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I love it, and for anyone else who does, I have a suggestion.
Get a SodaStream (or whatever your carbonator-of-choice is) and a cheap adapter to run it from a standard CO2 tank. Not only do you save money on CO2 refills, but you save money on buying cans of seltzer, too. The concentrated flavor additives are only a few dollars at the grocery store.
I think my SodaStream was something like $100. The adapter and hoses were $50-ish. The flavor syrup costs around $5 for enough to make gallons. Every few months or more, I might pay $50 or so to refill a 20lb CO2 tank. It's already paid for itself, and it's incredibly convenient.
You can skip the soda stream and use a cheap carbonator cap on standard plastic bottles and a ball lock connector on your gas line if you're willing to shake the bottle manually.
I've taken this setup a couple levels up over the last 5 years.
First level: kegerator and switch out the bottle for a keg, bonus points for using a diffusion stone in the keg to speed the absorption of CO2.
Second level: plumb the water line and use a continuous carbonator lid on the keg. Your gas pressure will need to be 10-15 psi (.7-1 bar) lower than the water pressure. Even a small 2.5gal (9.5L) keg makes for nearly infinite cold fizzy water at reasonable consumption rates.
Happy to make a parts list if anyone is interested.
I'm on this journey myself; lay out that parts list, my man
The list is going to be mostly USA specific
(I'll come back with links), but many of the fittings are from Kegland (Australia), so we get a blend of "freedom" units and metricWe'll start with level 1:
Tools: Depending on what exactly your goals are, you'll need
- a tubing cutter
- a faucet wrench
- a crescent wrench (for attaching the regulator nut. 11/8in nuts on the regulators in my possession)
- a cheap water pressure gauge (you can check on your hose bib outside).
I'll be specifying push-in fittings because they're so much nicer to use.
Kegerator: obviously not a hard requirement. You can build a "keezer" out of a chest freezer, or bore a hole in your fridge for the faucet, or even use a picnic tap on a keg in the fridge (but you'll also have to get your gas line in the fridge which means also putting the tank in there, or boring a hole for the line anyway)
CO2 tank: These come in 5, 10, and 20lb sizes commonly available at welding shops, and are almost universally swapped out instead of refilled (so don't get attached). Check your prices for a new tank on the internet before you go to the welding shop to buy one. They will likely overcharge you for the first tank (by a hundred dollars), but they'll like it if you bring them a shiny new one and might give you a discount. My 10lb tank lasts us about 6 months and I have a backup 5lb tank.
CO2 regulator: If you're planning on beer taps too, go for a dual regulator right away and save yourself the hassle (serving beer is low pressure vs high pressure for water). Try to find one with a threaded output ("flare") instead of a barbed output (or bonus points for having a push-in fitting already).
Keg: I use 2.5 or 5 gallon ball-lock cornelius (corny/soda) kegs
Gas and beer/water tubing: I use evabarrier only. All the fittings will be 8mm push-in (typically "duotight") so get a length of 8mm x 4mm for liquid, and 8mm x 5mm for gas. These are the conventions for beer, and I just followed them for water.
Fittings:
- 1x of the 1/4" x 8mm push-in fittings for the CO2 regulator
- 1x Gas ball lock (typically gray), 1x Liquid Ball lock (typically black). I'd go for a "flow control" liquid ball-lock fitting. They are just enough different to be incompatible, so make sure to get 1 of each.
- 1x 8mm x 6.5mm push-in reducer (for the tap faucet shank)
- 1 6.5mm (3/16") compatible faucet shank
- 1 beer faucet
- 1 novelty tap handle
- I always recommend a check valve on the CO2 line, but it isn't a hard requirement (until we plumb the water line in level 2).
- Optional: keg lid with diffusion stone (or buy the stone and attach it to your gas post to save a little, but you'll need matching hose and clamps.
Level 2: This assumes you have completed level 1 Additional tools: none!
I'm going to assume you have a standard angle stop (like your toilet) for your water line. And I'm going to assume your plumber was nice enough to attach a 3/8" (9.5mm) push-in fitting.
Tubing:
- 9.5mm evabarrier to connect to the output that we'll step down to our "standard" beer dispensing 8mm. I have about 4 inches of it before reducing
Fittings:
- 1x 9.5mm to 8mm push-in reducer
- 2x 8mm check valves for your gas and water lines (don't be backing up the system on either side!)
- 1x [liquid ball lock ](Liquid Ball lock)
- 1x inline push-in regulator if you don't know your water pressure and/or need to reduce it
- 1x continuous carbonator keg lid (you can move your diffusion stone to this cap)
Thanks for the info, I especially like the cheeky note about the novelty tap handle! I'm going to save this into my second brain for 2025 doings
You're welcome! It's a fun project and journey. Feel free to message if you have questions.
Holy shit, I need this
I replied to a different comment with the list!
Soda stream is on the BDS list. Buy second hand at best.
I just shake the water to carbonation using a stainless steel 2 gallon tank with a tap I keep in the fridge.
I use a squeeze of lime in my glass before adding the water and it's great!