Sodastream keg system

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Did you go ahead with this Roysy?

I'm looking to do similar and was wondering how long the Sodastream cylinders last?

I have not gone ahead yet as my plastic kegs are behaving themselves but will be doing so in the future
 
Quite a stash you've got there.

Cheaper to buy bulk. They last for a while uncrushed. Besides, I live in the middle of nowhere. No local HBS. The thought of running out. It keeps me awake at night! I'd show you my freezer, but the international hop police would come knocking on my door, accusing me of creating a global shortage in Simcoe leaf. I should probably start the world's most remote HBS?
 
My setup for a similar scenario consists of:
http://www.co2art.co.uk/collections...-to-use-with-standard-aquarium-co2-regulators
http://www.co2art.co.uk/collections.../products/single-gauge-co2-regulator-aquarium
But this regulator is fixed at 3.5 bar so you need a "secondary" such as:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Air-Regul...712?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item1c2ae10ea8
Getting a bit expensive now, but only half the price of that one mentioned earlier in the thread. And this one is very good looking (and a lot more accurate than the usual "welding" regulators). And yes you can attach a big cylinder of CO2 too.
Put it all together and you get:
http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=55154
Okay, this is a Midget Widget cylinder, but its the same adapter with the Australian/NZ Sodastream thread option. Which just happens to be the thread "Widgetworld" use on their cylinders.
 
I use a sodastream bottle to maintain serving pressure when I go out/away with a keg. It lasts ages, if you prime the keg and use the CO2 for serving only.

Can I ask where did you get that CO2 bottle from? It looks like the same shape as a SodaStream bottle but doesn't have the same design/branding. It looks more generic, like a Tesco-value version... Is it something like that, and if so where can you buy them? Thanks!
 
I've priced up the bits I think I need.
Malt Miller is £67 (Have asked Rob if the regulator is compatible with the sodastream adapter). Otherwise Brew UK do a starter kit which is £70. So it will have worked out a darn sight cheaper than the Hop & Grape one.
 
Can I ask where did you get that CO2 bottle from? It looks like the same shape as a SodaStream bottle but doesn't have the same design/branding. It looks more generic, like a Tesco-value version... Is it something like that, and if so where can you buy them? Thanks!

I got mine from a Norwegian DIY store. The brand is 'AGA'. Anything described as being for a soda stream should be fine, whether from Tescos, B&Q, etc. Regardless of the origin, the thread size is standardised :thumb:
 
Rob @ The Malt Miller believes the adapter should work with his regulator. He seems interested in the concept so we may well see him stocking the adapter in the future.

I will order the rest of the equipment next week so hopefully have a review/photos of the set up the weekend after.
 
Ok. Everything was received from The Malt Miller today. Massive thanks to Rob who included the sodastream adapter he had tested for free. Top man.

All the parts from The Malt Miller look to be great quality. The regulator is a serious chunk of brass and the tap looks great. I did, however, order far too much gas line.

Everything was assembled as per the King Keg video - https://youtu.be/B4x3FkpheLA

This is where I had a bit of an issue. The sodastream cylinder didn't seem to be connected. As per the video I wondered if the pin wasn't protruding enough. A
Unfortunately trying to unscrew the adapter from the regulator I'd found I'd done it too tight and my adjustable was about 2mm too small to unscrew. Balls.
I tried to see if I could encourage the pin from the bottle. This was when I realised that one of the spare o-rings had decided to join the o-ring inside the adapter. I popped this out and tried again.

Pssssss. The sweet sound of success.

I pumped the sanitiser through the tap and then added my priming sugar and racked the beer (see White IPA thread) then purged three times with 30psi of CO2. A final addition of 25psi to seal the keg and I tucked it up in the shed.

In conclusion, this is an excellent method for someone who doesn't have easy access to gas. I've no idea how much of the sodastream cylinder I've used, but hopefully it will last 5 brews.

I also thoroughly recommend The Malt Miller for the equipment and would have said that regardless of the freebie. The price of the regulator, especially, is much lower than I'd seen elsewhere.
 
Did you get the sodastream adapter from the mm or elsewhere as I couldn't see it on the site
 
Great thread! I've ordered a couple of used kegs and will go down this route.

By the way, how much gas line was too much?
 
Had a first go at dispensing yesterday and it didn't go very well. Having read up it seems I need to purge the headspace of CO2, then attach gas cylinder to serve somewhere I'm the region of 5-10psi. When I've finished serving for the night, add 15-20psi to ensure the keg is sealed. Seems like a lot of faffing if the contents aren't getting drunk in one sitting, so long-term I will buy a separate tap and some beer line to resolve the frothing. The next planned brew will be less carbonated so I might try force carbing too.
 
Tried to connect my SodaStream to the regulator today and it went disastrously wrong.

I couldn't get any gas to come out so had to keep unscrewing it and adjusting the pin half a turn at a time. When it did eventually engage, I couldn't get the gas to stop coming out - it was leaking out of the side of the connection on the sodastream side and I couldn't get it to tighten any more. What's more the bottle was getting colder and colder until you couldn't touch it without gloves.

I eventually got it unscrewed again with a little bit of gas left in the bottle, and had another go, this time just turning the screw a quarter at a time. Same story - once hissing, I couldn't tighten it any more, until all the gas had leaked out :-(

Is it a really narrow margin between screwed in enough to trigger the canister valve and being too pronounced to be able to seal properly?

I watched the video below and it looks so straight forward [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4x3FkpheLA[/ame]

I'll buy another canister, but my hopes aren't high of getting it working. The single O ring is in place, but once the gas starts, I can't seem to tighten it any more to stop it.

The only other thing different is that I'm not fully tightening with wrenches before the final screwing on as I have to dismantle it a put it back together so many times to adjust the pin.

Guess next time I'll adjust the pin a tiny amount each time before connecting it up.
 

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