Not technically a "write-up", it's more of a parts list and information. A local member asked that I do this to help him and others with doing the same setup.

My experiance in doing this is as follows.

Step #1:
Acquiring a Tank:


Friend of mine purchased a 20# bottle off craigslist for $50. The bottle was out of date and owned by a company who rented them to restaurants/bars (aka stolen tank). So he was S.O.L with his $50 tank. A "new", full, legit 20# tank will cost you about $140 here locally. There are several gas places in town, most common is probably "AirGas". They are more expensive however. OR if you have someone or have a tank that is up to date, and doesnt have anyone's stampings on it, you can exchange it for a full tank. Or possibily have it filled.

Carbon Dioxide tanks will either come aluminum or steel. A full 20 pound aluminum tank weighs 44lbs, I am told a steel tank is aprx. +20lbs. Which makes it a no brainer you want a aluminum tank.

#2 Filling/Exchanging a Tank:

If you have a empty, up to date, stolen-free tank you have two options. Exchange or fill. Locally there is nobody that I have found to fill tanks. Period. Making something like a Powertank a bad choice since you can't get it filled. Like I said, in this area at least, you should research this before hand if you want to have it filled. I plan to exchange my tank.

This area, from what I've seen does nothing but tank exchanges. Filling a tank (like a "Powertank") is near impossible to find a place to get that done (Con for a Powertank). So here we exchange. The small gas shop in town does a 20#bottle swap for $15, I have seen up to $25 at the bigger places. If you end up with a steel tank, you can likely just request to have it swapped out for an aluminum when you exchange it.

#3 Regulator:

There are a couple options you can go with as far as a regulator. There are fixed, adjustable, and fully adjustable w/gauges. It is my understanding using gauges on fully adjustable setups is useless. Since the tank pressure will drop, just about 10 seconds before you are out of carbon dioxide...making it fairly useless. What I bought was a fixed pressure regulator. It is the cheapest, smallest, and I dont need anything else for my use. It is set at 150psi. Which will air up tires fast and safely. If you have decent air tools, they'll live at 150psi as well.

There are also LOW FLOW co2 regulators, you DO NOT want one of these:


The problem with that is its designed to regulate 150psi at a very low flow rate (welding, soda machine use, etc). Try and air up tires, that sucker will freeze before you get one filled. Did that, returned it and ordered the correct high flow regulator.

What I bought was "the source" high flow, non-freezing regulator. It is a 150psi regulator and expect about $50 for it. I was able to find it for $53 shipped by using a toyota off-road parts supplier and searching the part number (OA-REG150). It handles the flow for tires well, while it may not do you and your buddies 8 tires in one shot..it will do one set just fine. If it does get too cold, letting it warm up for 30 seconds is all you need to keep going for awhile. I prefer the no knob, gauge setup. It is less likely to get banged around in the Jeep.

The Source Regulator


#4 Air hose/fittings:
I have a 50' (kinda too long) air hose (rated to 300psi) that I use. What I noticed one the cheap(er) coiled air hose is the fact they are only rated to 150-200psi. Too close for comfort to me. The hose I have is Hibatchi. Has swivel ends, is a extremely light hose for it's size and is easy to move around. Something to really take into consideration is keeping a hose kink-free, and rolled up well. I used some bungee straps and the thin profile of the hose makes it ideal for my use. It is a bit too long, but I rather that and it be very user friendly. You can use your basic brass fittings for air lines and such. The regulator I purchased comes with one chuck on it already. For filling the tires I am using a basic 150psi harbor freight air chuck w/gauge. Works great and is cheap ($7).

#5 Mounting

There are a million different ways to mount your tank. I went for a 100% no side affect solution for my daily driver. I put it in when I need it, I take it out when I don't. Its a basic cradle made from wood that straps the tank down horizontally while in transport. It doesn't move or roll around, and is very cheap. It gets the job done.




Expect to Pay

These are all approximate, since you can buy a $7 air chuck and a $80 air chuck..thats all on you!

If you have NO bottle, a full 20# bottle is about $140
Regulator - $55+
Air hose $15-$30
Fittings/Air Chuck - $10-$80
Mounting - $??

If you have a GOOD/Legit 20# bottle, an exchange is $15-$25 for a full bottle. I was lucky enough to be given a empty, good bottle so it cost me $15 to fill it. I expect to need another fill in about a year with how often I off-road. I have spent $105 to have what I have now since the tank was given to me.



Pros:
*SPEED! Carbon Dioxide will work for you very quickly. Will fill my 32s from 15psi to 40psi in 40 seconds. Expect a minute for 35+tires (guesstimate)
*Can be made 100% "off road use only". You don't have to find a permanent tank mount, mount a compressor, mount a tank, etc.

Cons:
*Filling, when a co2 tank goes out, it goes out...now. There is no real warning when you are getting low (kinda monitor it by tank weight). So expect to break out the mini air compressor if you just so happen to run out to get you going. Also about $15-$25 per refill
*Potential missile. If mishandled and you knock the valve off the tank while off-roading, expect it to put a hole in the side of your jeep!

good stuff! finally someone else comes on and posts! lol