CO2 Bottle Pressure

[JULES]

Hi everyone i have just fitted my gauge onto my bottle of co2 can anyone tell me what the pressure should be on a full, nearly full bottle as it is reading at just under 50 bar and this seems a bit low to me. i have opened the valve fully on the bottle and turned the screw out fully on the gauge so no co2 comes out of the out tube.... it's a 6.5 kg bottle

[johnmac]

That would be about right.

[Parva]

Yep agreed, about right. A lot depends also on what temperature the bottle is stored, you'll have much lower contents showing if the gas is kept in a cool garage or fridge for example than you would in a room temperature kitchen.

[Scooby]

A full bottle is 800 psi or 55bar.

[JULES]

Yep agreed, about right. A lot depends also on what temperature the bottle is stored, you'll have much lower contents showing if the gas is kept in a cool garage or fridge for example than you would in a room temperature kitchen.

Thanks everyone I was a bit worried as it sits just above where it goes into the red area on the gauge ( i will take a photo and upload it later ) and I am going to start brewing this week and was worried I may not have enough gas to force carbonate, the bottle has been stored in my shed which is cool but not freezing cold.

[Parva]

Yep agreed, about right. A lot depends also on what temperature the bottle is stored, you'll have much lower contents showing if the gas is kept in a cool garage or fridge for example than you would in a room temperature kitchen.

Thanks everyone I was a bit worried as it sits just above where it goes into the red area on the gauge ( i will take a photo and upload it later ) and I am going to start brewing this week and was worried I may not have enough gas to force carbonate, the bottle has been stored in my shed which is cool but not freezing cold.

Don't bother with the photo. With the current climate I would say that's spot on what you would get in a cold shed. Even my bottle that sits in the relative warmth of my kitchen only shows just over 50 Bar. Don't be under the illusion that you'll have less usable gas just because it's colder, it's just because more of the gas is in liquid form due to being colder, you still have the same amount as you would if you warmed the bottle up. The gauge would 'show' more if it were warmer but this is simply because more of the liquid has changed to C02. Generally that gauge can be totally ignored until you see it dropping a lot.

Unfortunately they do go from showing a full bottle to empty bottle in a matter of days when the bottle does go (depending on usage). Mine lasted about a year then the gauge started moving and within a fortnight or so was empty. Basically don't rely on anything it says, the only thing you need to watch for is a rapid drop on it and in that case you can expect to be buying a new bottle soon.