Refilling soda stream bottles.

LeeH · Post by **LeeH** » Fri Sep 14, 2018 1:41 pm

Has anybody used one of these?

https://www.co2supermarket.co.uk/sodast ... -p520.html

Or

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 1520211497

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Fil · Post by **Fil** » Mon Sep 17, 2018 9:26 pm

this old web page that was hosted by a bunch of paintballers 'team onslaught' is still accessible with waybackmachine

and details every way of connecting co2 bottles together for refilling.inc valve and thread specs too. if you can think of it these paintballer chaps have done it and documented it..
https://web.archive.org/web/20150216050 ... 2_info.htm

LeeH · Post by **LeeH** » Mon Sep 17, 2018 10:08 pm

I’ve got one on route, it looks very simple to do.

I’ve even got somebody wanting theirs refilling too who gets through a lot of pop so that should pay for my gas usage if I charge them 2-3 quid a shot.

I only pay 15 quid for a bottle.

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ciderhead · Post by **ciderhead** » Mon Sep 17, 2018 10:55 pm

I have one that I use for a soda stream, herself likes the fizzy water and I mess around with additions trying to mimic the posh stuff

.Trick is to do refill real slow, as we all know co2 is a liquid compressed , my fire extinguisher has the stem removed for keg carbonation and so it fills better when I put it on a tilt and almost pour it in if you will. As with all high pressure Gas be careful.

Wet Spaniel · Post by **Wet Spaniel** » Wed Sep 19, 2018 10:06 am

ciderhead wrote: ↑
Mon Sep 17, 2018 10:55 pm
I have one that I use for a soda stream, herself likes the fizzy water and I mess around with additions trying to mimic the posh stuff .Trick is to do refill real slow, as we all know co2 is a liquid compressed , my fire extinguisher has the stem removed for keg carbonation and so it fills better when I put it on a tilt and almost pour it in if you will. As with all high pressure Gas be careful.

Hi cider head, which one do you have? My wife gets through so much fizzy water that I'm thinking of getting her her own cornie

ciderhead · Post by **ciderhead** » Wed Sep 19, 2018 11:01 am

I bought the cO2 supermarket one about a year ago, the fleabay one looks the same though. I’ve had stuff off eBay before from China and it’s all been US fitting sizes so just be careful on that front.

kebabman · Post by **kebabman** » Sat Oct 13, 2018 1:03 pm

I bought the refill adapter similar to the one in the ebay link above. I have just tried to screw it onto my pub gas cylinder and you can't as the control knobs get in the way. Has anyone else had this problem? I guess I need some type of hose or extension piece inbetween the gas bottle and the adapter?
I see the co2 supermarket one has a longer body clear of knobs so the problem doesn't arise.

LeeH · Post by **LeeH** » Sat Oct 13, 2018 9:12 pm

I did see that being a possible problem so bought the long ones.

They probably fit the US bottles with no guard around the stem.

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kebabman · Post by **kebabman** » Sun Oct 14, 2018 9:37 am

Looks like the safest thing to do for me is to buy the extension hose from co2 supermarket.

PeeBee · Post by **PeeBee** » Sun Oct 14, 2018 10:25 am

I have something like the CO2Supermarket device off eBay (direct from China). It hasn't been used yet but the day will come when the Sodastream bottle needs a refill. Terrifies me.

What all the adverts for these things display is a big donor cylinder with the Sodastream cylinder attached. The donor cylinder is always shown upright. CO2Supermarket to their credit (perhaps?) do mention in the "full" instructions that the donor cylinder needs a dip-tube. For us, those using a modified fire extinguisher or using a "Pub" cylinder, that means the donor cylinder WON'T have a dip-tube (CO2 cylinders should be black, if they have a dip-tube they'll have a white stripe marked down their length). So, read the instruction a little more, and you'll see the donor cylinder must be upside down.

People who notice this will probably bodge some support to arrange the very heavy cylinder upside down, with the fragile connectors between the heavy cylinder and the ground. If the cylinder slips out of its bodged support and hits the ground … (eeek!).

You can leave the cylinder upright. The Sodastream cylinder will fill with CO2 at about 850-900PSI. This wont last long. The cylinder must fill with liquid, not gas. "Ciderhead" has mentioned this above, but I think it needs repeating more strongly or there will be a lot of disappointed folk out there, or worse, a few "bodgers" get to experience things they would have preferred not to see.

LeeH · Post by **LeeH** » Sun Oct 14, 2018 11:59 am

I don't think my cylinder is anywhere near 900 PSI, around 500 I think (i'll check). It seems to manage 400g of liquid quite happily when the SS bottle has been in the freezer.

I'm going to ask for a dedicated bottle with a dip tube from my supplier as like PeeBee says, inverting the bottle isn't that clever. Although it can be stored safely upside down secured to a wall with rope.

PeeBee · Post by **PeeBee** » Sun Oct 14, 2018 7:20 pm

LeeH wrote: ↑
Sun Oct 14, 2018 11:59 am
I don't think my cylinder is anywhere near 900 PSI, around 500 I think (i'll check). It seems to manage 400g of liquid quite happily when the SS bottle has been in the freezer. ...

With CO2 the cylinder pressure isn't a variable. At room temperature the cylinder pressure is about 850-900PSI as long as there is liquid in the bottle. If the cylinder gauge reads less you've just taken the cylinder out of a very cold place, the gauge is naff, or else the liquid CO2 has been used up and the cylinder will very shortly be empty. If the cylinder gauge reads more than 900PSI, the gauge is naff or you need to take the cylinder out of the fire.

Most gases, like oxygen and nitrogen, will require astronomic pressures to keep them as a liquid. So they are sold as "compressed gas" at room temperature.

LeeH · Post by **LeeH** » Sun Oct 14, 2018 8:27 pm

Of course makes perfect sense, unless my bottle was empty of liquid when I looked last.

McMullan · Post by **McMullan** » Sun Oct 14, 2018 9:13 pm

Refilling yourself is full of risks. If you insist, considering weighing rather than pressure. You'll need a decent pressure gauge otherwise - and they ain't cheap...

kebabman · Post by **kebabman** » Sat Oct 20, 2018 10:21 am

If I try refilling without inverting the gas bottle should I just fill for around the 30 seconds time still that co2 supermarket mentions. Does anyone know how much less weight you get in the sodastream bottle by filling with the donor cylinder upright?

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