advice on buying a co2 set up

[gypsy3]

hi..i'm l;ooking for some advice.there's a co2set up i'm looking at bidding on in ebay. 3 litre bottle , complete outfit, supposedly lasts 3 months at 2 bubbles/sec.firstly can anyone tell me if its worth buying and at what price?...secondly, does anyone have a setup for sale.I was going to try diy but being new to all this i think i just want to get a professional setup. i've looked at the different stuff people on here have set up and i'm envious...but i think diy and me don't mix!can someone please get back to me by tomorrow....thanks

[ILLUSN]

3L bottle may or may not last you 3 months, i was going through a 500g bottle every 2-3 weeks at 3bps.

as for a price well a reasonable system with a 500g bottle will cost you bout $350-500 from a LFS, so if you could get a system with
a 3L bottle
dual gage reg,
solonoid,
needle valve,
tubing
reactor
for under $250 you'd have a bargin.

Just my opinion though, personally I'd go DIY with a 5kg fire extinguisher (refils are only $30) :)

[gypsy3]

thanks for that...yeah,i would rather go your way,but like i said i'm all but hopeless when it comes to that kinda stuff

[kevernz]

in the past month.. i was looking at buying my own bottle as i already owned most of the other gear...although came to a point where it seems the bottle is too expensive to maintain...service,refill.. i've looked at hte one on ebay as well 3L aint enough

probably be best to actually hire 1 per yr overall cost is cheaper... refills are cheaper... yrly rental is not bad. and no need to service it for the every 5 yr must service. and they also delivery it to your house

Owning your own bottle:
Buying it new can cost you $200 or so for a 3l which doesnt last long.. 3months and refills are like 30bux+/-
other choice is what illusion said...fire ext. but yer... im with u...too lazy/dunno where to source parts from..just want to plug and go..the setup of this is yet again cheaper...but i found it hard to source a bottle at a bargin price, cheapest i found was around 120 2nd at a fire service place...inc. full gas..

thats totalling approx 200+ 120 for gas

renting one :
is around 110-120bux pa from supagas, boc,air liquid etc massive 10kg bottle last ages, lasted me around 2.5yrs

or you could even get a 5kg would last u a 1yr for around 50-60bux pa

that ebay one usually hitted 400 bux.. i think money is better spent elsewhere..

with 400bux get yourself
dual regulator with solenoid 100bux
bubble counter/reactor glassware 50bux <--could even make ur own with bunning stuff under 10bux
u could pick up a digital ph controller for around 100-150 depending on brand can get more expensive.
some people dont use a controller for the solenoid but instead run a power timer which is 10bux
last of all co2 bottle rental 50-120bux depending on what size u want and how many tanks etc.

most stuff can be brought from ebay as well international sellers
=)

[ILLUSN]

If your going to buy a 3l bottle get a fire extinguisher, a 5kg will cost you $250-$300 refils are $30.

having a preasure test done costs $70 every 5 years.

way cheaper then renting.

[fiftycal]

Get a 6.8?L bottle from mykegsonlegs.com.au or airup or whatever its called. IIRC Xtreme is a retailer or will be one.

$300 for the 6.8L and refills are $50. Dont need to get it tested because you swap it and go.

Im going this route

[gypsy3]

thanks for all the info...now, given that i'm hopeless at this sorta thing, if i go and get the bottle, is there anywhere i can just ring up and say i want all the gear , and they'll know what i'm talking about and supply the whole deal....the regulator, solenoid and all?.i've tried to take in what a lot of you guys have said on here, but still get pretty confused. i just wanna get the bottle, ring a joint where i can get all the gear and set it up. is that possible?

[kevernz]

oh kegonlegs is good... only reason why i didnt get them was because we dont have the swap and go in melb.

you could ring up various aquarium places and let them supply to you...but it will be fairly expensive.

[fiftycal]

Its possible, but if you buy from aquarium places, its most likely that the bottle will be pretty small.

Other problem is with these small bottles that come with packages, is how are you gonna refill them?

You can just buy a packaged set and then get a bottle elsewhere.

I bought a mykegsonlegs bottle today. Nice and big and brand spankin new.

[Proteus]

fiftycal, where did you get your bottle from?

which size as well.

[fiftycal]

Country Brewer in Thornleigh

6.8L

I'm not sure if it has a "letter" size, eg: D, VT etc.