Filling your own soda stream bottles

Forums › Off topic › Filling your own soda stream bottles - anyone done it?

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51 posts

Master Geek

#614240 24-Apr-2012 11:26

timmmay:
skyhigh: I used to fill them at ASCO carbon dioxide in CHC. It cost less than $5 per bottle to fill

Thanks for the tip! I'm in Wellington, but it suggests it can be done elsewhere.

Did you take your own adapter, or did they have one?

They had their own adapter and did them regularly. When I was there another old guy (like 75 yo) was there doing 3 bottles at once. Must be for the Gin and Tonics :)

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timmmay

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#614274 24-Apr-2012 12:25

Anyone know anywhere in Wellington that'd do it, if I got the adapter? I've emailed a couple of paintball places.

Geese

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#614283 24-Apr-2012 12:39

I got right into Soda Stream 2 years ago. The only sucky thing in NZ is the 3 "best" flavours are not available here (but in all other English speaking countries), which is Pete's Choice (Dr Pepper clone), Fountain Mist (Mountain Dew clone), Cherry Cola.

Harvey Norman run a loyalty scheme, buy 8 flavours or get 8 refills and 9th is free.

The only issue to watch out for, and its happened many times to me (so much so I have given up on Soda Stream for the time being) - Is frequently I get dum dums try to exchange my empties for other empties, and once every 3 months get a dud gas bottle, its sealed but empty or has faulty valve. I have had big arguments in store where they think I'm trying to rip them off over the gas bottles, so the last time it happened I just gave up.

Behodar

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#614287 24-Apr-2012 12:47

Kyanar: Well no, they aren't being sold any more than Sky decoders are sold to you when you pay $599 to Sky to get one.

It's funny that you should say that; I got a "Prime-only" install of Sky a few years ago (dish and decoder for a one-off fee). At no point during the process did anyone say that I wasn't buying the equipment. When you pay for a physical object then you expect to have ownership of it, unless advised otherwise before paying.

As for printing "leased, not sold" on the Sodastream box, what about if you bought it sight unseen (such as online)? It would be the same issue; you've paid for the product and completed the transaction, at which point I would've thought that the seller has no right to dictate additional terms.

mattwnz

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#614289 24-Apr-2012 12:50

Kyanar: Just bear in mind you don't actually own that little gas tank. The Sodastream machine yes, but the gas tanks always belong to Sodastream - they lease them to you. Legally, tampering with the tank is a no no.

Pretty sure you do own them, because it is a 'swap a cylinder' system, like it is for some gas cylinder 'swap a' systems . So you have to purchase the original cylinder is around $60 from memory, or comes with the machine. You cnn't buy a 'swap a cylinder' unless you have cylinder to swap it with.

mattwnz

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#614293 24-Apr-2012 12:51

timmmay: Anyone know anywhere in Wellington that'd do it, if I got the adapter? I've emailed a couple of paintball places.

Try rockgas in petone, opposite mitre 10. If they don't do it, they may know someone who may.

timmmay

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#614295 24-Apr-2012 12:55

IlDuce: I got right into Soda Stream 2 years ago. The only sucky thing in NZ is the 3 "best" flavours are not available here (but in all other English speaking countries), which is Pete's Choice (Dr Pepper clone), Fountain Mist (Mountain Dew clone), Cherry Cola.

Harvey Norman run a loyalty scheme, buy 8 flavours or get 8 refills and 9th is free.

The only issue to watch out for, and its happened many times to me (so much so I have given up on Soda Stream for the time being) - Is frequently I get dum dums try to exchange my empties for other empties, and once every 3 months get a dud gas bottle, its sealed but empty or has faulty valve. I have had big arguments in store where they think I'm trying to rip them off over the gas bottles, so the last time it happened I just gave up.

I'm not so bothered by flavors. I mostly drink sparkling water, occasionally with ribena, and I have one soda stream flavor that's nice, berry something.

I'll definitely be looking into filling my own, either at a paintball store or if I have to then with my own CO2 rig. My own rig is definitely the expensive, complex way to go though, and seems like overkill.

timmmay

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#614296 24-Apr-2012 12:55

mattwnz:
timmmay: Anyone know anywhere in Wellington that'd do it, if I got the adapter? I've emailed a couple of paintball places.

Try rockgas in petone, opposite mitre 10. If they don't do it, they may know someone who may.

I'll try them thanks :)

mattwnz

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#614298 24-Apr-2012 12:57

Kyanar:
keewee01:
Kyanar: Just bear in mind you don't actually own that little gas tank. The Sodastream machine yes, but the gas tanks always belong to Sodastream - they lease them to you. Legally, tampering with the tank is a no no.

How can that be the case when you buy extra gas bottles, for something like $20 I think???

That's a bloody expensive lease - and that is not how they are sold. They are being sold. Period. Legally you would have to be clearly informed of it being a lease when "buying" them otherwise someone is breaking the law.

Well no, they aren't being sold any more than Sky decoders are sold to you when you pay $599 to Sky to get one.? The bottles belong to Sodastream, it's clearly written on the box and the bottle and the claim that you "own it outright" because you paid for it is absurd.

I have some from the 80's that haven't been refilled for a couple of decades, and it doesn't say anything on the cylinder. Perhaps that is a new thing. I don't know how they could get away with the cusomter buying somrthing from a store, and when you get it home you find that part of it is only leased. I don't think they can ask for the cylinder back if you choose not to use it, and they wouldn't know who had it.
Sky is different, because you are not actually purchasing the box, that is more of a setup fee, and that is clear on signup.

MikeSkyrme

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#614312 24-Apr-2012 13:40

My opinion, for what it is worth:

Filling / refilling of pressure vessels should only be done by people trained to do it. Filling a soda stream bottle has the same potential for catastrophic failure as filling a fire extinguisher, a SCUBA tank or even the bbq LPG bottle.

By all means, find a cheaper supplier of CO2, but don't try it yourself unless you have been trained.

Also, check if the bottles have an expiry date, you should not be using them if they have expired.

Michael Skyrme - Instrumentation & Controls

timmmay

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#614327 24-Apr-2012 14:10

Good points Mike. If I was going to do it I'd want to make sure it's all done properly, and that I understood the process.

Hunting and Fishing in Lower Hutt refill paintball guns and said they'd be happy to refill soda stream cartridges if I supply the adapter. I guess i'll buy one online and take it in for a test run some time :)

The cost is around $10 for the size that paintball people use, which is only a $2-4 savings over the official refills, for about $1 worth of gas. The upside is you get to keep your own canisters, mine are brand new. The downside is driving to the Hutt will cost more in petrol than what I'd save.

Dulouz

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#614333 24-Apr-2012 14:24

and once every 3 months get a dud gas bottle, its sealed but empty or has faulty valve. I have had big arguments in store where they think I'm trying to rip them off over the gas bottles, so the last time it happened I just gave up.

This has also happened to me!!, although I got a replacement pretty easily.

Amanon

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#614540 24-Apr-2012 20:28

IlDuce: I got right into Soda Stream 2 years ago. The only sucky thing in NZ is the 3 "best" flavours are not available here (but in all other English speaking countries), which is Pete's Choice (Dr Pepper clone), Fountain Mist (Mountain Dew clone), Cherry Cola.

Harvey Norman run a loyalty scheme, buy 8 flavours or get 8 refills and 9th is free.

The only issue to watch out for, and its happened many times to me (so much so I have given up on Soda Stream for the time being) - Is frequently I get dum dums try to exchange my empties for other empties, and once every 3 months get a dud gas bottle, its sealed but empty or has faulty valve. I have had big arguments in store where they think I'm trying to rip them off over the gas bottles, so the last time it happened I just gave up.

I did not know about that scheme at HN - thanks for the tip! (I usually get from Countdown or Noels).

Another tip is that The Warehouse stocks a flavour called "Xtreme" which I haven't seen anywhere else, and kind of resembles Red Bull.

jdbob

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Geek

#617557 30-Apr-2012 18:32

IlDuce: I got right into Soda Stream 2 years ago. The only sucky thing in NZ is the 3 "best" flavours are not available here (but in all other English speaking countries), which is Pete's Choice (Dr Pepper clone), Fountain Mist (Mountain Dew clone), Cherry Cola.

Here in the states they renamed Pete's Choice to "Dr. Pete" about a year ago. I like Mountain Dew but Fountain Mist seemed a rather poor imitation. Took a look at their NZ site just to see what they had. Wasn't surprised that they didn't have Root Beer, that seems to be pretty much a yank thing.

monolly

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Wannabe Geek

#619826 4-May-2012 21:25

I wanted to do the same thing (fill my own bottles). I work with compressed gas cylinders at work, so I'm familiar with the safety issues, but after some research, it seems like too much hassle. You need a source bottle filled with liquid CO2, either upside down or with a syphon tube to transfer the liquid (not gaseous) CO2. The ones at work do not have a syphon and are too large to easily tip upside down! The sodastream cylinder should be chilled in the freezer beforehand to maximize liquid CO2 transfer and you fill based on weight (empty/full weights should be stamped on cylinder adapter - mine says tare 1.14 kg, gross 1.41 kg) and not pressure. To do this, you need the correct adapter. This might be suitable...

http://www.brewshop.co.nz/sodastream-adapter.html

...but is designed to let CO2 out of the cylinder, not sure if it allows CO2 back in? I've read that the valve is tricky.

Another option (that seems more desirable to me and I might try) is to buy a 2 kg bottle...

http://www.ezitools.co.nz/index.php?route=product/product&path=44&product_id=126

... (or sometimes on Trademe) find a CO2 supplier (not sure about this in Auckland yet) and get this (adapter at bottom of page)...

http://www.kegking.com.au/gasbottlesandregulators.html

Not sure if this site posts to NZ, but worth a try.

Good luck - if I get around to this, I'll let you know how it goes.

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