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[biomancer]

Biomancer, you need a Penguin!

Oh wow!!  Not only is it santizable glass, but it's cool-looking!  And I can tie a little gold scarf around it for hockey season ;)

Now I have to go visit my sister-in-law, who lives a mile from a Williams-Sonoma.  Yes, I could just order on-line, but kitchen shops are WAY too much fun.

Thanks, Wegie!

[prof_smartypants]

OMG I need one of those NOW.

[vk_30]

I feel the same way: waste of energy to ship water around, and to make and recycle the plastic bottles.

I looked at home carbonation systems and decided that while they work - I've seen a soda club and one other brand, the cost per volume of water is higher than just using a home-brew setup - without the brewing stuff.

I went to my local beer/wine-making shop (morebeer, Concord, CA) and bought a cylinder of CO2, a regulator with upstream and downstream gauges, and a tubing assembly consisting of tubing, hose clamps, and a carbonator cap.  The cylinder is about 18" tall.

I've run about 200 18oz Crystal geyser bottles through it, and the cylinder pressure has dropped from about 850 to about 800.  Just guessing, I might end up getting 2000 bottles out of the cylinder.  Swapping cylinders is $17, though I haven't done so yet.

With regards to bottles, they still hold pressure, for perhaps a week, even the ones I've used the most - I put hash marks on them each time I pressurize.  I'm up to 15 cycles with some of the bottles.

A few comments: my procedure is to put bottles and caps in the freezer, empty, for a day, then fill them with reverse-osmosis water, then refrigerate them for 4-24 hours, then carbonate.

Carbonation is faster on colder water, hence the refrigeration, and freezing the bottles seems to kill anything living in them, so there's no tastes from mold - not doing the freezing thing, I found that after 3 or 4 cycles they sometimes pick up a taste after the bottle's been open to air for about 10 minutes, during drinking.

If I want sparkling water right away, I take an empty bottle from the freezer, will it with water from the refrigerator, and carbonate.

I wear safety glasses in the off chance there's a burst.

Lastly, I saved a few glass San Pellegrino bottles, but haven't had the guts to pressurize them - can't find any rating info.  If anyone knows the safe pressure for a 750mL bottle, let me know.

[biomancer]

I thought about going the home-brew-equipment route but decided that I didn't feel really good about bottles whose integrity I couldn't verify.  I bought a Penguin. Yes, it's more expensive than the home-rig, but it's got a warranty and the bottles are sturdy.  Mr. B uses it every day, and I've been enjoying homemade grapefruit soda for much less than it would cost to buy the seltzer, and certainly less than the one brand of grapefruit soda I can find would cost.

[trollhousecookie]

....
I've run about 200 18oz Crystal geyser bottles through it, and the cylinder pressure has dropped from about 850 to about 800.  Just guessing, I might end up getting 2000 bottles out of the cylinder.  Swapping cylinders is $17, though I haven't done so yet.

Don't be too disappointed if you get far less that the 2000 bottles.  Compressed CO2 at room temperature is largely in liquid phase with a gas head pressure of about 830-850 psi.  As you use it, more of the liquid converts to gas and the pressure is maintained.  When the pressure starts to drop (e.g to 800) it is usually an indication that all the liquid CO2 has been used up and only the compressed gas remains.  Once that happens the remaining gas gets used up pretty quickly.


Just sayin'



chipsahoy

[mock_turtle]

Biomancer, you need a Penguin!

Wegie, do you know a UK source for these?  It looks like W-S and other US retailers won't ship overseas.

[wegie]

A quick google around shows that sodastream no longer supply the type of gas cylinders for the Penguin in the UK, so no Penguins on sale :-(