Can I use this oxygen tank?

[BrewerAdam]

I bought this oxygen tank and regulator at a yard sale. I'm assuming it is a medical tank. I have some questions:





1. Am I allowed to own someone else's medical oxygen tank? If not, can I use the regulator on some other oxygen tank?
2. Will I be able to get it refilled?
3. It seems to be about 1/3 full. Can I use the oxygen that is in it?

It has a a fitting on it the regulator, so I think it would be easy to hook a hose and a stone up to it. I know I could just get the ones from Home Depot, but I just couldn't pass up the chance to buy this one, for only $10.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Adam

[BrewerAdam]

So, Im not 100%, but it looks like it is fine to own, as you can buy similar tanks off of ebay. Now the question I have to find out is if I can get it filled.

Im also a little iffy on using the oxygen that is in the tank, as im not sure how old it is and where it came from. But then again, oxygen probably doens't really go bad.

[12stones]

My first question is what is the tank to be used for? Being a standard medical tank, most likely a welding supply shop or an Airgas would fill it for you. Are you looking to keep it with O2? I'm assuming you would use it for aeration. If that's the case, the O2 should be fine, but I would put a filter on as you don't know what's gone on before.

[BrewerAdam]

My first question is what is the tank to be used for? Being a standard medical tank, most likely a welding supply shop or an Airgas would fill it for you. Are you looking to keep it with O2? I'm assuming you would use it for aeration. If that's the case, the O2 should be fine, but I would put a filter on as you don't know what's gone on before.

Sorry, but yes, it would be used for oxygenating the wort before pitching the yeast. I read a bunch online about needing a prescription because this is a medical tank. Just wondering if other people use a tank like this.

[Ozwald]

You'll only need a prescription to fill it with medical grade O2 from a medical-specific supplier - who is also going to be charging top dollar in most cases. Most welding shops can fill it for you without a problem & fairly cheaply. Our local, General Distributing, even went through the hassle of getting their gas certified as food-safe since they have an increasing number of customers using their gas for beer. I don't know if that's really necessary, but the prices didn't really change so I don't care one way or the other. I would still put on a basic filter, again probably not necessary but for a 1 time cost of a couple bucks, it's worth it to me. As for the O2 still in the tank, it doesn't technically go bad (although IIRC the tanks we used for our ski patrol had suggested dates on them) but without knowing the tank's history I wouldn't use it personally. I would also give that regulator a complete physical - it's got a few years on it.

[BrewerAdam]

You'll only need a prescription to fill it with medical grade O2 from a medical-specific supplier - who is also going to be charging top dollar in most cases. Most welding shops can fill it for you without a problem & fairly cheaply. Our local, General Distributing, even went through the hassle of getting their gas certified as food-safe since they have an increasing number of customers using their gas for beer. I don't know if that's really necessary, but the prices didn't really change so I don't care one way or the other. I would still put on a basic filter, again probably not necessary but for a 1 time cost of a couple bucks, it's worth it to me. As for the O2 still in the tank, it doesn't technically go bad (although IIRC the tanks we used for our ski patrol had suggested dates on them) but without knowing the tank's history I wouldn't use it personally. I would also give that regulator a complete physical - it's got a few years on it.

Thanks. Ill look into specific suppliers here and see if they will fill it. Ill also take that regulator apart and see if I can clean it. It was sitting in a guys garage, so I dont trust the contents.

[Ozwald]

Thanks. Ill look into specific suppliers here and see if they will fill it. Ill also take that regulator apart and see if I can clean it. It was sitting in a guys garage, so I dont trust the contents.

Welding gas suppliers are typically pretty cool about it.

The regulator is probably fine, but I'm guessing it's from the 80's/early 90's. Possibly a little older. It's the current design, but the style of the gauges & adjustment knob are a bit out of date. I could be off by a few years, most of the ones I've seen/worked with were mid-90's up to the early 2000's. I was a ski patroller for a few years - we had a couple older ones laying around & we did our annual medical refresher course at a hospital. Sometimes we used their old tanks, sometimes we'd bring one from the patrol room that had too thick of a dust layer on them. Either way, it's had nothing but O2 run through it (those regulators are designed that way for fire safety & also to be incompatible with any other type of cylinder, no matter how hard you try). Just the fact there's still some O2 in the cylinder says to me that the dust/contaminants are most likely going to be restricted to the outside.

Taking it apart is never a bad idea though - you can check the condition of the posts, gauges & seals. If it's as old or possibly older than my guess, the rubber could be showing some deterioration. Congrats on the nice score btw, I'd love to have a O2 tank like that in my brewery. Someday...

Edit: When you do get it cleaned & filled, test it for leaks thoroughly. A spray bottle with soapy water works well provided you inspect each area well. A leaky CO2 bottle is wasteful & costs us the price of another fill. A leaky O2 bottle is extremely dangerous & could cost a hefty hospital bill, funeral expenses and/or the cost of a new house & higher insurance premiums.

[BrewerAdam]

Thanks. Ill look into specific suppliers here and see if they will fill it. Ill also take that regulator apart and see if I can clean it. It was sitting in a guys garage, so I dont trust the contents.

Welding gas suppliers are typically pretty cool about it.

The regulator is probably fine, but I'm guessing it's from the 80's/early 90's. Possibly a little older. It's the current design, but the style of the gauges & adjustment knob are a bit out of date. I could be off by a few years, most of the ones I've seen/worked with were mid-90's up to the early 2000's. I was a ski patroller for a few years - we had a couple older ones laying around & we did our annual medical refresher course at a hospital. Sometimes we used their old tanks, sometimes we'd bring one from the patrol room that had too thick of a dust layer on them. Either way, it's had nothing but O2 run through it (those regulators are designed that way for fire safety & also to be incompatible with any other type of cylinder, no matter how hard you try). Just the fact there's still some O2 in the cylinder says to me that the dust/contaminants are most likely going to be restricted to the outside.

Taking it apart is never a bad idea though - you can check the condition of the posts, gauges & seals. If it's as old or possibly older than my guess, the rubber could be showing some deterioration. Congrats on the nice score btw, I'd love to have a O2 tank like that in my brewery. Someday...

Edit: When you do get it cleaned & filled, test it for leaks thoroughly. A spray bottle with soapy water works well provided you inspect each area well. A leaky CO2 bottle is wasteful & costs us the price of another fill. A leaky O2 bottle is extremely dangerous & could cost a hefty hospital bill, funeral expenses and/or the cost of a new house & higher insurance premiums.

Thanks for the feedback Ozwald. I was assuming the regulator was pretty old, but it looks like it works fine. I did see you could buy new ones online for pretty reasonable prices. Im gonna try and get it filled this week. Ill let you know what I find out.

-Adam