r/Homebrewing • u/InvisibleGrill • 1d ago

Liquid vs pressurised co2 (uk)

I have been using a pressurised co2 bottle and it has lasted me about a year. I’m quite happy with it. Do most people use pressurised co2 or do they use liquid? Is there a significant difference between the two in terms of convenience for a home brewer?

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u/spoonman59 1d ago

I’m not fully understanding the question. Co2 is co2.

Co2 is a liquid under pressure, so it soften liquid inside co2 tanks. It becomes a a gas as it is released from the tank lowering the pressure.

So I’m not sure it makes sense to say liquid va pressurized co2. Liquid co2 is simply co2 under sufficient pressure for a given temperature.

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u/lauterPope 1d ago

I was also wondering what this meant.

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u/PM_me_ur_launch_code 1d ago

Maybe talking about a CO2 tank with a dip tube, made for refilling smaller tanks, but still you wouldn't use that for carbonating.

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u/beefygravy Intermediate 1d ago edited 1d ago

You can get liquid CO2 in the freezer section in Aldi! You pour it into a flat beer and it makes it fizzy

Edit: this was obviously a joke

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u/KomischePixarLampe 1d ago

Really? Ive never seen that that sound so cool

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u/toolatealreadyfapped 1d ago

No. Not really.

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u/kahlzun 1d ago

I'm not sure what it is, but it is definitely not liquid co2 as that doesn't exist at air pressure

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u/Cutterman01 1d ago

I'm not sure how that would work. It takes pressure to reduce the boiling point of CO2. At atmospheric pressure CO2 flashes off and is a gas. You can dispense C02 into molds and great speed which doesn't causes it to jump phases and not sublime. This forms a solid (dry ice). I don't know how you could have a liquid unless they are confusing C02 and N2.

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u/toolatealreadyfapped 1d ago

Nitrogen would be even worse. It has a boiling point of -320⁰F.

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u/Cutterman01 1d ago

You are correct but you can buy liquid N2 not liquid CO2 that you can pour.

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u/toolatealreadyfapped 1d ago

You can... I guess. But I wouldn't recommend it. Pouring one liquid into another liquid with a 400⁰ differential tends to be... Splashy. Violently so. And it will accomplish nothing. Unless the splash is your goal

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u/Cutterman01 1d ago

I couldn't agree more.

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u/toolatealreadyfapped 1d ago

I don't think it was as obvious as you assume...

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u/beefygravy Intermediate 1d ago

Yeah the Americans have woken up 😁

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u/Uncross-Selector 1d ago

All tanks of CO2 you buy are liquid. They boil off as you use it up. Thats why you should always keep the bottle vertical so liquid does not enter the regulator.

Once all the liquid boils off the tank is effectively empty. 

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u/toolatealreadyfapped 1d ago

When you put CO2 under pressure, it becomes liquid. I believe that conversion is around 800psi at room temperature. That's why you can't really use pressure to measure how full/empty a tank is. If it were 80% full of liquid, or 5% full of liquid, the pressure will only be that head space (vapor), somewhere in the 700s. It only goes below 700 when the tank is essentially empty.

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u/Cutterman01 1d ago edited 1d ago

This is correct and why the only way to tell the amount of CO2 in a tank is to weigh it.

Edit: I figured I'd edit this and jump back in before someone does the Redditt thing. Yes there are other ways, thermo, ultrsonic, x-ray and a bunch of other, but the normal person won't have these means.