I want to store a beverage in a bottle and pressurize it so it flows where I want it to. I’ve seen people recommend CO2 or Nitrogen bottles to do this, but couldn’t I just use an oil-less air compressor/tank for this instead? CO2 and Nitrogen bottles/refills seem like they’d be a big hassle compared to the one-time expensive of a small, cheap air compressor/tank combo… Am I missing something here?
CO2 and nitrogen have the advantage of not oxidizing the beverage, and for carbonated beverages the CO2 helps to keep them bubbly. I don’t know if there’s any mechanical difference in using the other gases.
Cheap is goingto meanthat you are notgetting clean air.
Good point. A combination of a paper and charcoal filter would help.
FYI, there is no such thing as cheap compressed air. Compressed air, especially using small ‘cheap’ compressors costs between 8 and 15 electrical horsepower for every single horsepower of compressed air. It is about the most expensive energy transmission medium in existence.
And, CO2/N2 bottles are non-oxidizing as mentioned above. They are also filled with gas at much higher efficiencies then you can possibly do at home, and to a much higher pressure.
CO2 is much more soluble in water than air http://www.wiredchemist.com/chemistry/data/solubilities-gases. It also provides some of the “Bite” or “Burn” associated with drinking soda, beer, etc.
If you are working with a carbonated beverage, it will go flat just like that 2L bottle of pop you opened a couple days ago. If it’s not carbonated, air should work just fine to move it around.
The CO2 and N2 are not only retarding oxidation, but microbial growth. I would think you would run the increased risk of microbial spoilage if you used compressed air.
Sounds right if the system is kept pressurized. There would be higher dissolved oxygen levels in the beverage, and I assume that would promote bacterial growth. Unpressurized it shouldn’t be any different than a bottle with some air space in it. But then the pressure has to be released after each use.
I think I need to know what the beverage is before I can offer advice.
Such low pressures are needed to move small amounts of liquid that if I were going to use air I would simply use a handpump. Less than 10# pressure will pump beverage quite fast.
But then you also have small amounts hanging about in the plumbing, if I understand the op correctly, and these little bits would be more prone to spoiling/contamination.
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Well that settles it. Don’t use compressed air. 
I assume you mean the beverage in the outlet hose. You wouldn’t need an outlet valve with an unpressurized system, but with out it you wouldn’t have very good control of the flow. Even with an outlet valve, necessary in a pressurized system, the dispenser opening would still be dirty. But that problem remains no matter what type of gas is used.
What I was thinking of was residues in the hose themselves, if oxygen rich would be more prone to spoilage (due to greater fluctuations in temp), if say left overnight, than the main reservoir, thus contaminating the first couple of drinks the following day. In a CO2 or N2 charged system the oxygen-poor atmosphere would retard this spoilage, although those lines still require flushing regularly. Maybe.
Yes. I agree that in general, CO2 and nitrogen would retard bacterial growth, and air would encourage it. I’m not a biologist though, but it seems to be a pretty basic concept. If he’s doing this with a carbonated beverage there are some pretty basic and not very expensive beer systems that ought to work fine. A nitrogen bottle would probably work just as easily as the CO2. It generally does for welding gasses. By the time the OP is done putting everything together he’s probably not saving any cost or effort by using air, and risking oxidization of the beverage and bacterial growth.
Even with commercial CO2 dispensers there’s a date stamp on the beverage canister, and using the canister beyond that date is a violation of local code here (maybe, because IIRC that was told to me by the beverage salesman).
Wrong thread?? Not sure how I did that.
I’ve seen ads on TV for these things which may fullfill your need. Cheap and battery operated.
heh heh. Talk about a bacteria farm.
Jesus, how many kids do you need to have in order to buy milk in containers that size?