How long will a bottle last befor refill?
 

I know - dumbest question ever. But I've never used my throttle stop before and I'm thinking of going .90 racing in 2010. I'll use the bottle for both a starting line enhancer and for throttle-stopping to hit the .90s.

One event? Not even one event? Half the summer? Sorry, but I have no idea how much CO2 is consumed using a throttle stop.

Thanks.

Re: How long will a bottle last befor refill?
 

I start the year off with a full bottle and it last's all year for Div races and some testing. I do have an auto shutoff valve that keeps air from leaking off if you do have a small leak. I use air for the stop and shifting. I also carry an extra bottle you just never know. Hope this helps...

Re: How long will a bottle last befor refill?
 

I can get several races out of mine running a t stop & shifter. The biggest problem is leaks. I close the bottle after every pass. Have a note on the dash to remind me to open it. Having a spare bottle is a good
idea

Re: How long will a bottle last befor refill?
 

Been there and done that....After several times of forgetting to turn off or on I got the shutoff valve that's wired into the ign . When the ign is off the air is off / ign on air is on and no more forgetting.......... But I'm an old man and have a habit of forgetting.............

Re: How long will a bottle last befor refill?
 

You too? It's embarrasing when you go on the limiter when it doesn't shift.

Re: How long will a bottle last befor refill?
 

Me three, the switch (Dedenbear #ABSOV) is absolutely the best investment you'll make. Over the winter, I'm also adding a CO2 sensor for the Racepak dash to light a warning light if the bottle's under 500lb... One too many round losses with no air.

I have a 10lb bottle in the trailer and use it to refill the 2lb bottle on the car. CO2 is amazingly cheap, a 10lb bottle exchange at your local welding supply is about $25 (they won't have, fill, or touch your 2lb bottle). And 10lbs is at least a year's worth.

As to the original question, with the nasty leaks you'll end up with, you'll fill it once a weekend. Maybe once a round. :) If you manage to make it leak-free, some people go all season on a single 2lb bottle.

Re: How long will a bottle last befor refill?
 

Thanks for the responses all. That was exactly the advice I needed. I think I'll fill the bottle I have, and invest $60 in a spare bottle. It seems like the least amount of backup a person should have.

Re: How long will a bottle last befor refill?
 

The small 10 oz bottles, I usually go through about 3 or 4 a year, doing super gas and a lot of bracket racing, using it on the SLE, shifter, and throttle stop. Went to a 5 lb bottle. I think it was costing me $12 to fill a 10 oz bottle, and $18 in the 5 lb bottle. Went to the 5 lb about halfway through last season, and it lasted me all the way through the end of this year, with still quite a bit left in it that I will probably be able to get a few months worth of racing out of it next year as well.

Re: How long will a bottle last befor refill?
 

We use a small bottle for the stop only (electric shift) and we get close to a full season, we carry a spare and always shut the bottle off after a run.

Re: How long will a bottle last befor refill?
 

One thing to keep in mind about filling a smaller bottle (10oz) from a bigger one (e.g. 5 or 10 lbs) is that the larger bottle will lose pressure over time. This means the smaller bottle won't get to the full desired pressure. Most people think you should have at least 500lbs of pressure in the bottle, and run the valves at 100+. A 1/2 - 3/4ths used bottle may not have that kind of pressure, even though it may well have a bunch of CO2 left.

At something like $25-35 a tank for an exchange at a welding supply store, I swap the bigger bottle every season, regardless of how much is left in it. Cheap insurance to having more than enough pressure.

Re: How long will a bottle last befor refill?
 

I struggled with finding someone to fill my small bottle.I was told that paint ball guys could do it and they cant, they run different fittings.Then the fire extinguisher guys, No luck. Will a Nitros Pump work? Where would a guy get the pieces to build a transfer hose? Or is there one available from somewhere? I do live way up in Northern BC Canada so we may just be out of the loop. Im not sure..hahaha

Re: How long will a bottle last befor refill?
 

Welding supply places:
Here's one from Airgas: http://www.airgas.com/browse/product...&recIds=191563

Beer home brewers:
Here's one place: http://kegman.net/refiller.html#5057

Re: How long will a bottle last befor refill?
 

[QUOTE=Chris Williams;151629. Over the winter, I'm also adding a CO2 sensor for the Racepak dash to light a warning light if the bottle's under 500lb...

Just wondering why the light...... I have two gauges on my bottle, one is press to stop / shifter the other is press in the bottle. The stop / shifter gauge is pre set at 100 psi the other is what's left in the bottle. My thinking is that anything over say 200psi is going to have the same effect as it's regulated down to 100 psi. As yet I've never had any trouble, been running like that for 5 or 6 years now. I do look at the bottle gauge after the car is running just too ck where it's at............

Re: How long will a bottle last befor refill?
 

Sure, if you remember to check the gauges. :)

With the warning light, whenever the car is on if the bottle is low, a light will come on the dash. Have lights for low oil pressure, high water temp, or low fuel pressure. Rule is, when one of those lights comes on, STOP. Will add CO2 warning light this winter. The Racepak dash we use has four warning lights, this will be the use for the fourth.

As I said, lost a round at a nat'l event this year because of it -- never gonna have that happen again.

Re: How long will a bottle last befor refill?
 

I re-fill once to twice a season. I made up a fitting like shown above. we leave the bottle valve on all day and close it when we put the car away. You can soap test the fittings to find leaks. When re-filling from a big bottle you can immerse the small bottle in ice water, it will fill with more liquid CO2 and have more pressure, also let it sit connected for a few minutes. I have a gauge just for watching the bottle pressure while it warms up. If needed you can bleed off a little. I re-fill from a beverage bottle like used on a beer tapper. Be careful and if will work fine. There is also a siphon bottle available that has a dip tube inside that way you re-fill with liquid co2 not vapor. The beverage type work fine and are way easier to find.

Re: How long will a bottle last befor refill?
 

The Paint ball store in my area has a adapter to fill the 10 0z bottles maybe you should talk with the manager and see if you could get an adapter to there fittings. The store that I use has about 25 to 30 racer that fill at his store and the it is under $3.00 to fill a 10oz bottle.