On Oct 6, 3:09*pm, Calvin wrote:
RW wrote:
wrote in message
...
Calvin wrote:

I'm not mad and I don't want a Darwin Award. *There, that's set the
ground rules now to the question.

We have a Sodastream which is fantastic - provided we can get hold of
replacement CO2 cylinders
So, I'm exploring the possibility of .. getting hold of a more universal
CO2 cylinder
and somehow coupling it to the existing Sodastream mechanism.

Try down at the local brewing shop. They do pressurised kegs which
take a self sealing slim bottle of CO2. Check the fitting on one of
these.

You might also want to check the operating pressure of the machine
before any ill advised 'coupling'

Have a look at this lot....

http://www.teamonslaught.fsnet.co.uk/co2_info.htm

Thanks RW for that link. *There is a lot of info there and some leads
into other areas both for refilling and for alternative coupling.
From that and other sources it appears that, yes, refilling is an
option but that Sodastream go out of their way to make sure that the
cylinder is a pain to refill and is certainly not refillable on a
standard machine - they've even patented an anti-refilling valve! *As
far as I can see at the moment the refilling at home option would cost
maybe £40+ to set up and of course involve the hassle of refilling it
myself every couple of weeks, possibly more as it's hard to get a full
refill.
Coupling a more standard, larger cylinder seems like a cleaner option
in that a reasonably sized standard cylinder holds roughly 7 times
more CO2 than a Sodastream cylinder so it would only need attention a
couple of times a year. *There is a company in the USA offering to
make up a hose using a standard fitting at one end and the valve of a
Sodastream cylinder at the other but for a price - $170 plus shipping
etc. *So my next step is to explore that option in the UK, maybe as a
ready made hose if such exists or maybe as a bag of bits which I make
up myself.

To answer Dave's question: The cylinders are greyish, "35 litres" (of
fizzy water).

Once again, thanks everyone for your help and I'll get back here with
a followup when I've succeeded (or failed!).- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Hi Calvin

The CO2 page linked to is mine.

Might I suggest removing the brass valve from an EMPTY Sodastream
bottle and connecting that to a suitable pipe.

http://www.abdex.co.uk/html/products.html the valve neck thread is a
std bsp size 3/8" as I recall.

Cheers Alan