# Costs of refilling CO2 tanks?



## Main (Jun 4, 2014)

I recently filled up my tank and was charged $35


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## klibs (May 1, 2014)

Main said:


> I recently filled up my tank and was charged $35


Such a bummer... I have been reading about people who pay like $10 to refill the same tank size... Looking at over $250 a year just to keep up with CO2 is not what I had in mind...


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## Main (Jun 4, 2014)

At $250 that means one tank last you just over a month?

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## Ruxl (Dec 14, 2013)

Local welding place charges me $18 OTD to refill my 5lb tank. If I take it to airgas it is ~$25 to swap it.


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## watercage (Oct 12, 2009)

I pay $16 and change at the local welding supply company

$18 at a beer distributor for an exchange

and like $35 when the bottle needs to be recertified


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## tharsis (Oct 9, 2009)

yeah it really shouldn't be more than 10-15$ to fill a 5lb tank. Airgas and the like are a total rip-off. 

Try to look up welding shops, drink distribution centers, fire extinguisher stores in your area, they usually have CO2 stations on site and will fill up your tanks for cheap. 

Also try googling local homebrew clubs/forums in your area, these guys are constantly needing to refill their CO2 tanks so they will often know where to go.

EDIT: I pay 10$ for a refill at a small beverage distribution center near me, I only found it because I searched on homebrew forums.


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## riverrat (Jul 14, 2005)

$16 and change for 5lb at my local welding shop.


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## tricken (Jun 27, 2013)

my 5lb is 14.05 at a local fire supply store, i switched to a 20lb and that is 28 per fill


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## thedarkfinder (Feb 29, 2008)

What city? There is a ton of place to get it from. But having the closest city to you would help. I use the local brew shop. It is 12 bucks for complete fill up and exchange. But you are just renting the canister, you may or may not get a 5lb back, some times they give you a 10lb or 20lb if they don't have a 5lb in stock. But they only charge 12 bucks for it. And you get food grade co2.


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

$12 for 5#.............


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## andrewq (May 22, 2013)

I get mine down at our local sports store in san antonio. Academy sports and outdoors. The only charge $3 for a paintball tank.


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## MiSo (Oct 26, 2005)

$12 to swap a 10 lb tank at a welding supply company.


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## ChadKruger (Mar 27, 2013)

Air gas charges me 35 also.


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## aquarist (Aug 29, 2012)

So near me in Raleigh NC, there is a local hydroponics/home brewing store, they exchange canisters there for a flat rate of $20 for a 5#, 10# or 20#, same price for all three on an exchange. I have found a place in Raleigh that will refill canisters but only on Wednesday, they charge $25 for 20#, I didn't ask about the other canisters. But I did find a place localish, about a 35 minute drive, they fill canisters everyday, and the price is around $15 for a 5#, $20 for a 10# and $30 for a 20#.


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## Mirkinator (Jan 13, 2014)

I pay $20's at Norco to swapp a 5 pounder


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## AndreyT (Apr 28, 2011)

I also use Airgas (in my case - in San Jose, CA). I swap 5lb cylinders. For some unexplainable reason their prices swing wildly in either direction from swap to swap. I remember paying $35 per swap, then after that $25, then $30 and so on. I just made a swap today and they charged me $46 (!!!)... Go figure. But Airgas has always been an "expensive" place. I consider this an OK situation since a 5lb bottle of CO2 lasts me a long time.

Meanwhile, there was a time when I came to Airgas to do a swap, but they had no full CO2 bottles ready. They pointed me to a different CO2 place (Carbonic Service in Santa Clara), which seemed to be mostly brewer-oriented. These guys did an on-the-spot refill of the same bottle for $15.

So, there seems to be very little "regional" logic in these prices (or any logic at all). Just check a few places and decide which one you want to go with.


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

AndreyT said:


> I also use Airgas (in my case - in San Jose, CA). I swap 5lb cylinders. For some unexplainable reason their prices swing wildly in either direction from swap to swap. I remember paying $35 per swap, then after that $25, then $30 and so on. I just made a swap today and they charged me $46 (!!!)...-oriented. These guys did an on-the-spot refill of the same bottle for $15.
> 
> So, there seems to be very little "regional" logic in these prices. Just check a few places and decide which one you want to go with.


I hope your not going back to Airgas...


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## etk300ex (May 1, 2013)

I pay $8 for 5lb at the drive thru beer store, don't even get out of the truck.


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## aquarist (Aug 29, 2012)

etk300ex said:


> I pay $8 for 5lb at the drive thru beer store, don't even get out of the truck.


Dang, that's pretty good price. Yeah my friend in ohio has told me about the drive thru liquor stores, nothing like that down here.


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## klibs (May 1, 2014)

Thanks for the responses...
I have called 4-5 places (welding supplies, fire safety supplies) and they ALL charge over $30. Best I got was $32 for a 5# swap. I'll try to look around for some local brewing places and see if they can do better...


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## bpizzuto (Apr 22, 2013)

I get mine filled at my local paintball store. I bought the tank at an exchange place but refill for $16 vs $30 for swap.


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## etk300ex (May 1, 2013)

Man I guess I'm lucky. I go to Airgas for welding supplies pretty regularly, I'll have to check there price on CO2 refill, just curious.


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## thedarkfinder (Feb 29, 2008)

klibs said:


> Thanks for the responses...
> I have called 4-5 places (welding supplies, fire safety supplies) and they ALL charge over $30. Best I got was $32 for a 5# swap. I'll try to look around for some local brewing places and see if they can do better...


 I got a pretty good list of brew places. if you could give the zip of the largest city near you, I could help.


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## MWebee (Oct 9, 2013)

Ouch... I pay 12.84 for my 5# at a fire safety place.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

I don't have my receipt but I pay about $20-25 at Airgas for a 5#. I think my 20# was almost $40. I know there are cheaper places in my area but my 5# lasts me 6 months so it's very close and very quick. My 20# lasted upwards of 2 years. 

One big thing for me is by using Airgas, my turnaround time is about 20 minutes. That is the time it takes me to disconnect my reg, drive down there, get a new tank, drive back, reconnect. I don't mind paying a premium for that, especially since my CO2 lasts 6 months. On top of that, I never have to get my tank tested which is $50-80 I believe. I don't think I am saving money by doing this, it's just a convenience thing that costs me little in the long run. 

I have heard of people getting less than $10 for any size tank but the turnaround was a few hours to a few days, often a bit of a drive, etc. If I find a cheap and easy place, I will switch but I don't mind paying more for the convenience factor. I do know there is a place in my area that is half that price, I just don't know where so I need to figure that out for the next refill.

On the flip side, some people only want to have a tank refilled which seems like it's usually cheaper. Many don't want to exchange a brand new tank for a well used one. I wouldn't care but I see why people would want to do so. 

Sorry, a bit lengthy, I guess my point is, I wouldn't pay half for a long turnaround time or a long drive myself because the monthly cost is quite low for me, even at double what I could pay.


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## WalaxR (Jan 16, 2014)

I just $12.28 for a 5# swap on my expired tank but I usually pay 10.74 for a refill at the welding shop.


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## klibs (May 1, 2014)

thedarkfinder said:


> I got a pretty good list of brew places. if you could give the zip of the largest city near you, I could help.


No "big" cities around here really... I work in Portsmouth, NH (03801) and live in Dover NH (03820). I'm not gonna drive all the way to Manchester NH or Boston MA (like 1 hr drives) to fill my CO2 tank.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

$10 fill 5# while I wait


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

etk300ex said:


> Man I guess I'm lucky. I go to Airgas for welding supplies pretty regularly, I'll have to check there price on CO2 refill, just curious.


The air gas by me use to be 12$ but last time I went try charged me 43$. I said f that and now go elsewhere.


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## exv152 (Jun 8, 2009)

Here in Canada I pay $27 CAD ($24.86 US) to fill my 10lbs.


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## bpizzuto (Apr 22, 2013)

check these places out

BOLP Paintball
Details from Google Maps
114 Mast Rd, Lee, NH
bolppaintball.com

Birch Hill Paintball
Details from Google Maps
76 Birch Hill Rd, York, ME
www.birchhillpaintball.com


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## Kodi (May 5, 2014)

I pay $16 at Airgas for a #5 tank. This is in Tucson, Az


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## thedarkfinder (Feb 29, 2008)

klibs said:


> No "big" cities around here really... I work in Portsmouth, NH (03801) and live in Dover NH (03820). I'm not gonna drive all the way to Manchester NH or Boston MA (like 1 hr drives) to fill my CO2 tank.


Sorry, did not look at the thread. 

AandG homebrew, 22 bucks for 5# swap. 
Call them first. 603-767-8235 
165 High St., Portsmouth, NH 03801 

Home brew barn- 25 bucks refill. 
861 Lafayette Road Unit 6a
Hampton, NH 03842
603-601-2548

I have a few other places, but the reviews are not that great. I would try the above. Call first. They swap so might not have anything on hand.


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## Main (Jun 4, 2014)

Found a local welding shop for 26$ for my 29 lb

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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

I do my 5# refills at local keg shop. I pay $14 for a refill vs swap because I like my shiny CO2 tank which I bought new.


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## Judy W (Dec 15, 2014)

Is there any difference between food grade CO2 and welding supply CO2?


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## exv152 (Jun 8, 2009)

Judy W said:


> Is there any difference between food grade CO2 and welding supply CO2?


There is a difference, and there's medical grade co2 too, but they're all like between 99.97% and 99.99% in terms of purity. Which for our purposes is not something to be concerned with. It would be important if you were using it for medical/surgery purposes.


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## Viper (Jan 9, 2013)

I get mine at a place called "Mac Medical Gases".

$22 for a hydro test on a 20lb. and $18 to fill it.


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## Vancat2 (Jun 23, 2010)

in CT, AirGas was charging me $20 to swap. Recently switched to Aero All-Gas, $16 and they refill my tank while I wait. (5 lb)


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## flight50 (Apr 17, 2012)

Here, Air Gas charges $17 for a 5lb. They increased by like $1-2 bucks from like a year or two ago. I like the tank exchange program Air Gas does. I know my tank will always be up to code and I never have to do any maintenance on it.


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## Ozone (Sep 30, 2009)

I pay $22 for my 20lb tank at airweld


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## Viper (Jan 9, 2013)

If anybody is in the Philadelphia area, my friend owns a restaurant and is looking to get rid of three or four 20 pound co2 tanks. He's selling them for $50 or best offer. They may or may not be within a good hydro date. The one I got from him has a year left on this hydro test. 

Sorry for the slight thread hijack :wink:


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