jwatkins56550 wrote:I used to use that hepa filter on my 02...now I just think its unnecessary
Agreed. No matter how careful you are you are going to introduce a small amount of contaminating organisms, so why worry about the few bugs that you could be introducing from the O2 tank. After all, they can't reproduce in the tank because there is nothing for them to use as food. The only bugs in there will be the ones that happen to be floating around, if any, and a proper pitch will easily outcompete. On the CO2 side, you could also have bugs floating around in the gas, but the beer will be pretty unhospitable to their growth.
Just my .02.