Where to get a big bottle of inert gas?

[NorCal]

I need a bottle of compressed, inert gas such as nitrogen for food preservation. I can find the small size for wine bottles easily enough but does anyone know where I would buy a larger sized refillable bottle with some sort of regulator?

 

[Harold falcon]

My local hardware store sells larger bottles of nitrogen. The bottles carry a deposit and are to be returned for refilling much like propane.

 

[Dakota rube]

Should be one near you

 

[Not Ed Harris]

If you're using it for food preservation, make sure you talk to someone at the store about whether the regulator is suitable. You need to be able to release the gas slowly. If you don't the decompression will cause the gas to cool and it can get really cold to the point where you're making liquid nitrogen which I guess would probably damage whatever you're trying to preserve.

The upside is that you can make icecream in roughly 2 minutes.

 

[Milpool]

Find a welding supply. They'll carry cylinders, regulators, etc. I'm not sure if they'll have a lot of nitrogen, but they'll have argon. Make sure you get a mount to hold the cylinder upright and prevent it from falling and turning into a rocket.

 

[thinman]

Originally Posted by Milpool

Find a welding supply. They'll carry cylinders, regulators, etc. I'm not sure if they'll have a lot of nitrogen, but they'll have argon. Make sure you get a mount to hold the cylinder upright and prevent it from falling and turning into a rocket.
Argon will be much more expensive than nitrogen. Follow his safety advice and mount the cylinder. Don't transport it without the cap (NOT the regulator) in place. Gas cylinders-become-rockets are extremely dangerous and it can happen if the cylinder falls and the regulator breaks off. Edit: If you buy a large cylinder, also recognize that argon is heavier than air and won't disperse readily, so it should be used in a well-ventilate area. Don't suffocate yourself.

 

[NorCal]

Thanks for all the answers. I am using it for food preservation so I need "food grade" nitrogen. Frankly as Nitrogen is an element I'm not sure what food grade v. non-food grade really means. I suppose it means less contaminantes. In any case, I thought the wine industry might provide the answer.

Anymore thoughts?