Hoping you might be able to help me out here. I recently decided to bring my kegerator out of retirement with a double tap upgrade. The CO2 tank has sat unused for years however when I hooked it up it did seem to go ahead and deliver my beer out of both sides as it should be doing. I have a party coming up this weekend and I don't want any surprises. I took a picture of my gauges and it does look like the level May be a little low for comfort. Can anyone take a look at this image and tell me if they think I should swap this Tank out before I run into a issue where I don't have any CO2 available to get it this beer? Or if using a co2 tank filled with gas over 2 years old is a bad idea? Thanks for any insight!!!
The tank gauge usually doesn't move too much until you are just about empty. To get an idea of how much CO2 you have you can weigh the tank and subtract the tare weight which should be stamped on it. The real way to handle this issue is to have a second tank because there is nothing worse than running out, party or not.
If in doubt blow out the tank and have it refilled. Also if you haven't used in a while better to have temps and pressure dialed in a day or so before party. So your not pouring cups of foam at party
Carbon dioxide is non-reactive in your tank, two year old gas is not a problem. Doug's advice is sound . . . or another approach; what was the temp when you took the pic? . . . this can tell you if there is liquid CO2 remaining without getting out the scales.
Murphy's Law applies. Get a back up. Or just exchange for a full tank if you can. Cheap insurance. Otherwise yes, you will run out of gas in the middle of the party. Cheers.
