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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
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    Tahoe-ish
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    PSA: Carbonate your own fucking water

    Over in Sprockets we drifted into a discussion about fizzy water, so I thought I'd put this info out there for mags (or mags' partners) who might benefit. A year or so ago I set this up for my GF, and it's been going strong since then.

    You need to buy a few things, either from Bezos or from your local beer brewing supply house.

    C02 regulator & hose with quick connect. We typically set it to about 40-50psi on the water bottle side. Higher pressure doesn't seem to accomplish anything.

    https://smile.amazon.com/FERRODAY-Re...0-a2ffae3a273c

    https://smile.amazon.com/Weekend-Bre...FE7PX2CRPYBV2B

    Bottle cap adapter thing, which will fit nearly any water bottle. We get bottles from the recycling bin, since we don't buy plastic bottles unless absolutely necessary. The 1 & 2L ones originally intended for carbonated beverages work best, but regular ones will work too--but they will balloon alarmingly.

    https://smile.amazon.com/Stainless-C...2PHP6TX2CHZ34J

    CO2 bottle in whatever size you like. I bought a 10# one from my local welding shop, and it was about $70. Refills are about $20 IIRC, but we're not even halfway through the first bottle. GF makes 1-2L per day of very fizzy water.

    https://www.amazon.com/10lb-Aluminum...645904&sr=8-13

    Ms climberevan brags relentlessly to her friends about her awesome unlimited supply of fizzy water. She loves that she can make it eXXXtra fizzy, and can put whatever flavor she wants in the bottles. It will also carbonate any other liquid you put in there (white wine works pretty well).

    The liquid must be pre-chilled or it won't hold the CO2, so we keep a few bottles ready in the fridge. Carbonating 1L takes about 10s of shaking it while it's hooked up to the hose. I looked into making an on-tap dispenser, but the only way to reasonably do it for home use was to fill a pony keg with water and keep it in a dedicated refrigerator, which wasn't acceptable to us for ecological reasons.

    Say goodbye to endless aluminum cans of LaCroix or to proprietary bottles & refills from SodaStream.

    Happy carbonating!

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    ride bikes, climb, ski, travel, cook, work to fund former, repeat.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2018
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    6,643
    But whatever you do, do not make coconut flavor unless RideIt is coming to visit.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Eugenio Oregón
    Posts
    8,381
    Are you thinking paintball shop for CO2 refills?
    _______________________________________________
    "Strapping myself to a sitski built with 30lb of metal and fibreglass then trying to water ski in it sounds like a stupid idea to me.

    I'll be there."
    ... Andy Campbell

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Tahoe-ish
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    Paintball places could probably do it, but I believe they mostly deal in smaller bottles and may not have the fittings for the larger ones, and I don't know if they do exchanges. Welding shops are plentiful and will swap out your bottle in minutes.
    ride bikes, climb, ski, travel, cook, work to fund former, repeat.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    So. VT
    Posts
    2,829
    Timely post.

    I used to do soda stream, but refill around here is a PITA.

    I go through at least a liter per day, time to cut back on the bottles.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Posts
    608
    As a home brewer (beer and cider), I buy my CO2 from the brew shops in the 5-20lbs sizes. Easy to refill or exchange around here. If you don’t have a leak in your system, you can make about 100 gallons with a 20 lb tank.

    Different for folks that haven’t invested in that infrastructure obviously... I have so many used 5 gal ball lock Corny kegs I’ve lost track.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Down In A Hole, Up in the Sky
    Posts
    35,358
    Hate to say it, but the coconut ‘syrups’ that you add to home brew are fucking gross.
    Forum Cross Pollinator, gratuitously strident

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    Vermont
    Posts
    1,483
    FKNA. Thanks. Sucks these days trying to track down new cartridges. Been getting mine at bed Bath and beyond with the $5 off $15 coupons so an exchange cylinder was $10. Just used my last coupon and they stopped sending them. Time to order parts.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Treading Water
    Posts
    6,683
    So, you have to stand there shaking the bottle while you inject CO2? Isn't there some kind of hose/wand thingy to stick down in the water like SodaStream does? Or maybe just invert the bottle?
    However many are in a shit ton.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2018
    Posts
    6,643
    Quote Originally Posted by rideit View Post
    Hate to say it, but the coconut ‘syrups’ that you add to home brew are fucking gross.
    I’m not going to make a joke here because it’s just to easy and I have standards.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Tahoe-ish
    Posts
    3,141
    Quote Originally Posted by jm2e View Post
    So, you have to stand there shaking the bottle while you inject CO2? Isn't there some kind of hose/wand thingy to stick down in the water like SodaStream does? Or maybe just invert the bottle?
    No wand thing. The CO2 just pressurises the bottle and the shaking makes it dissolve into the water faster. It takes about 10 seconds. She's never had the patience necessary to just let it sit, but I suspect it would eventually work.

    It's a little like this:

    https://youtu.be/hF4OlKKrFfI
    ride bikes, climb, ski, travel, cook, work to fund former, repeat.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Central OR
    Posts
    5,963
    We’ve been Sodastreaming for years, making our own diet tonic from syrups. But Covid has severely disrupted the supply chain; syrup is impossible to find. Now I have to haul flats of liquid tonic from the liquor store like a fucking prole.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Seattle, WA
    Posts
    469
    Super timely thread... I finally know what I'm getting my wife for Christmas. Thanks for spelling it all out.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
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    Tahoe-ish
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    Quote Originally Posted by FJ62 View Post
    Super timely thread... I finally know what I'm getting my wife for Christmas. Thanks for spelling it all out.
    Awesome! If it can prevent the waste of some plastic and aluminum I'm really happy.

    Now I have to figure out what to get my GF this year. It will be hard to top the fizzy water...
    ride bikes, climb, ski, travel, cook, work to fund former, repeat.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    seattle
    Posts
    742
    We do shrubs from a Bellingham based company called Shrub Farm. Ounce or so of concentrate in a glass of sparkling water and has a fruity kombucha kinda flavor. We love em.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Posts
    207
    Here's my setup for bubbly:
    Basically a kegorator, but have a pressure reducing tap since we're running 50psi.

    Make our own syrups, ginger, tonic, etc.

    Sent from my F1 using Tapatalk

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Seattle, WA
    Posts
    469
    I went from hero to zero pretty fast with this purchase. Can someone walk this CO2 jong through the process? Got all the parts, exactly as linked, got the tank, but I can't figure out the right order on the dials. I can get pressure to my 2l bottle (cold) and feel the pressure on the bottle, but the minute I pull the bottle cap thing it all goes flat. Am I pressuring it too slowly? I feel like I'm shaking more than 10x and to no avail. Help before the wife makes me go to Safeway for more LaCroixs!

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Portlandia
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    2,723
    Quote Originally Posted by climberevan View Post
    Paintball places could probably do it, but I believe they mostly deal in smaller bottles and may not have the fittings for the larger ones, and I don't know if they do exchanges. Welding shops are plentiful and will swap out your bottle in minutes.
    FWIW paintball fields are increasingly moving away from Co2 to compressed air. Compressed air used to be kind of exclusive to the higher end of the sport but there are many options that are suitable for rental equipment, they pretty much have to have it for regular players, and in the end it's cheaper to build a bulk system off a compressor than to deal with a distributor for Co2. Not to mention ease of fill and a superior customer experience.
    Training for Alpental

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Tahoe-ish
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    3,141
    Quote Originally Posted by FJ62 View Post
    I went from hero to zero pretty fast with this purchase. Can someone walk this CO2 jong through the process? Got all the parts, exactly as linked, got the tank, but I can't figure out the right order on the dials. I can get pressure to my 2l bottle (cold) and feel the pressure on the bottle, but the minute I pull the bottle cap thing it all goes flat. Am I pressuring it too slowly? I feel like I'm shaking more than 10x and to no avail. Help before the wife makes me go to Safeway for more LaCroixs!
    Your bottles should be about 80-90% filled. Some air space seems to help. They MUST also be cold-not cold from the tap, COLD from the fridge.

    After you put the special cap on the bottle and connect the hose, you open the big tank valve. Then you open the little valve to the hose. Pressure should go into the bottle.

    One dial gauge is for the CO2 bottle, and should read 500+psi. The other gauge measures the outlet to your water, and we like around 40 psi. The outlet pressure is adjusted by the bigger knob with the + and -. It has a lockring that must be loosened to change it. The pressure will be a little all over the place, but it's not really critical.

    It takes maybe 10-20 secs of vigorous shaking for a 1L bottle. Dancing helps, and you'll have more success if you film it and post here. Or, in true TGR fashion, photograph your wife while she does it in the nude.

    After that, you close the valves and remove the hose (the quick connector will also cut off the flow, so NBD if you don't close the valves). Then you should have your bubbly water!

    Don't forget to close the tank valve each day bc even an imperceptible leak will drain it.
    ride bikes, climb, ski, travel, cook, work to fund former, repeat.

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Treading Water
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    6,683
    Quote Originally Posted by durangobrad View Post
    Here's my setup for bubbly:
    Basically a kegorator, but have a pressure reducing tap since we're running 50psi.

    Make our own syrups, ginger, tonic, etc.

    Sent from my F1 using Tapatalk
    I don’t get it. What’s in the keg? Water?


    Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums
    However many are in a shit ton.

  21. #21
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Posts
    1,064
    For those with sodastreams already, there is an easier way to do this. Get a 20# co2 tank from either a welding store or a hydroponics grow store (the gardening centers catering to weed growers are ideal). Then get one of these adapter kits. It'll screw into your 20# tank and the sodastream. You'll have some initial expense, but once you're over that hump fizzy water is effectively free. I can swap 20# tanks at the hydroponics shop for $12 apiece, and a tank lasts us 6-9 months of 1-2L of fizzy water per day, give or take.

  22. #22
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Central OR
    Posts
    5,963
    I didn’t know that existed. ^^^

    Thanks! Now if only I could find tonic syrup; it’s been pretty rare all year.

  23. #23
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Posts
    1,064
    Quote Originally Posted by Flyoverland Captive View Post
    I didn’t know that existed. ^^^

    Thanks! Now if only I could find tonic syrup; it’s been pretty rare all year.
    I'm not big on making the rich richer, but there is internet for that.

  24. #24
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Posts
    207
    Quote Originally Posted by jm2e View Post
    I don’t get it. What’s in the keg? Water?


    Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums
    Yes.

    Sent from my F1 using Tapatalk

  25. #25
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    WV
    Posts
    1,782
    Always carbonated corny kegs by pressurizing them by cranking up the pressure to 50lbs or so, and laying the keg on its side and rolling it back and forth with my feet while watching tv, computing etc.... tried to agitate for at least half hour and remember to turn psi down to 8lbs I wish I could justify a dedicated fridge,

    Is here a soda making thread, been trying to brew a good NA Ginger beer via ginger bug.
    It’s the places you ride that are special, not you riding there.”

    All stunts performed without a net!

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