run 4 5 gallon kegs?

If you're only using it to carb and serve (no purging, etc.) you should get about four kegs per *pound* of CO2.

[dkfick]

I have a 50, 20, and 4 5's.  I would say 20 is probably the best of both worlds as far as being able to move it around and still get a decent price on a refill.  The 50.... ugh... It's pretty cheap to get filled but man can it be a chore to get back into my second floor condo when filled   The tare weight on the tanks can run between 100-150lbs. So you're looking at a rusty tube that weights 150-200lbs when you bring it back from being filled or swapped...

[sambates]

Larger the better. 10# an 20# only cost slightly more than a 5# to fill. A worker told me that the most expensive part is hooking the tank up and the co2 is cheap. Also, you can buy cheap tanks online at Craigslist, but they must have the ID tags. If they don't, places won't swap or fill. I use a 10 and fill every 3 months or so and a 5 I fill if, I have "extra" money, to force carb separately.

[dkfick]

Larger the better. 10# an 20# only cost slightly more than a 5# to fill. A worker told me that the most expensive part is hooking the tank up and the co2 is cheap. Also, you can buy cheap tanks online at Craigslist, but they must have the ID tags. If they don't, places won't swap or fill. I use a 10 and fill every 3 months or so and a 5 I fill if, I have "extra" money, to force carb separately.

Any co2 tank should work.  They will look at the last hydro test date stamped into the tank though if you want it filled.  You need to have it hydro tested within 5 years or you shouldn't be able to get it filled.  They hydro test is usually about $20.

[Stevie]

One benefit of swapping, at least in my experience, is longer times between needing to pay for hydro tests. The airgas I swap at is sure to give me a tank with the same or earlier date.

[dkfick]

Yeah I tend to swap out my 50lb tank, but once you get a 'good' one I usually stop swapping.  The 50lb tanks seem to vary considerably.  My first tank had a tare weight of 100# and this last one I swapped it for has one of 150#.  Made a significant difference when I went to carry it from my car to my 2nd floor condo....