Additional Costs

[Unresistible Blue]

Looks like course costs will be $35, plus another $100-$125 for materials you provide, another $x for materials we provide.

Can you give me a guestimate on additional costs I'll have before having a working reactor? CO2 Tank? Regulator? pump?

Thanks
Unresistible Blue

 

[fergy]

That's a tough call. CO2 tanks and regulators can be had cheaply, if you can track them down. Sometimes $40 for the reg, and I was able to get 15# bottles before for $30 from a fire extinguisher place. The pump depends on which pump you want to use. I always suggest a Little Giant 2, but there are other pumps which are cheaper.

BRIAN
_________________
Mercedes T80

 

[Anonymous]

I thought this reactor doesn't used compressed air?

 

[fergy]

No reactor uses compressed air. It uses CO2 to dissolve aragonite. This is a standard calcium reactor, not a Nilsen or kalk reactor. Though you could use this as a type of kalk reactor if you chose. It would actually be simpler than the calcium reactor, though the product would look quite similar.

BRIAN
_________________
Cooking Chef

 

[Unresistible Blue]

I'd be interested in your advice re specs for the regulator - I'm sure there are many types... Or is this something you'll cover in the calss?

 

[Anonymous]

fergy said:

No reactor uses compressed air. It uses CO2 to dissolve aragonite.

We must buy a regulator and an air tank, right? An air tank holds compressed air IMHO.

If the CO2 comes from somewhere other than an air tank, please explain.

Am I being dense here?

Thanks for your help Fergy! :wink:

Louey

 

[Unresistible Blue]

You'll need to buy what's commonly called an "air tank," but in our case it is filled with CO2, not air.

 

[drmartinmartin]

Look behind a soda foutain,it is how you get the pop out of it. It is not an air tank.The bottle has a special thread for the regulator so you can't put it on other types of cylinders(gas oxygen helium ect.). look at brewery supply, welding supply or most online fish stores have them.also you might be able to find a used resraurant supply place that might have them, but make sure that a used bottle has been recertifided with in the last 5 years or you might not be able to get it filled.

 

[fergy]

Also, just for interest...

A CO2 cylinder stores CO2 in it's liquid phase. A compressed air tank stores air in the gas phase. A CO2 cylinder holds much more volume of gas, for the same size.

I'd be interested in your advice re specs for the regulator - I'm sure there are many types... Or is this something you'll cover in the calss?

Ah, good of you to remind me to cover that. I really hadn't planned to, since this is an acrylic course, but I will. Anyway, any regulator that can drop the secondary pressure to about 20PSI is fine. Gauges are nice, and most regs come with them. Any local welding supply place will have a regulator for CO2, as it's used on MIG welding rigs as the inert gas to flood the weld with. Also, there are always some on ebay, for relatively cheap.

Some of you may be getting frustrated tracking some of this stuff down. It's a good process for you. You're learning what you need to say, and what not to say, when you call these places. They are used to dealing with businesses, and if you've never ordered like this, it can be a task. One of the suggestions that I'll make in the course is that you register a business with your county and city if you plan to continue doing this, so that it's easier to get your materials.

BRIAN
_________________
Mercedes Benz 450SEL 6.9