How to Refill CO2 Tank with Air Compressor?

There are lots of options available in the market for an air compressor. There are huge varieties of them in the market. You can find an air compressor depending on the type of work they do. There are air compressors that can do many things while there are some capable of doing only one type of work. It can be used for painting work, for furniture work even for filling certain types of tanks. The best air compressor for your home garage are those who make less noise and work efficiently.

Can You Refill CO2 With A Compressor?

There are many people who have this question in their mind. In this, we are going to discuss it and going to know about all the things related to the filling of the CO2 tank.

Tanks: CO2 Vs. Compressed Air (HPA) Vs. Nitrogen

Mainly there are three types of pressurized cylinders which can be seen in many places or we can say that employed commonly. They do different things but still, you will find some similarities between them.

CO2 tanks: – These tanks are filled with either liquid CO2 or with gaseous CO2. If it is filled with a liquid form of carbon dioxide then it will revert out as a gaseous form.

Compressed air tanks: – It is also known as High- Pressure Air (HPA) tanks. It is filled with pure oxygen. Some of them have highly filtered air while some of them have unfiltered air. Most filtered air is exclusively for use with SCUBA tanks and other breathing apparatuses. You can use compressed air for many of the same purposes as CO2.

Nitrogen tanks: – These are filled with liquid nitrogen. This is not common as CO2 tanks and HPA tank.

Filling A Co2 Tank

Follow these steps to fill the CO2 tank with an air compressor. If you somehow are not able to do it then please look for an expert before filling it wrong just to prevent any accident.

1. Check Integrity

First of all, you should check that your tank has the hydro-testing number on it. As all tanks should have the date of their last hydro-testing printed on the side. Some smaller unit doesn’t need to get hydro-tested after their initial test. If the tank has been testing and approved in the last 5 years, it should be okay to use it. If it hasn’t, you should first get it hydro-tested to make sure it’s safe to use.

2. Understand the Tank PSI Rating

All tanks have their PSI rating printed right on the outside of the canister. It can also be on the side of the bottom. It should be written something like this: “3AL1800” or “E3000” followed by a long serial number that begins with a letter.

The first sequence of letters or numbers tells us about which regulatory authority’s specifications the cylinder adheres to. The short sequence of numbers after that is what is called it’s PSI rating. In the examples above, the first tank has a PSI rating of 1800 while the second one has a PSI rating of 3000.

Never try to fill a tank beyond its given capacity. If you’re filling a CO2 tank with compressed air, it’s better to underfill it than to overfill. If the air you are using is 100% dry and oil-free, you can fill it up to the rated capacity. If you can not guarantee that it’s 100% dry and oil-free, it is better to underfill it just to be on the safer side.

3. Use The Right Fill Adapter

CO2 tanks and compressed air tanks come with different fittings which will help you to avoid accidentally putting the wrong type of gas in the cylinder. You will need an adaptor to get by this. Adaptors allow you to connect to the CO2 tank as if it were a compressed air tank.

Compressed air tanks vary in their threading depending on their primary use. Most CO2 tanks have CGA-320 threading or CGA 347 threading. Before you buy any adaptors, make sure that you know what threading your compressor uses and what threading your CO2 bottle has so that you can get the right fit for it. You will need a complete seal, otherwise, you won’t be able to do it.

4. Empty the Tank Completely

Before you start adding anything into your tank, take the time out just to empty your CO2 tank completely. When you attach your adaptor to the tank, hook it up to the hose fitting for the air compressor without connecting the compressor itself. There should be a valve so that you can open the tank and let any remaining air escape. Before you start filling it up, close this valve again once you have taken out all the air resided in it.

5. Use a High-Pressure Air Compressor

To fill a CO2 cartridge, you’ll definitely need a high-pressure air compressor. You cannot fill one fully with a hand pump or any pump which is meant for tires since those can only go up to 150 PSI value. The compressor must be able to dispense the right PSI to match the rating of your tank as it is very important.

While some particular compressor won’t give you a private scuba fill station, it’s great for any other compressed air uses. There are a built-in PSI pressure gauge and a bleed-off valve. The compressor will auto-stop if it gets too hot or if the vessel it is filling reaches the max of 4500 PSI. It’s not adjustable to auto-stop at a specific PSI level for other sizes, so you’ll have to watch it closely. There are also adapters which are designed just to convert a paintball compressor into a scuba tank.

Standard air compressors cannot reach these high PSI levels and do not allow you to fill your tanks at home.
You can put compressed air into the CO2 tank but, there are certain safety measures that you should take before filling it up. Hope this will help.