# Refilling Soda Stream @ home



## Tex083 (4/9/13)

So I have almost convinced my wife I need a keg set up, just for partys.... for now.
I have a very tight budget as she is compairing the cost to the price of a slab, not aurora borealis but somewhere in the $50 a slob mark. So I said I could use the soad stream cylinders to dispense and naturally carb. I have a CO2 reg.

I went searching for Keg systems that use soda stream bottles and found a youtube vid on refilling soda stream bottles with dry ice, now the video doesnt have a weight of dry ice used but I WOULD be measuring it recording the exact grams used and attach the CO2 reg to assess pressure to keep it safe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWcRDMAA8RE

Yes! this is what im trying next if I loose a hand/finger I will report back on it. Playing with pressure vessels is dangerous so be careful!

Enjoy.


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## treefiddy (4/9/13)

Where will you get the dry ice from?


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## adryargument (4/9/13)

Genius.

Thoughts on using the same method for my 50KG cylinder? :lol: :lol:


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## Tex083 (4/9/13)

treefiddy said:


> Where will you get the dry ice from?


I had a look online. but as its not business hours I cant call places but Supagas in Campbellfield looks like they have the pellets.
BOC also has it listed but only in 100kgs so I might call them tomorrow.
And http://www.havingaparty.net.au/dry-ice.html
$11 a Kg 1kg should do 2 cylinders Keg King lists Soda Stream bottles as having 330g of CO2. Just to be clear I WILL ONLY be filling and sealing the canister WITH a regulator attached as its got a pressure releif valve preventing over pressurising the vessel.


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## doon (4/9/13)

How much does it cost to just swap them at kmart


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## treefiddy (4/9/13)

Tex083 said:


> I had a look online. but as its not business hours I cant call places but Supagas in Campbellfield looks like they have the pellets.
> BOC also has it listed but only in 100kgs so I might call them tomorrow.
> And http://www.havingaparty.net.au/dry-ice.html
> $11 a Kg 1kg should do 2 cylinders Keg King lists Soda Stream bottles as having 330g of CO2. Just to be clear I WILL ONLY be filling and sealing the canister WITH a regulator attached as its got a pressure releif valve preventing over pressurising the vessel.


Minimum order is 10 kg, at $11/kg that's $110.

The 2.6 kg KK bottles are maybe $170 delivered. If you can't find somewhere that supplies <1 kg quantities of dry ice then I'd consider one of those.


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## barls (4/9/13)

i love the specialised torquing at the end


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## mash head (4/9/13)

_It could be calculated if you had the expansion figures. Eg from trade school I remember that LPG expands 280 times by volume from liquid to a gas. I am sure the values would be available somewhere._


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## treefiddy (4/9/13)

On second thought, the vapour pressure of CO2 at room temp is less than the maximum pressure of a soda stream cylinder.

That means as long as you don't expose it to extreme temps, the pressure in the bottle won't be dangerous even if you overfill it.

Signed,
Some guy on the internet that you don't know.


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## Scooby Tha Newbie (4/9/13)

OMG. Some of the things I've seen plp do to save a few bucks. Super dangerous guys take care if you do this you are making a bomb!$50 bucks at wollies gets you two filled canisters how much is you hands,eyes,life worth. If you need to do this to save a few bucks then maybe you need a new hobbie. Just saying.


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## zwitter (4/9/13)

Hi
This does work.

BUT while the ice is dry it will freeze the moisture in the air and take it with the pellets into the cylinders and potentially put moisture into your reg.

Also metals become very brittle at low temperatures. Cast iron at room temp is reasonably ductile and you can whack it with a hammer. Cool it down to -5 or so and a decent swing will shatter it. Similar with aluminium, albeit at lower temps like you get with dry ice etc. the big risk in this venture is with removing the cylinder valve each time, introducing contaminates like water and getting it to seal again. 
Also any impurities will be under high pressure and can therefore cause more damage. At $11 a kg it sort of has to be asked wether this is actually saving anything.

I have 2 of the smaller size soda stream bottles and have ordered a device from China to see if can refill them from larger CO2 cylinders. The bigger your tank the cheaper the CO2 price per litre. I would like to use the soda stream bottles for convenience and portability but not at the commercial rate for swapping.

Have outlaid about $70 in bits from China and will report success or failure, later in the month after they arrive.
Regards
James


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## 1974Alby (4/9/13)

please do report back Zwitter...I have a 6kg cylinder but need to improve portability...tried the little bulb dispenser but it needed multiple bulbs for one keg and broke second time I tried to use it!! THinking of going down the sodastream route but its all more $$$


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## Scooby Tha Newbie (4/9/13)

Ok cool I two would like to
Learn how to refill sodastream cylinders but not in a way that could cost me my fingers.I'm not a metal expert but cooling these cylinders can't be good. If there is a way to safely fill from my larger canister that would be great.


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## DU99 (4/9/13)

look around for Diemen's 540g bottle..startup cost about same as sodstream and adapter..the weight you use is on the bottle the newer ones are 400grams


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## meathead (4/9/13)

I see a new thread 
"dry ice bulk buy"


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## breakbeer (5/9/13)

you can swap over Soda Stream bottles for $16 each

are you really gonna save that much? Your phalanges will thank you


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## Tex083 (7/9/13)

After sobering up and reading what some people have read, I might just stick with the swap over cylinders @ Kmart.
Im sure its no more dangerous than playing with 240V PID's but im just going to pay the $20 for a cylinder.

Mykegonlegs 2.3kg bottle is $240. So 240/20 = 12 so in 12 kegs it will equal 1 C02 cylinder cost....


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## DU99 (7/9/13)

My 6kg bottle costs only $50 to refill..3 sodastrem refills will cost $48 and that's only 1.2kg..


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## Tex083 (7/9/13)

Yes C02 is cheap to fill but buying the cylinder is expensive


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## treefiddy (7/9/13)

2.6 kg CO2 cylinder on ebay, $166 delivered. ~$30 refill/exchange.

2 x sodastream for $50, plus $20 for adaptor. $20 refill per bottle.

Get 5 sodastream refills and you're over the price of the 2.6 kg bottle and only get 2.3 kg of CO2. I guess it all comes down to how often you're going to use it.


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## Thunderlips (11/10/13)

I'm planning on buying a setup that allows you to fill the sodastream bottles from a larger bottle, like my 6kg bottle.
It's not exactly cheap though, at about $100 plus shipping from the US.
But in the long run it'll work out cheaper.

Here's the gadget...
http://co2doctor.com/fillstationproIIspec.htm

Webpage says it can be ordered to fit Australian CO2 bottles.

It's says you need a CO2 bottle that is the "siphon" style, which has a dip tube, I think.
Anyone know if our bottles are like that?

Here's a video of how it works..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uf0j3eJ7TrM&list=FLG0SAxAdaGZjpZYS7kZz_Gw&index=1


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## QldKev (11/10/13)

Thunderlips said:


> <<snip>>
> 
> It's says you need a CO2 bottle that is the "siphon" style, which has a dip tube, I think.
> Anyone know if our bottles are like that?
> ...


CO2 beer gas do not have a dip tube to get liquid out. But all you need to do is turn the bottle upside down, and you will get liquid CO2 out.
CO2 fire extinguishers have a dip tube to get the liquid out. Easy for refilling other bottles, but if you want to use it for beer gas you need to mount it upside down.


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## sp0rk (11/10/13)

QldKev said:


> CO2 fire extinguishers have a dip tube to get the liquid out. Easy for refilling other bottles, but if you want to use it for beer gas you need to mount it upside down.


you don't really NEED to mount them upside down
I've always had mine right way up and have never had a problem with liquid CO2 coming through even when force carbing at 300kpa


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## kezza (11/10/13)

try engineering shops for dry ice they use it to shrink shafts to install bearings theres one a coorparoo that sells it for around $5 p/kg


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## MastersBrewery (11/10/13)

I have a fire extinguisher that fits the bill, it's been in the shed gathering some dust, thanks for the tip, this will save some real dough for the TA setup


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## Truman42 (11/10/13)

Tex083 said:


> After sobering up and reading what some people have read, I might just stick with the swap over cylinders @ Kmart.
> Im sure its no more dangerous than playing with 240V PID's but im just going to pay the $20 for a cylinder.
> 
> Mykegonlegs 2.3kg bottle is $240. So 240/20 = 12 so in 12 kegs it will equal 1 C02 cylinder cost....


Playing with 240 v pids is not dangerous at all. Especially if you use common sense and your house wiring is protected by RCD,s.

So I would say filling your cylinder with dry ice is a lot more dangerous.


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## itmechanic (11/10/13)

You can rent liquid draw co2 bottles from most gas suppliers eg BOC, supagas etc.


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## Thunderlips (12/10/13)

QldKev said:


> CO2 beer gas do not have a dip tube to get liquid out. But all you need to do is turn the bottle upside down, and you will get liquid CO2 out.
> CO2 fire extinguishers have a dip tube to get the liquid out. Easy for refilling other bottles, but if you want to use it for beer gas you need to mount it upside down.


Finding someone in my area that refills fire extinguishers, especially with food grade CO2, might be a bit of a mission.
You upside down trick sounds like the go.

Thanks for the tip.


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## Black n Tan (12/10/13)

I have this CO2 refill system ($130) and decant from my large Co2 bottle by turning upside down. Just be careful and ensure all you connections are screwed on properly so you don't hurt yourself because you are dealing with extreme pressures. You will need a soda stream adapter also.

http://www.aquascapedesign.com.au/products.php?product=CO2-Cylinder-Refill-Set


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## Thunderlips (13/10/13)

Black n Tan said:


> I have this CO2 refill system ($130) and decant from my large Co2 bottle by turning upside down.


I would have snapped that up but the site says out of stock so I emailed them and the reply was that it is discontinued


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## punkin (13/10/13)

The liquid Co2 bottles have some large black blocks (vertical stripes) around the bottle towards the top at BOC. As siad you can do the same thing by tipping the bottle upside down.

Edit; these are not food grade if that matters to anyone.


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## Burchman82 (18/4/14)

Sorry to resurrect a bit....
Did you order from co2 doctor Thunderlips?? Im thinking of getting one myself. turns out my sodastream bottles are the old non-boobytrapped ones so thats a win! I was just going to decant from my mykegsonlegs cylinder by turning it upside down. can anyone see any issues with that?


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## Grott (6/10/17)

Raising an old thread but is anybody using one of these? From China, need to worry?
https://www.ebay.com.au/i/182602838825


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## pcmfisher (7/10/17)

Grott said:


> Raising an old thread but is anybody using one of these? From China, need to worry?
> https://www.ebay.com.au/i/182602838825



Makes me nervous, but I could be easily frightened.

I would have thought you would fill by weight so how would you do that if it is screwed directly to the bottle like it is?


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## koshari (7/10/17)

pcmfisher said:


> Makes me nervous, but I could be easily frightened.
> 
> I would have thought you would fill by weight so how would you do that if it is screwed directly to the bottle like it is?


i would pretty confidently state that that adapter would have the US soda stream thread on it ( the US soda stream bottles have a more coarse thread compared to AU). its likely got the CGA thread on the fill cylinder end rather than type 30 as well.


other than that i wouldn't be to concerned about the fittings quality, these threads/fittings tend to be pretty well over engineered.


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## Jacktar41 (7/10/17)

I'm thinking of one of these, not exactly cheap but looks well made and simple to use after watching the video?

https://www.co2-adapter.com/product/co2-adapter-pro-2-plus-aus/


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## koshari (7/10/17)

Jacktar41 said:


> I'm thinking of one of these, not exactly cheap but looks well made and simple to use after watching the video?
> 
> https://www.co2-adapter.com/product/co2-adapter-pro-2-plus-aus/


keep in mind the later generation pin valves ( the ones with the flat rather than the knob) are tamper proof and don,t support filling. the seat tends to back seat and doesnt let the bottle fill.

personally i replaced the whole valve assembly with a m18 threaded paintball valve, https://www.aliexpress.com/store/pr...-2200psi-Output-M18-1/500295_32765871656.html

than fill via the quick disconnect port on the side. also has an intermediate drop down reg to 800kpa


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