Here’s a photo showing my previous CO2 tank, which has a siphon tube, also known as a dip tube. I got it (full) for a great price from someone who was moving across the country. It was used to fill small CO2 canisters for paintball, and the siphon tube releases the CO2 into the smaller tanks in liquid form. It may not be obvious in this photo, but that tank is big. It’s rated at 75 pounds and weighs almost 230 pounds when full.
So the tank finally ran out of gas last month. That’s when I finally noticed 2 things: it had not been tested in a very long time, and before it could be filled, it would need to pass a hydro test (or hydrostatic). That’s also when I noticed that there was a rattling sound coming from inside the tank, which I eventually discovered meant that it had that siphon tube.
The weird thing about the siphon tube is that I had no idea it was there. I used the tank as you see in the photo - topside up. However, as this 75 pound tank was away getting tested, my gas supplier let me take home a 50 pound tank with a siphon tube. I hooked up the tank last night, and when the CO2 controller turned on the regulator, the needle was spiking and swinging wildly, and this is because the tank was releasing the CO2 in liquid form.
Bottom line, although I don’t know why I was able to use the other tank normally, I know I need to hang this one upside down in order to release the CO2 in gas form. Do any of you have an example or diagram of a rig that I can build? BTW - this tank weighs about 150 pounds (full).
That makes some sense, @Daytripr69, but the rattling sound only came from the bottom part of the tank. It didn’t sound like a tube that wasn’t attached to anything and just loose inside the tank. FWIW - the tank did pass inspection and nothing was mentioned about there being an issue with the tube. Still, maybe there was an issue and it allowed me to use it normally.
The test was $20 at the location I used, but I inquired through another company and was told it was closer to $50 (USD). As for filling, I am not certain about the cost for this 75 pound tank, but the 50 pound tank they gave me to use was $26.50 to fill.
So I built a base that I can use to invert my tank. This is the 50 pound tank that I was given to use while my 75 pound tank was being tested, but the base should work with the 75 pound tank when I get it back.
The wet spot you see in one of the pics is from the leak test I did. And the frost and condensation you see on the regulator is from having the valve opened too much when my controller first kicked on.
Cool video. Yeah, if the valve cracks off in such a way, I’m sure it would do a lot of damage, but it’s extremely unlikely that it could. Even if mine fell over, it wouldn’t crack the valve. It might crush a nearby plant, rip open the poly wall or smash the dehumidifier, but it’s very stable as it sits. Thanks!
A buddy had a smaller tank of gas , not sure what it was we were 13yrs old at the time, he found it in road.
Him and his brothers found a 10 foot section of pipe that the tank slid into just perfect and made a bazooka tube.
The one brother then hit the end where the valve was and when it broke off the tank flew over a 100feet up into the air spiraling out of control as it flew.
Scary shit I thought it was going to kill me.
