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10lb Co2 tank question...


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We are thinking about buying one of the 10lb Co2 tanks that Motion is selling in the near future. Just curious as to what it costs to fill one of these tanks?

 

I guess I wouod be curious also as to where ya'll get them filled?? ;)

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i was curious as well. do you know what kind of other fittings i would need to get it to fill tires.
Just a hose with a tire chuck attached just like any air hose from a compressor. ;)

 

 

 

tank.jpg
Yep...that's it... :D
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Guest vzehler

lol... pricing varies by supplier. I'm fortunate enough to have a pepsi distributor that'll fill mine (15# tank) for about 15 and some change... I've seen places that want as much as $30 though...

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tank.jpg
Yep...that's it... :D

 

You do much off-roading in your rig to air/up and down, or are you thinking about Air tools?

 

I've also considered this for my TJ since it's a pain to take 20 minutes to inflates the tires from 6-8 PSI where I normally run up back up to 28-30 for the drive home. I have the little cheapy $50 Costco Compressor that I carry with me, but it's so slow... I don't know how much airtools I would use while out and about, but would be nice to have a Air Ratchet to toss in the truck with one of these things with a few sockets just in case.

 

But once I am able to go out and do more offroading, I'd consider one (there are quite alternatives out there in various price ranges, although I don't really know what differentiates them, maybe Motion might enlighten us)

 

http://www.offroadair.net/

http://www.polyperformance.com/shop/CO2-Kits-p-57.html

http://www.powertank.com/

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Ohhhh, a Co2 tank! You said air tank and I was picturing a scuba divers tank or something. Co2 tanks are awesome. Not to steal any business from Motion, but I bought a used tank for cheap and added a non-adjustable regulator (100psi) for like $20 and it works great for airing up and running the impact wrench to change tires. Gauges are overrated. I think mine is a 15 pound tank and it has way more than enough for a weekend (and I do a lot of tire swapping).

 

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I too run a CO2 tank.. I think mine is a 15# one too. I get my tank filled at the local welding supply. It was costing 15 bucks.. but I havent had it filled in a while. It would be cheaper if I didnt require my tank back (mine is aluminum) and is lighter then a steel tank. I can normally air up and down 10 to 15 times on 1 fill or run a impact for about 30 minutes. My regulator is a 125psi ballon one.. with no gauges

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Most fire extinguisher service places will fill them.

For a 10lb tank the price I pay just went up this year to $20 from $15 last year.

 

I trail lead alot of runs which means I share air alot too...I'm refilling my 10lb tank 3-4 times a year (about every 4-5 runs)...I just bought a VIAir OBA setup with an electric compressor because of that and the $5 increase.

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Where to get them filled...

 

We get our's filled locally for $12 including tax with our 10lb tanks. I think price is going to vary by location; and where you go. We have our's filled at our local welder supply shop. Customer's have told us that welder supply shops, fire extinguisher shops, some hardware stores, and even medical supply shops will fill them. We've had customer's tell us anywhere from $10-$30 to fill them. How long does it last? I'd say it should fill up a 33" tire from 10psi to 30psi about 15 times; if not more (depends on how full the shop fills the tank).

 

As far as the regulator's & gauges go...

 

Our regulator's are a high pressure AND high flow rate. This is what allows you to run air tools with our system. Our regulators provide a very high and constant flow rate which is what enables it to run large air tools and inflate multiple tires at a high rate of speed. It's nice to have guages to see how much C02 you have left in your tank as well. Nothing like hitting the trails and finding out when you need your air you've not got enough left. The 2nd gauge shows you what PSI your running at which is helpful with the air tools. And the most important reason to run a regulator and not run like Pete is above (no offense Pete) is our regulator's have a safety release valve. CO2 tanks are at a VERY high pressure and there is always a possibility of tank pressure relief due to extreme temperature changes. A high pressure tank can easily become a projectile if it go's off. With a pressure relief valve the valve will pop to releave the pressure and no damage is done. I'd HIGHLY recommend not running a tank unless you have a regulator with a pressure relief valve on it.

 

As far as the tanks go...

 

A law recently passed that made it illegal in some states to sell painted tanks. Our's don't' come painted; so they don't scratch when you actually use them on the trail. I guess if your a mall crawler (nothing wrong with that :roll: ) a nice shiney painted tank is for you. But why pay extra for a nice painted tank when it's going to get scratched up when your using it on the trail? Also our tanks are alumn.; not steel like most fire extinguisher's converted to C02 system. They won't rust.

 

Also our tanks are stamped with Trequired U.S. Department of Transportation and Transport Canada Markings. Many places will NOT fill tanks without these markings.

 

What else is needed....

 

A hose and an air chuck. Depending on what type of hose you decide to run a little brass adaptor may be needed and is available as your hardware store for a few bucks. We don't include hoses with our tanks as we've found that some customers don't like the coiled hoses and prefer to run a shorter non-coiled hose. Figured it is easier for us to just let the customer decide what they want and cut the price down even more.

 

What's the difference...

 

Really the only other thing I can say is the "big name" brands are just that; making more money on them than we are. Our goal's always been to bring a quality product to the market for as cheap as we can. Our customer's who have purchased them love them and have great reviews on them. So we'll continue selling them for cheap. 8) I guess we don't' spend the 10's of 1000's of dollars in advertising them that the "big names" do; thus we don't have to charge as much. :brows:

 

Why a C02 Tank over an OBA setup...

 

Just about every OBA setup is just that, on board. How many times have you been on the trail and someone else needs air? What if your 6+ rigs behind them. It's not fun running hose long distances (and most of the time you don't' carry a long length of hose). It's nice to be able to have MOBILE air with you. I can't tell you how many times we've used our C02 tank on the trail helping someone else in need. Take it out of our Jeep, carry it to them, and let them use it. It's just nice having 100% mobile air. Plus they take up a lot less room than an OBA setup.

 

If you have any other questions about them please feel free to email, call, or PM us. :cheers:

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And the most important reason to run a regulator and not run like Pete is above (no offense Pete) is our regulator's have a safety release valve. CO2 tanks are at a VERY high pressure and there is always a possibility of tank pressure relief due to extreme temperature changes. A high pressure tank can easily become a projectile if it go's off. With a pressure relief valve the valve will pop to releave the pressure and no damage is done. I'd HIGHLY recommend not running a tank unless you have a regulator with a pressure relief valve on it.

 

No offense taken. :cheers: There are competing theories on gauges, but regardless, no one need ever apologize for being extra safe. :thumbsup:

The valve on my tank has a built in pressure release. I guess I assumed they would all have one, but I bought mine used and if anyone started with a bare tank, it might not (and that could spell disaster). :eek:

 

Couple things to add:

 

Never paint your tank a dark color.

 

Try your hardest to not store it inside the passenger compartment.

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Ohhhh, a Co2 tank! You said air tank and I was picturing a scuba divers tank or something.
Fixed it... ;)

 

We do a fair amount of trail riding/rock crawling in our YJ and will definitely carry it in there for that. The big thing that sparked our interest in getting one is the issue with the flat tire on our Dodge Ram coming home from the last Jeep event. We were lucky to have been close to a gas station with air, but it could have easily been a real tough situation. I did have a spare, but when I put it on, it was nearly flat too, but had just enough to move us a half mile to the station to fill it up.

 

We were going to do OBA, but decided that this is a much better alternative as we can take it along in any of our 3 vehicles as needed.

 

Thanks for all the input. Please feel free to offer more if you have it.

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I have used them for years, they are GREAT!!!

 

I have a 10# for the MJ and a 20# for the TJ. I get about a dozen tire refills, + some impact-gun use from one 10# tank. Plenty enough for a weekends wheeling. Even if your buds need a refill to.

 

Always REMOVE your regulator before moving. I prefer the Aluminium tanks for the weight savings. I pay about 15 and 25 for my tanks to get filled. Many places around here will also swap-out filled tanks for your empty ones. This is nice because tanks are tested and stamped with a date. once date is reached, tank must be recertified BEFORE it can be re-filled. (My apologies if this was covered in the very informative albeit long winded thread by Motion. ;) )

 

I built my own and bought commercial "holders". Pete's idea with the UNI Strut is a very good one and has many many uses. I have a couple friends that do the same and it is very handy and cheaper than my "holders".

 

 

 

 

CW

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I should add as we've received about a half dozen emails over the last few days about the size of the tank.

 

If you want a 15lb or 20lb tank we do have those available as well for an additional cost. We just like the 10lb tanks as they are smaller and compact. However if your wanting a larger take we can put together a custom system for you. Just call or email and we'll build you a custom setup.

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How about mounting options (mostly for a TJ)?

 

I've seen the Rollbar Clamp type setup from one of the other Offroad CO2 guys and some guys doing custom mounts for aftermarket Spare-tire Carriers (to be outside the cab area)...

 

P.S. I have ZERO custom fab abilty...

 

wade

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I'm no expert but I did learn a thing or two when I was playing with CO2.

>CO2 is stored in the tank as a liquified gas, not a pressurized gas like SCUBA or welding gasses. This makes for a couple important things worth knowing:

1. The tank must be operated upright or else liquid CO2 will go through you system. This is a bad thing.

2. A gauge on the tank, (not on the regulator) only tells you how much pressure the liquified gas in the tank is at, which is the pressure needed to stay a liquid- not how much CO2 you have left. The gauge will go up and down with the temperature or altitude but not have much meaning until the liquid CO2 is almost gone and it is all gas in the tank. At this point you are very close to empty. A good bathroom scale, and knowing the empty weight of your tank etc., is the best way to know how much you have left.

3. A restaurant supply can be a good CO2 source for some people. The ones by me were mostly tank exchange only though.

It's sure nice to have all that air when you need it. I'm going to see if Arnold will buy me a 10 pounder for my State work truck.

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I had a 10-lb. Powertank for a few years. The price to fill it was as high as $18 at the local welding supply store. But then my friends would ask to refill their tires. I can't say "no", and I can't charge them. Then the CO2 would run out at the most inopportune time.

 

In my trail XJ, I installed a York OBA system with a 2.5 gallon tank. Works great and after the initial cost, I have unlimited free air (as long as the engine is running ;) ). And I can run air tools in short bursts.

 

A friend has a Viair system in his MJ. That thing takes forever to fill up tires. And it cost more than $300. I have less than that in my York setup.

 

So having seen all three types of systems at work, I like the York setup the best. Of course, it would be good to have ANY of the three, as opposed to having none.

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I run the Motion C02 tank and I must say it's VERY nice to have a portable system. I use it in the MJ if where wheeling that, if not it goes into it's mount in the XJ. Nice to be able to take it in whatever rig I'm wheeling that weekend.

 

As far as a C02 tank vs. an OBA setup. Lets just run the #'s.

 

Motion Kit - $160

OBA Kit - aprox $500 for everything (compressor, tank, hose, fitting, etc.)

 

So for a price difference of $340.

 

Lets just say it cost $15 to fill the C02 tank. You can fill it 22 times for the price difference of $340. So depending on how much you wheel/use your tank on a yearly basis... I have not filled mine more than 3 times a year. So we'll just say 3 times a year is average. That's 7 years. So it would take 7 years of C02 tank usage to break even for the cost of an OBA setup. Not to mention it's NOT portable.

 

Don't get me wrong I'd love to have a killer OBA setup with a huge tank and a compressor that runs at 100% duty cycle. But bang for the buck I think a C02 tank is a much better option. Thats why I went that route. Yes it does cost $$ to run it; however I'd rather save now and have saved my money in the long run over 7 years. :D

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