Refilling Sodastream Bottles

[smidsy]

Hei Folks,
Has anyone refilled Sodastream bottles at home.
The bottles are now only sold outright no exchange, and they're $35 each - a 6kg bottle of food grade Co2 costs $80 from BOC.
I'm thinking a reg, a ball valve in to a filling adapter for the bottle, my brother's a gas fitter so I can get made any hose I need.
Thought & opinions please.
Cheers
Smidsy

[Wrongwayfirst]

Sodastream in Vic is sold at supermarkets and service stations $35 a bottle and $19 credit on the return empty.
confused as to why Qld would want to do it differently when it works a charm.

[62woollybugger]

Not refilled, but I have heard of someone making an adaptor to connect the large bottles to the soda stream machine. They had it in a cupboard with a line coming up through the benchtop.

[Chris Parks]

I bought an adaptor from ebay and use the bottles that can be bought and exchanged for about $28 from homebrew shops. On my first SS it was a very difficult job to fit the adaptor but the second machine was way easier.

https://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313&_nkw=soda+stream+gas+adaptor&_sacat=0

[Chief Tiff]

QLD stopped exchanging gas bottles?:?

According to their website (https://www.sodastream.com.au/locator/) any of the big store chains hold them plus some Aus Post offices, they list 10 places just in Bundy.

[BobL]

We have 6 small sode stream bottles and I refilled them from a 6kg bottle for about 3 months but then chucked it in - filling is a PITA - it wastes a lot of CO2 and is potential VERY dangerous especially if you are not experienced at handling compressed gasses. I did this a bit a work so I knew roughly what to expect.

I then went and bought a special 2m long hose similar to that used by pubs and bars etc and plumbed in the 6kg bottle direct into the sodastream unit.
I exchange the CO2 bottle through Brewmart for $50 a pop - there is a local fellow who will refill it for $35 a pop but he never answers his phone and you may have to wait days for him to do it.
The 6kg CO2 bottle is stored under the house and is plumbed up through the floor and a kitchen cupboard on top of which the soda-stream sits.
We've been doing it for about 5 years now and we go through 2, 6kg bottle a year. In summer one bottle lasts us about 4 months while the other lasts us about 8 months. Yes we drink a lot of soda water.

You do need to be a bit careful about leaks as you could gas yourself hence under or outside storage is better.

As I said, filling the small soda stream bottles from a bigger bottle is a PITA.
Firstly you need a 6kg bottle inverter otherwise all you get transferred across is a bit of CO2 gas whereas what you need to get across is the CO2 Liquid. The other reason for an inverter is the balancing a glass bottle on its valve end is err. . . . . tricky.
I ended up welding one and it looked like this.
The bottle goes into this upside down with the bottle neck on the lower collar and a chain then wraps around the lower collar to hold the gas valve clear.

490081
Then you can't just use a simple in line connector and you need to have a pressure release valve (V) in the line see below.
So with V closed, the sender and receiver valves are opened until the hissing stops then the sender and receiver valves are closed and V is opened to release the line pressure - then the receiver bottle can be safely disconnected
If this is not done when you disconnect you can get a loud BANG and the receiver bottle can go flying through space (and across my back garden).
I didn't like the bang so I wore ear muffs when disconnecting.

490082

Next, before transfer the the small bottles really need to be cooled (ie spend and hour in a freezer) otherwise the small bottle only takes up about 30% liquid CO2 before the bottles warms up producing gaseous CO2 inside the small bottle which prevents more liquid coming in. If you are happy with this, then fine, but you will need to fill the bottles more often ie more nuisance.
However freezing the bottle only gets it about 70-% full so you have to refreeze it and do a second fill. You can just accept this but I wanted more.
Now this is where it gets tricky.
By refreezing the bottle again it is possible you can refill the small bottle with too much liquid and then if the bottle warms up it may explode!
So called full filling has to be done to a set weight (the weight is on the side of each bottle) so you need a good set of scales that can measure at least to 5g in 1400g (the approx weight of the bottle plus its contents)
In other words it takes a while, its dangerous, you lose CO2 every time you open that vent valve etc etc.
In my book it is far from convenient.

Then even if you get this sorted the newer sod stream bottles have been jiggered by soda stream so you cannot fill them without doctoring the valve. I did this to one valve and I though this is stupid and went and bought the long adapter.

The 6kg to soda stream adapter costs about $100 but it pays itself off in no time and Its something I only have to do attend to about twice a year.

[smidsy]

Chris, you said you had trouble with the first adapter but the second one was good - have you got a link to the second one.
Also I watched a how to video on one I found on ebay and they fill it without opening the bleed valve on the side - is that correct?
Cheers

[Chris Parks]

Chris, you said you had trouble with the first adapter but the second one was good - have you got a link to the second one.
Also I watched a how to video on one I found on ebay and they fill it without opening the bleed valve on the side - is that correct?
Cheers

The adaptor was OK, it was getting it into where it had to go in the first machine that was the problem. I have no idea of the model of the first one as it died and a hammer gained access to remove the adaptor. I can't believe the price of gas in WA, almost twice what I pay! I have never filled a bottle so best ask Bob that question.

[BobL]

Chris, you said you had trouble with the first adapter but the second one was good - have you got a link to the second one.
Also I watched a how to video on one I found on ebay and they fill it without opening the bleed valve on the side - is that correct?
Cheers

The bleed valve is closed during the transfer - the bleed valve is only opened once the transfer is complete and the sender and received valves are closed. Then the bleed is opened to release teh pressure in the line. If this is not done it becomes really hard to undo the received bottle from the line ANS you may get a real BANG when undoing it.

[yvan]

We are very happy with an Aarke soda stream unit hooked up to a 6kg CO2 bottle. I purchased a 3-foot connecting hose from a home brewing shop. The connection to the unit was a bit of a pain as I had partly to dismantle it to access the actual fitting.

As to costs, the hose was approx. $75 and the bottle was $120, including the 1st gas fill. We gas up 4-5 x 840ml-bottles daily and the gas bottle lasts us 3 months. The refills are $23.

Cheers,
Yvan

[david.elliott]

How to Fill Your Own Sodastream Cylinders/Bottles at Home - Save Cash - More Convenient - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeopdQRJPTA)