Is there such a thing as nonfood grade CO2 bottles? Specifically, is it ok to use a paintball gun CO2 bottle to dispense beer?
Quite a few people use them for portable setups with no issues. I think I have seen kits to convert the connections (sorry no links at the moment). CO2 is CO2 (AFAIK) so the container shouldn’t matter.
Paul
I always get mine at the welder’s supply. Can’t imagine it being considered “food grade” but have not had any issues at all. I think the paint-ball canister has already proven itself as a useful tool for dispensing beer. Go for it!
I used to get CO2 from a welder’s supply shop back in the day before my LHBS started getting it. No worries.
It wasn’t the CO2 I was concerned about as it was the bottle. I have heard paintgun bottles often contain oil. Upon more research I discovered it is the cartridges that contain oil. A byproduct of manufacturing them.
I bought one of these http://www.midwestsupplies.com/the-adapter-co-2-go.html and Beverage factory gave me a $25 store credit for posting a picture of my kegorator on their facebook site so I used that towards their cheapest regulator.
All I have left to purchase now is a 10 gallon cooler and I will have everything I need to build my picnic tapper 
Does this mean you are not worried about the oil anymore?
In retrospect I would just buy the bottle at my CO2 supplier. I brought two new 5 pounders when I started kegging only to exchange them at airgas. Could have saved money by just paying the no exchange fee.
Pretty sure there IS oil in some of the disposable paintball cartridges. On eBay some are labeled specifically as food grade for soda water etc.
From what I have been reading oil is a concern in the cartriges but not in the bottles.
You can get cartridges from William’s Brewing and other places that are specifically for food uses and contain no oil.
The box of Crossman cartridges I have all contain oil and marked that they do. I always thought the oil was to provide lubrication to the air gun in the same way you put a few drops of oil in pneumatic tools.
I don’t use the Crossman cartridges for beer. I actually don’t use them for anything anymore. They must be going on 20 years old…
OK, I grabbed a C02 cartridge and slapped it onto my keg - before reading the “not for human consumption” warning :-[. Is my beer ruined? :( I popped it off, and sampled a glass - didn’t notice any off flavors. Will hit the homebrew store on Friday to pick up the “human-safe” ones…
Yes, anything labeled not safe for human consumption is totally safe in beer so long as you don’t consume it.
Dude you kill me ;D
so…is my beer ruined? 
I highly doubt it’s ruined. Did the head collapse almost immediately? I would expect oil would drop it like a rock.
I doubt it. And the oil won’t kill you, but I wouldn’t make a habit of it.
Lolololololol
Unless I knew what kind of oil, i would not call it safe. There are oils that can ruin your day.
That’s because CO2 isn’t safe for human consumption! It doesn’t have any meaning in relation to the contents of the cartridge other than that.
That’s a good point. However, the Crossman cartridges are stamped stating that they contain oil. I assumed that’s what he was referring to. Way back in the day (mid-90s) I used one or two of those to dispense a mini-keg (or several) to no ill effect. The quantity of oil that might actually wind up in the beer has got to be minimal, especially in a 5 gallon keg. Nonetheless, there are better options and I don’t recommend using the wrong type of cartridges.
You ought to be able to get good cartridges at any kitchenware place that sells whipped cream dispenser or soda water chargers. You could also use the nitrogen cartridges to dispense, but they tend to be shorter IIRC.