Soda Stream refilling over complicated setup?

[Eryk]

Hi, I recently purchased a soda stream and been using it daily and going through co2 really quick, I decided to rent out a big co2 bottle to refill my soda stream canister, my issue is I may or may not in the future want a keg system and start brewing beer, and then I do not want to undo the fitting every time I recharge a soda stream bottle and changing gaskets etc. over time as well as turning off kegs that are carbonating, bleeding co2 from lines etc. I purchased the refilling adapter that's essentially a Type 30 -> 1/2 soda stream thread, I can see the system would look something like
Type 30 High Pressure Extension Hose from kegland.com.au $35
Type 30 -> 1/4inch from kegland.com.au $18
HBV04B 2 Way High Pressure Ball Valve up to 500 bar from berendsen.com.au for $28
Refilling adapter I already have Type 30 -> 1/2 from kegland.com.au $15
Type 30 male to ¼” NPT male ~needs a quote
1/4” BSP Tee from freotoolsalvage.com.au $8.20
1 or 2 NPT FEMALE x BSP MALE 1/4 from spraymart.com.au $11.55 //x2 if the Type 30 -> 1/4inch is NTP not BSP
1/4 BSP Male to 1/4 NPT Male from equipco.com.au $5.25 /or BSP male to BSP male not sure what the regulator takes
Dual Pressure MK4 Regulator - Type 30 from kegland.com.au $79.00, I believe the Type 30 unscrews and its a 1/4 fitting
Gas Adaptor 1/4 BSP Male to 1/4 BSP Male from greatescapecamping.com.au $6.90

So it would go Gas Bottle ->Extension hose -> T30 to 1/4 male(possibly adapter if its NPT not BSP) -> 1/4 Tee
From the Tee it would go:
1st: 1/4 BSP male to male -> HBV04B 2 Way High Pressure Ball Valve <- BSP Male to NPT female <- 1/4 NTP Male to Type 30 Male -> soda stream adapter
2nd: 1/4 BSP male to male or 1/4 BSP male to 1/4 NTP male depending on regulator threads

Thats about $130 not including all the shipping costs and cost of regulator... All this would be solved by a simple Type 30 tee with a shutoff valve or two, the reason for the extension hose is so I can weigh the bottles as I fill them up to prevent overfilling.

I've read that the soda stream bottles operate at about 700-800 psi so I don't think I could just run it to a regulator that only runs at 60 psi max, or even if it was 200, because correct me if I am wrong but to fill a co2 bottle I would need the pressure to be higher in the donor gas bottle going into the soda stream bottle otherwise it wouldn't even open the soda stream bottle valve to let the co2 in and if it did it would just push the air back through the regulator at 800 psi compared to regulators 60 or so..

I know the simple solution would be to just undo the fittings and do the adapter up directly to the bottle every time I refill it but surely there is some easier way to go about this, it shouldn't be this complicated or expensive to have one line for refilling a soda stream bottle with a shut off valve + a regulator for homebrew on one gas bottle..
Could be worth just seeing if someone would make a custom brass fitting or two instead of all this adapter drama.

Open to ideas and would appreciate any insight on what everyone else is doing and/or would recommend.

 

[MHB]

To fill CO2 bottles (any size) you need a pump that costs from $1-2.5K.
The most you can decant into a bottle without a pump is about half of its rated capacity. I would just fit a hose (CO2 pressure rated) with a soda stream adaptor to the bottle and just decant what ever will flow. Turn off the bottle and unscrew the soda stream bottle, you will loose the gas in the line, but it would take a long time to use up enough CO2 to pay for all the fittings you are planning to use.

Remember you are dealing with 0.5MPa and its cold (-78oC), in effect really dangerous, that being why the parts and the filling aren't really an at home option

Other option might be to get a hose from the bottle to your soda stream machine these are available made for the job for $50-70 (ish)
Mark

 

[soreba]

Lol, undoing a regulator takes 15 seconds. Way overcomplicated, you also need to make sure all those tees and valves are pressure rated to 1000+ psi.

Without inverting the bottle you wont get any liquid into the target bottle... You cant leave the bottle inverted as you cant get liquid into regulators (tends to burst the diaphragm in side). So your kinda screwed either way. You would need a co2 pump.
So either do MHB's suggestion above ^.

Or alternatively, for $130 you could get 5 - 6 of these which you can then undo the regulator and fill 6 in one hit so you dont have to undo as much.. This is what i do with 7 bottles, i undo the reg once every couple months.

 

[Eryk]

ah I see, I am on a rental plan $179 for a full 31kg bottle per year and its in the shed out back, gas bottle in the kitchen is not really an option due to space/not my house, about flipping the bottles that's because the co2 goes to the bottom of the bottle, but with 6kg and 31kg bottles you have a dip tube inside them to avoid having to do that, about those tees and valves, that was the hardest part to find a valve for 1000+ psi but that one was, not sure about the tees as they don't state any pressure rating, and yeah I've already got one of those kegland bottles, that's another option that'd be cheaper I guess, didn't even think of that thanks
Still thinking how simple it would be if someone made a custom Type 30 splitter and just adding a shut off valve on the soda stream end, seems like something that should be available but can't be found anywhere..

 

[find_another_slave]

Other option might be to get a hose from the bottle to your soda stream machine these are available made for the job for $50-70 (ish)
Mark
View attachment 118358

We do this. Wife absolutely HATES the bottle on the bench, but after a while it seemed to become a non-issue. If I was allowed to drill a hole in the bench top (I believe the words were "There's no f*cking way you're doing that!") I could drop the hose through to a gas bottle in the cupboard below, soda stream over the hole - perfect crime. It's a no brainer for us - a $20 Soda Stream gas bottle every 2 weeks, or a $20 2.6kg swap and go at the LHBS every 2 MONTHS or so.

 

[Hangover68]

i saw a youtube video where a guy refills his own sodastream bottles using pelletized co2 pellets which you can buy for $4/kg.

 

[The Mack]

I don't invert my 6kg bottle, fill two sodastream cylinders at a time (pre chilled in freezer) with the KL adaptor. Takes about ten minutes to do two cylinders from unscrewing the reg, filling and putting the reg back on.
Seriously isn't much work at all.