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Author Topic: Co2 Escape  (Read 2504 times)

Offline monomer77

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Co2 Escape
« on: November 27, 2010, 08:20:06 am »
How fast does CO2 escape from a container. Like if a bottle or keg is filled with CO2, will it immediately escape right out the hole when it's opened?

Offline tom

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Re: Co2 Escape
« Reply #1 on: November 27, 2010, 10:16:26 am »
Good question. Gases diffuse to fill their space - that's part of the definition of a gas.
It depends on the opening and I'm sure there's all sorts of diffusion coefficients involved.
So it will diffuse out (and outside gases in), but not immediately.
Brew on

Offline oscarvan

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Re: Co2 Escape
« Reply #2 on: November 27, 2010, 01:55:55 pm »
I would think that it is a function of pressure and the size of the hole....
Wooden Shoe Brew Works (not a commercial operation) Bethlehem, PA
http://www.woodenshoemusic.com/WSBW/WSBW_All_grain_Setup.html
I brew WITH style..... not necessarily TO style.....

Offline monomer77

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Re: Co2 Escape
« Reply #3 on: December 04, 2010, 07:38:51 am »
Let's say it's a carboy filled up. Once the bung is pulled out, does the gas jump right out?

Offline oscarvan

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Re: Co2 Escape
« Reply #4 on: December 04, 2010, 08:20:12 am »
OK, it's not pressurized...... No. CO2 is heavier than air and will "sit" in the carboy if not disturbed too much. If you put a hole in the bottom it will flow out.
Wooden Shoe Brew Works (not a commercial operation) Bethlehem, PA
http://www.woodenshoemusic.com/WSBW/WSBW_All_grain_Setup.html
I brew WITH style..... not necessarily TO style.....

Offline Steve

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Re: Co2 Escape
« Reply #5 on: December 04, 2010, 08:38:22 am »
Yes CO2 is heavier than O2.  The proof is seen when you place dry ice, which is frozen solid CO2, into a container of water, the dry ice will "boil" turning from a solid into a gas.  The gas which is seen as a fog (as in many horror films: the bubbling potion with fog flowing out on Dr Jeckyl's desk or as fog in a cemetery laying low on the dirt) will flow over the container's side and will flow down to the lowest point such as the floor.  Eventually the CO2 gas will expand and dissipate into the room and the fog will disappear. 

So – yes the CO2 will remain in the carboy neck for a bit of time but will want to expand to fill the room.  I don't know exactly how long the CO2 remains there.  I do know from using dry ice fog in theatrical situations, that the CO2 fog will dissipate, if it is not replaced, in about 2 minutes
Steve
 
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Offline tom

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Re: Co2 Escape
« Reply #6 on: December 04, 2010, 11:53:53 am »
OK, it's not pressurized...... No. CO2 is heavier than air and will "sit" in the carboy if not disturbed too much. If you put a hole in the bottom it will flow out.
Not as long as CO2 is in the gas form. Gases diffuse to fill their space. That is a basic definition of a gas.

Good for me because I ferment, carbonate, and serve carbonated beer in my basement and it would have filled with CO2 long ago.

As Steve notes above " yes the CO2 will expand to fill the room".

Of course there are time and temperature constants involved.
Brew on

Offline richardt

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Re: Co2 Escape
« Reply #7 on: December 04, 2010, 12:00:01 pm »
Your basement, just like any other room or theater, probably has a cold air return that helps remove cold air (and CO2) from your basement. 

Offline tom

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Re: Co2 Escape
« Reply #8 on: December 04, 2010, 12:18:35 pm »
Nope. (We don't open the windows either.) Our house is over 100 years old.
Just basic science.
« Last Edit: December 05, 2010, 10:52:26 am by tom »
Brew on

Offline oscarvan

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Re: Co2 Escape
« Reply #9 on: December 04, 2010, 07:35:16 pm »
OK, it's not pressurized...... No. CO2 is heavier than air and will "sit" in the carboy if not disturbed too much. If you put a hole in the bottom it will flow out.
Not as long as CO2 is in the gas form. Gases diffuse to fill their space. That is a basic definition of a gas.

Good for me because I ferment, carbonate, and serve carbonated beer in my basement and it would have filled with CO2 long ago.

As Steve notes above " yes the CO2 will expand to fill the room".

Of course there are time and temperature constants involved.

Yes, I should have specified that slowly the gas will work it's way out of the hole.....
Wooden Shoe Brew Works (not a commercial operation) Bethlehem, PA
http://www.woodenshoemusic.com/WSBW/WSBW_All_grain_Setup.html
I brew WITH style..... not necessarily TO style.....