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Old 29-06-2016, 12:21   #1
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Sodastream Tips?

My nice crew, from the trip up here from the UK, left the boat with a gift of a Sodastream machine. And on top of that, they made a double recipe of Seaworthylass' superb homemade tonic

I've always had great luck with crew!

Now how to get the best from this machine. Maybe others can offer some tips. Here are my impressions so far:

1. I don't have a good feel for how many times you have to press the button to get the right amount of carbonation. I think I've been pressing it too many times which obviously greatly increases cost, but also makes the water somewhat acidic. I want strongly carbonated water, however.

2. Despite the apparently really well made product bottles, the product doesn't keep very well, so one liter of produced soda water does not equal one liter of usable soda water I think I need half-liter bottles, but I was not able so far to buy these separately.

3. Because of the wastage and large number of presses required to get a strong carbonation, I am not expecting to achieve the advertised economics. I'm not sure whether I will be willing to go to the yet further hassle of self-refilling of the tanks. HOWEVER, I'm not sure this is so terrible. That's because I can't seem to really get good soda water in cans anyway, AND it's a lot of lugging even if you do. Even if it's not cheaper than buying cans of stuff, it is definitely more efficient in terms of space taken up, lugging stuff to the boat, and the hassle of finding it. I probably wouldn't mind spending the cost of a couple of bottles of gin to have a couple of tanks of gas on board which gives me a whole summer's worth of soda water for cocktails -- problem solved for the whole summer.

4. I'm not using it for anything besides cocktails. We also drink a bit of Coca Cola -- something I never drink except at sea, but like to have there. I'm not sure we drink enough of it, for it to be worthwhile trying to make it, with the Sodastream.


Any thoughts or tips?
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Old 29-06-2016, 13:51   #2
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Re: Sodastream Tips?

Key tip: get the water cold before carbonating. This may be difficult on a boat. My use of a SodaStream at home has lead to a "workflow" of keeping the sodastream bottle in the fridge full of water at all times, and carbonating immediately before drinking.

If you decide to go with self-refilling, I've found the CO2 bottles and adapter from SodaMod | SodaStream CO2 Adapters for Cheap Tank Refills to be a good product. (No financial interest.)
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Old 29-06-2016, 14:04   #3
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Re: Sodastream Tips?

If you search around the web, you can find a number of people selling adapters that will allow you to use standard paintball CO2 cans with Sodastream.

These are very much worth the money. You can buy an adapter for under $20, and a paintball can for $15. But refilling a paintball can costs $3-5, replacing a Sodastream can costs $20-30.
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Old 29-06-2016, 14:58   #4
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Re: Sodastream Tips?

SodaStream has a pressure release valve.

Press it one long or a few short, but once you hear the whistling noise it can not add any more CO2, so it just vents it out the back and you waste CO2.

Hopefully you got a unit that can take the refillable 24 ounce paint ball bottles as they are the biggest and last the longest on a boat.

They are pretty sweeeeet boat kit.
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Old 13-08-2016, 16:05   #5
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Re: Sodastream Tips?

We love our Sodastream. I have several that I picked up for a few dollars at thrift stores. We had a bad experience with soda & beer cans on the boat. They started exploding and what a mess that was! No more cans for us.

Our local oxygen company has a Sodastream valve adapter so he fills my 130 liter tanks for $10 each. I have 10 tanks so this is plenty for an 8-12 month cruise. We use it to make Tonic and Coke Zero. I buy the Coke syrup from Sam's club. To make Coke products, I use a 5:1 ratio. I use the half liter bottles and keep them filled with water in the fridge. Cold water works much better than room temp water.
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Old 13-08-2016, 21:25   #6
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Re: Sodastream Tips?

Just refill with dry ice. Couple of vice grips will remove the top and then you simply use a funnel to fill with crushed ice until the cylinder is full. Screw the top back down and you have a full cartridge for a couple dollars. You'll find that it is much easier to find dry ice around the world than it is to find places willing to sell gas.
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Old 13-08-2016, 23:03   #7
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Re: Sodastream Tips?

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Originally Posted by UAEguy View Post
Just refill with dry ice. Couple of vice grips will remove the top and then you simply use a funnel to fill with crushed ice until the cylinder is full. Screw the top back down and you have a full cartridge for a couple dollars. You'll find that it is much easier to find dry ice around the world than it is to find places willing to sell gas.
While that conceptually would work, it'd need some sciencing to be safe. How much dry ice results in how high a pressure?

How much pressure can a CO2 canister safety contain? What torque do you need to fit the top in safely? What kind of sealant or lube?

Remember, the technical term for a container holding a gas at more pressure than it can sustain is "bomb".
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Old 14-08-2016, 07:27   #8
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Re: Sodastream Tips?

If you do the calculations, you'll find it is perfectly safe. In addition, the sodastream vessels have a pressure relief device on the cap. If there was an over pressure, the PRD would open and vent to atmosphere.

I have been filling my cylinders for several years via the dry ice method without any issue. There is plenty of data on the web showing how it is done and demonstrating that it is safe.

Filling your sodastream cylinders is very challenging once you leave Australia and you will eventually realize that the only method available is the dry ice approach since most major ports have a location that produces or sells dry ice for the fish packing industry.

Cost for dry ice varies depending on location and can be as cheap as $4US/kg to as expensive as $8US/kg.
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Old 14-08-2016, 16:22   #9
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Re: Sodastream Tips?

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If you do the calculations, you'll find it is perfectly safe. In addition, the sodastream vessels have a pressure relief device on the cap.
I'll grant that it can be done safely, but that doesn't mean it will always be done safely.

I think you fail to appreciate the capacity of the ignorant to do something egregiously stupid.

Pressure valves have a limited service life. They will need, at a minimum, to have their o-rings replaced, on a regular basis.

If you have experience working with SCUBA gear, I expect you know everything you need to know about working with pressurized tanks. If you don't, and you're thinking about doing this, do some study, first.
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Old 14-08-2016, 17:59   #10
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Re: Sodastream Tips?

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I'll grant that it can be done safely, but that doesn't mean it will always be done safely.
I think people that can sail around the world and navigate Indonesian waters can handle the arduous task of refilling a sodastream canister. If not, I'm sure this thread is meaningless.

But you are right, if it can be done incorrectly, someone will do it. I think it is called natural selection.
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Old 14-08-2016, 23:20   #11
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Re: Sodastream Tips?

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Pressure valves have a limited service life. They will need, at a minimum, to have their o-rings replaced, on a regular basis.
.
Also, the PRD on Sodastream is a simple burst disc, no o-rings or service required. If it ages, it fails on the safe side.
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