Carbonating With Sodastream Co2

[kpa.byrne]

Hi,
this is probably an amateur question but are you able to carbonate beer with the soda stream regulator set up? or do people just use it to dispense the beer? As always looking for a cheap way to set up a kegging system and have been using secondary ferment plus 16oz CO2 portable dispenser up until now, but thinking of upgrading, anyone with any ideas would be welcome,
cheers

 

[scott_penno]

I bulk prime the keg and use the soda stream bottle to dispense. The soda stream bottle goes a fair way doing this. I believe if you use a soda stream bottle to carbonate and dispense you'll get about two kegs out of it before needing to refill. YMMV.

sap.

 

[kpa.byrne]

I bulk prime the keg and use the soda stream bottle to dispense. The soda stream bottle goes a fair way doing this. I believe if you use a soda stream bottle to carbonate and dispense you'll get about two kegs out of it before needing to refill. YMMV.

sap.

Thanks mate,
k

 

[buttersd70]

Hi,
this is probably an amateur question but are you able to carbonate beer with the soda stream regulator set up? or do people just use it to dispense the beer? As always looking for a cheap way to set up a kegging system and have been using secondary ferment plus 16oz CO2 portable dispenser up until now, but thinking of upgrading, anyone with any ideas would be welcome,
cheers

you can, but it's expensive.

 

[Brewman_]

Soda stream will be costly and won't last long. As mentioned bulk priming is good and economical.

If you are keen to keep kegging then a decent gas bottle is esential.

There are a few options, and heaps of info to search here in AHB. Some cost more up front than others, so consider initial outlay and then refill cost and availability of refillers.

Fear_n_Loath.

 

[scott_penno]

Cost is dependant on volume of beer consumed over time. If you carbonate and dispense you'll get around two kegs dispensed out of a soda stream bottle. If you bulk prime, you'll possibly get twice as many. It's an inexpensive option for the short to medium term but adds up in the long run and can be a PITA. If you're in it for the long haul and can afford the upfront cost, buying a bottle outright would be the way to go...

sap.

 

[Exceed]

I use a soda stream bottle to carbonate and dispense. Just got 4 19L kegs from it. Not bad for $12.44/refill from BigW.

I would rather have a lager bottle, but cannot justify the cost yet. Another benefit of the smaller bottle is if you have a leak, it's only a small amount of gas gone (less chance of asphyxiation if indoors), and less money wasted. My first bottle was empty in 2 days, then I found the leak.

Cheers,

Mark

 

[WHYPSI]

where can you get adaptors to fit the soda stream bottles to the regulator?

 

[marzross]

I also use soda stream to carbonate and dispence.I get between 3 & 4 kegs per bottle, I go through 1 to 2 19 lit kegs per month .It is very cost effective for me.

 

[OzBeer_MD]

where can you get adaptors to fit the soda stream bottles to the regulator?

check the site sponsors or your local hbs

 

[SpillsMostOfIt]

I went through the pain of building a spreadsheet (which I have since thrown away) a while ago to work out the various options including SodaStream. From memory, if you amortise the gas bottle over (I think) five years (as they do not last forever) and chew through two kegs of beer per month, it was about break-even on cost - if you already have the SodaStream cylinder(s) - against the then cheapest solution.

In my case, the thing that swung it was that we use much more than that because we also make our own lemonade and use CO2 to purge vessels. We live quite a long way from the nearest place that would only sometimes have swap-over bottles. So, in the end, it wasn't an economic argument that won the day but one of convenience.

I found the bestest value at the time to be a Swap'N'Go arrangement from BrewCraft based on cast-off steel SupaGas cylinders, but the dynamic will be different now.

As I handed over the money, I promised myself that I would make best value of the gas by naturally carbonating my beer and just using the cylinder to push my beer out the tap. What a load of shite that was - I force carb everything now and am probably going to get another system for the brewery proper (which is up the hill from the beer fridge).