I have decided to start kegging and not really sure on what size CO2 bottle I should use. My plan is to have a keezer that will hold up to 3 kegs using a manifold system. Do I need one bottle for the keezer and a separate one for carbonating?
I have a kegerator with 5 kegs and faucets.
I use a 5 pound CO2 tank.
I use the one tank for carbonating, serving the beer, cleaning beer lines, purging kegs, etc.
I brew every 2-3 weeks.
The 5 pound tank lasts 3-4 months.
Keep in mind that the cost is not proportionate with the size of the tank. A 20 pound tank costs only a few dollars more to fill than a 5 pounder.
My local welder stocks 20# tanks, so that’s the size I use. It takes a few years to run out, but when it’s out I can get an immediate swap.
As Mainebrewer said, you can get by with one CO2 tank to both carbonate and serve. I did this for years. I have 6 on tap and use a 20 lb external CO2 tank for the keezer.
A few years ago in invested in a separate chest freezer that I use for both lagering and for carbonating (it is also a backup incase the older keezer croaks). I keep the second kegs of beer (I usually brew 10 gallons at a time of the more popular ones) in that one and also now use it for carbonating since I keep the temperature in that one at around 33 degrees when carbonating the beer. My lagering freezer has a 5 lb CO2 tank inside it and it lasts for 6 months or more The serving keezer it at around 40-45 degrees so the beer is not too cold to numb your tastebuds. Just remember at a higher temperature it will take longer for the beer to carbonate.
My LHBS has 5lb CO2 bottles that they simply swap out so I use that size. I have a 6 tap keezer and a single bottle will last around 3 months. I keep a 2nd bottle as a backup because there’s nothing worse than running out of CO2 in the middle of a party…also the pressure gauge that is supposed to show remaining volume is pretty useless. My backup bottle is also the one I use when I want to quick carbonate a beer.
I generally have 2 tanks. One 20# that is on the 4 tap keg fridge and a 2.5# that use on a rolling cooler I rigged up as a portable kegerator.
I could easily get by with one 20# tank. The 20#er last more than year most of the time.
I have somehow become the collector of orphaned tanks lately though and now have 2 extra 20# tanks. I need to find a home for at least one of them.
Paul
I have a 20 lb. tank I use as the initial force carb after racking to keg with a 4 line manifold (got the manifold from a friend when a restaurant was being remodeled); then I have 2 ten lb. tanks for serving from a basement keezer (3-4 kegs) and a garage 4 tap fridge, then 2 five lbs. as back ups in an emergency or to take to parties. I inherited most of the stuff from guys who were not using them for whatever reason and knew that I could find a use for them. It helps to give away a lot of homebrew…
Thanks everyone for the good and useful information.