CO2 refilling?

[kary]

Anyone recommend a place is north county coastal or UTC area that refills CO2 tanks while you wait? I have a tank I need to refilled.

Thanks for the help!

[Pete Millikin]

Hey Kary- I don't have an answer but I'm curious. CO2? You have a soda fountain setup in the Motorhome?

[kary]

Hey Kary- I don't have an answer but I'm curious. CO2? You have a soda fountain setup in the Motorhome?

Nope, I actually found an interesting CO2 tank that can provide high flow up to 160 PSI. Usually these type of tanks flow much more slowly. It turns out that large Motor coaches like mine need a tire PSI of 120 minimum while some of the new ones are going up to 135 PSI. This is an issue for most compressors as they usually go to about 120 or 125 max (except for industrial ones). So I needed something small and easy to stow, something that had enough pressure and had a gauge that went to at least 140 (this one is 160). This item is called the power tank and I am finding it very useful for driving impact wrenches as well as filling air. It is compact and easy to use.

There might be a market for this in that folks that drive to the track but want something small to change tires with or add air would be a great option. For me the motor home pressures are too high for gas station and the like. So having something that can keep my $400 tires at the correct pressure (6 tires) is important.

I would be happy to show folks this unit at Buttonwillow. If folks want to look at it now you can go to www.powertank.com

I have a combination of options from the RV tank and power tank that I thought would be very useful for racers and RV'ers. If interested after checking out the site give me a call and I can walk you through the options.

P.S. I guess you could use this for a soda machine, but I do not have one in the motor coach nor would you need that amount of pressure!

[sushinav]

Call any of the 4 wheeler places around you and they should be able to tell you where. These Powertanks are very popular with the offroading crowd. Miles from anywhere and you need to do field repairs, these are great. You can also build your own.

[Tim Comeau]

I see the potential for diaster so I'll chime in here. Make darn sure you don't ask for a CO2 regulator to use with that CO2 tank. The normal CO2 regulators are rated at very low pressures because they are mostly used for, as mentioned, soda machines. I was taught this when I went to upgrade my go kart air cylinder for use with the Porsches. Go kart tires typically take less than 20 psi. The regulator I had, and/or the air hose probably would have failed with the new "scuba-sized" nitrogen tank I traded for. I sprung for a nice 2 stage regulator that shows tank pressure AND line pressure.

[kary]

I see the potential for diaster so I'll chime in here. Make darn sure you don't ask for a CO2 regulator to use with that CO2 tank. The normal CO2 regulators are rated at very low pressures because they are mostly used for, as mentioned, soda machines. I was taught this when I went to upgrade my go kart air cylinder for use with the Porsches. Go kart tires typically take less than 20 psi. The regulator I had, and/or the air hose probably would have failed with the new "scuba-sized" nitrogen tank I traded for. I sprung for a nice 2 stage regulator that shows tank pressure AND line pressure.

Yes, the power tank set up has a high pressure high flow regulator that is the best in the business. Tim, I understand and appreciate your point for those that think they will just build their own.....yikes!

[lowyder993s]

if its a 20# cylinder, you can swap it out as a CO (customer owned) at places like Westair gas (formerly San Diego Welders Supply) or GS Parsons. Escondido would prolly be your best bet or Kearny Mesa area.
Thats what I use @ the track and its got enuf huevos to run the impact gun too.

[pyro57]

Hi people,

Just a note to let you in on some info. 4 wheelers have been using CO2 fo a long time to re-inflate their tires after airing down for off roading. One thing you need to know is that CO2 expands much more with heat than air so be careful using it on a regular basis in on road vehicles as you could over inflate by mistake. Most of the off roaders will tell you to drain the co2 out of your tires and reinflate with air once you get home just because of this problem. CO2 also introduces moisture into your tire, I know because after pulling my tires off my rims the rims were very rusty (steel rims on the Jeep) inside and I was warned of this in advance. One more thing and I dont know if it is true but the guy at San Diego welders supply in El Cajon said that CO2 erodes rubber.

Just a thought,
Dave

[kary]

Hi people,

Just a note to let you in on some info. 4 wheelers have been using CO2 fo a long time to re-inflate their tires after airing down for off roading. One thing you need to know is that CO2 expands much more with heat than air so be careful using it on a regular basis in on road vehicles as you could over inflate by mistake. Most of the off roaders will tell you to drain the co2 out of your tires and reinflate with air once you get home just because of this problem. CO2 also introduces moisture into your tire, I know because after pulling my tires off my rims the rims were very rusty (steel rims on the Jeep) inside and I was warned of this in advance. One more thing and I dont know if it is true but the guy at San Diego welders supply in El Cajon said that CO2 erodes rubber.

Just a thought,
Dave

This is really no different than a compeasor which has plenty of moisture in the tank as a result of the compression. Ever drain your tank and see all the water?

Also, I do not know anyone racing that uses steel wheels, yikes that would be heavy! And as far as CO2 eroding rubber, who has tires on a race car that long to matter? And if it is a street car how long does it take to erode rubber? Some facts to back that statement up would be helpful...

[pyro57]

Actually it is far different than a compressor. CO2 is a liquid when under high pressure that changes to a gas when it is not under pressure. As it converts to a gas the CO2 nearly freezes and carries very much moisture. It also increases in pressure at a much steeper curve than oxygen as related to temperature. The post mentioned that the CO2 would be used in a motorhome which I assumed would have steel wheels. As for data to back it up i'll look for that when i get back from my business trip. Most of this info was picked up in my last 25 years of calibrating pressure gages for the aerospace ind. and come from the Ansii and ASTM (american society of testing and materials) and much of this is also from memory. As for the eroding of the rubber, that was info from the manager at SDWS and I also took it with grain of salt, but on my jeep i usually get 50 or 60 thousand miles out of a set of tires.

[Tim Comeau]

I get 50 or 60 thousand seconds out of my race tires..........

[MikeD]

I've been thinking about getting a power tank for some time. But it's a bit pricey and I have always found something else to spend the $300+ on. But I really like the idea for running air tools the occasional fill up and other misc uses.

Another nifty thing Off Roaders use that might come in handy for track trips are Pelican Cases.

http://www.expeditionexchange.com

I don't get anything for pushing that site, just a couple guys a go off roading with trying to make a living. Also, if you check the prices at Fry's the are much cheaper at EE.

[kary]

Actually it is far different than a compressor. CO2 is a liquid when under high pressure that changes to a gas when it is not under pressure. As it converts to a gas the CO2 nearly freezes and carries very much moisture. It also increases in pressure at a much steeper curve than oxygen as related to temperature. The post mentioned that the CO2 would be used in a motorhome which I assumed would have steel wheels. As for data to back it up i'll look for that when i get back from my business trip. Most of this info was picked up in my last 25 years of calibrating pressure gages for the aerospace ind. and come from the Ansii and ASTM (american society of testing and materials) and much of this is also from memory. As for the eroding of the rubber, that was info from the manager at SDWS and I also took it with grain of salt, but on my jeep i usually get 50 or 60 thousand miles out of a set of tires.

Dave, good info, however my RV wheels are aluminum except for the rear inside two. I will have to see what the idfference is between my regular air tank and the CO2 this next weekend.

[harnishclan]

Why not use nitrogen? It is an inert gas and does not react to changes in temperature as quickly as CO2 or Air. Also has a history of being used in performance tires and is preferred because of the two previously mentioned qualities. And third and lesser known quality is that it weighs less and this is unsprung weight!

[MikeD]

Yes, nitrogen is the preferred substance to fill race tires. But it takes a LOT more nitogen than air of CO2 to fill up a set of race tires. Also, it's not as compact as a Power Tank. A medium sized power tank is about the same size as 15LB fire extinguisher and will do the same work as 4 (maybe even 5) full sized air or nitrogen bottles.

I wouldn't want to use nitrogen to run power tools. It is too precious. Ideally I guess you would want a power tank (or two) to run your air tools and a nitrogen bottle (or two) to fill your tires.