Home Carbonation System...Cheap, Healthy, and Green.

The cost to convert water to soda water is less than $0.04 per 2-liter bottle,
and a single fill of a 20lb tank will charge over 500 bottles!

Here's a quick demo of how it works...

For those looking for the "Cilffs Notes" summary of how this works: Take a 20lb CO2 Tank and regulator, attach a tube, and stick a 99 cent locking ball air chuck (tire inflator) on the end of the tube. Pop a cheap snap-in tire valve (schrader valve) into a plastic soda bottle cap and you're ready to carbonate any liquid in about 30 seconds. Colder liquids absorb more CO2 carbonation.

If you're intrigued, explore the steps on subsequent pages for more details...

As far as a "soda substitute," you can easily add a splash of orange, cranberry, or other fruit juice, a twist of lemon or lime, alcoholic mixed drinks, commercial or homemade soda syrups,or whatever you like...Our family drinks a ton of sparkling water; as kids, we always preferred it to regular tap water, and it's much healthier than soda.

I've recently taken to flavoring my soda water with lemon juice; I freeze a bunch of ice cubes of freshly juiced lemons, then take out and zap a cube for 15 sec. in the microwave to throw in my drink...Really tasty, low calorie, and no added sugar...

I've also experimented, with amusing success, at carbonating cheap wines (read: Charles "Two Buck Chuck" Shaw from Trader Joe's) to make dirt cheap champagne...Just make sure the bottle is chilled first.

I had been toying with the idea of buying a home carbonator, but I was leery of the idea of being locked into a proprietary, closed system of buying expensive refill cartridges from a retail manufacturer like Sodastream...

I knew there had to be a better way. After all, this is just mixing CO2 and water.

In my research, I came across an incredibly detailed essay on carbonation by Richard Kinch, without which I could not have completed the project...I highly suggest reading over his opus before embarking on your own carbonation exploration.

http://www.truetex.com/carbonation.htm

All of this can be done for around $100, plus the deposit on a CO2 tank...

Given that the cost of a 2-liter bottle of sparkling water is now over $1 (California just doubled their CRV surcharges), and based on the volume of water that we drink, it's a no-brainer. Plus, there's the feeling of liberation of being able to drink as much sparkling water as you want (much like digital photography vs. wasting actual film).

I'm not an EnviroNut, but since we're all apparently supposed to pitch in and make a last-ditch effort to save the planet, these facts on the effects of plastic water bottles on the environment were of interest:

- Approximately 1.5 million barrels of oil - enough to run 100,000 cars for a whole year - are used to make plastic water bottles, while transporting these bottles to markets burns even more oil.

- According to a 2001 report of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), roughly 1.5 million tons of plastic are expended in the bottling of 89 billion liters of water each year.

- The growth in bottled water production has increased water extraction in areas near bottling plants, leading to water shortages that affect nearby consumers and farmers. In addition to the millions of gallons of water used in the plastic-making process, two gallons of water are wasted in the purification process for every gallon that goes into the bottles.

- Nearly 90 percent of water bottles are not recycled and wind up in landfills where it takes thousands of years for the plastic to decompose.

Personally, it's really just nice not to have to lug a bunch of 2-liters home from the market anymore, carry them all in, and find places to store them. (I'm sure she'll find other chores for me to do soon enough...)

Enjoy!


- Ben


Alternatively...

If money is no object, and/or the carbonation system is under consideration for use by elderly / disabled (or simply lazy) individuals, there IS another option that doesn't involve shaking the bottles yourself...

- Purchase a Sodastream (from Bed, Bath, and Beyond with a 20% off coupon, or somewhere even beyond-er), procure a Co2 tank as described above, and purchase a Freedom One (or Freedom One+ system) from Co2Doctor.com to connect the Sodastream with the larger Co2 tank.  (choose the CGAWG or CGA option if you're on their order page.)  While the initial investment in the supplies is not quite as cheap (about an extra $200), and it's not quite as DIY, I recently set up both sets of my grandparents with this system, and they absolutely love it.

Step 1: Procuring your Precious Parts...

(see pictures below for the product labels, etc.)

- CO2 regulator, available from BeverageFactory.com, Kegworks.com, Amazon, or eBay (likely the cheapest way to go, but make sure you know what you're getting...)

- CO2 Tank; either ask to put a deposit on a 20lb CO2 tank for around $100 at a local beverage supply, bar supply, restaurant supply, soft drink, or beer distributor in your area, OR buy your own...Since you won't get your original tank back if you swap it out for a full tank, I'd recommend purchasing a reconditioned cylinder from Amazon.com or eBay.  Regardless of whether you end up buying or putting a deposit on a tank, you can swap out empty tanks for about $15-25. To find a supplier, first check here for the nearest Airgas supplier (a popular, nationwide chain).  They're the easiest way to go, possibly a tad higher prices than other places for a co2 tank swap.  Otherwise, call around, search google maps for beverage supply, welding supply, home brewery supply, or be creative; Barmade, the bar products company that I found in Los Angeles was very helpful...When I moved, I switched to swapping my empties out with Airgas.

- Locking Ball Chuck, either available at Harbor Freight or Monkey Grip part #M8871, available online or in stores at Kragen Auto Parts...in testing, users have said that the Kragen/PartsAmerica locking ball chuck wasn't as sturdy as the Harbor Freight chuck...and it's also an excuse to visit the tool mecca of Harbor Freight.  (Your mileage may vary.)

- Monkey Grip Rubberized Snap-In Tire Valve part #M4130, available online or in stores at Kragen Auto Parts...

Note:
After completing this instructable, I happened across an attachment for a screw-cap bottle that's not quite as DIY, but slightly more elegant (and slightly more expensive) than the tire valve solution...I haven't tested this option at all, but I'd assume it would work as an alternative...

Also, if you're concerned with the rubber snap-in valve leaching into the seltzer water, this may be a good option for you.  Based on my research, I have been replacing/swapping out the rubber snap-in valve caps much sooner than they would theoretically start to deteriorate, so it hasn't been a concern of mine over the past 5 years.  As a third option, they also make screw-on, stainless-steel-based tire valves, which would result in less rubber contacting the water.  I haven't tried these yet...if you end up using the stainless steel ones, drop me a line and let me know how it went !

$15 Screw-On carbonator cap from with ball-lock fitting MoreBeer.com

$5.49 Ball-Lock fitting for braided hose from MoreBeer.com

Stainless Steel Tire Valves

- 1/4" Threaded Full-Port Ball Valve (inline shut-off valve), available at Home Depot...The part number is 107-701HC; the SKU on the bar code appears to be 32888 07701...

- 10 foot roll of braided vinyl tubing, 1/4" internal diameter, available at Home Depot...The external diameter of this tubing is 1/2"...

- (3) hose barb adapters, 1/4" barb x 1/4" MIP, available at Home Depot...This part is a "Watts A-192" or "A-192/225." Do not get the "192B"...

- (4) 9/16" hose clamps, available at Home Depot...I found these in a package of 10, with a listed "range" of 1/4 to 5/8.

- (3) 3/4" plastic pipe clamps, available at Home Depot...

- roll of 1/2" teflon tape...

- a 2 liter bottle and cap.

Comments

[waltbosz]

I really recommend for anyone that wants to do this Instructable to spend the extra money to get the Carbonator Cap that is mentioned. I started with the tire stem and I found it to have a number of problems. 1. The chuck did not secure onto the valve stem very well which resulted in a lot of wasted CO2. 2. The stem left a bad rubber taste to the water. 3. The carbonator cap and ball lock really do lock together well for a good secure fit which is important while shaking the bottle to mix up the water & CO2.

Other than that, this is a great Instructable. I love being able to make seltzer at home. I was able to get a 20lb CO2 tank, regulator, hoses, and 2 beer taps for $150 off CraigsList.

[pcooper2]

The Carbonater cap from Liquid Bread, Inc. has apparently been redesigned so that the ball-lock connector can no longer be locked in place.  All one can do is press the connector onto the Carbonater cap for a short burst of CO2, whereupon one is to shake the bottle and repeat the process 5-7 times.

[waltbosz]

Also, I've been thinking of upgrading my setup to use an industrial carbonator like the ones used in restaurant soda fountains. This Instructable shows you how to set one up http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Install-a-soda-fountain/ , or you can visit that author's original web page http://www.boneville.net/soda/start.htm

[frkdante]

Anyone know if there is a thing as CO2 pills? Sort of like seltzer tablets? If so, one would be able to drop a few in a water bottle.

[pcooper2]

Chunks of dry ice will work, but it's relatively expensive, and if you drop it into a PET soda bottle and tighten the cap, you have little control over the peak pressure. The results would be bad for your health and others around you if the bottle should burst. Moreover, dry ice is very cold and will result in severe frostbite injury unless handled with tongs. It's much safer to work with a regulated gas supply from a cylinder.

[lukeyj15]

Dry ice?

[urbanpirate]

you could use a tiny bit of yeast in a sealed bottle but be very careful, unattended for long enough and it WILL explode

[snowluck2345]

are standard welding gas cylinders food safe and do they contain food safe co2?

[pcooper2]

Carbon dioxide gas is carbon dioxide gas. It all comes from the same place, whether it's used for welding, paintball guns or pressurizing a soda system

[razldazl15]

I just cam across "BOB’S ENDLESS SELTZER SYSTEM" http://www.gravikord.com/seltzer.html ; from the picture it looks like a soda syphon connected to a CO2 tank. Has anyone tried some similar setup? This would negate the whole plastic bottle use and maybe even some of the shacking.

[pcooper2]

The Bob's Endless Seltzer System page is a bit skimpy on details. It appears to use a large external stainless steel keg as a water reservoir, pressurized with a regulated CO2 source, to force carbonated water through a cold plate mounted in the refrigerator via some tubing that passes through a hole one must drill into the refrigerator wall. That means the keg needs to be periodically refilled with filtered water and one would need to wait 24-48 hours for gas to diffuse into the water before it's ready to use. Something the size and weight of a stainless steel beer keg filled with water is almost certainly too heavy to pick up and shake to accelerate gas absorption. It's not clear if the siphon bottle needs to be continuously left connected to the hose in the refrigerator, or if one can disconnect it to carry it to the table and elsewhere. The current price for the siphon bottle is about $166, and they say one can assemble the complete system for about $400, depending on where one gets the parts. This Instructables project comes in quite a bit cheaper.

[whayden]

I've copied this set up and it works pretty well. My questions is why we need to shake the water bottle, whereas the Penguin or Soda Stream just squirts the gas in?

The shaking is a pain in the butt. How do we get our system to work (shake free) like theirs?

[pcooper2]

Shaking the bottle vastly increases the area of contact between the gas and the liquid, accelerating the absorption of CO2 into the water.

If you have a secure, leak-free connection to the CO2 supply, all you need to do is pressurize the empty space above the liquid to 60 psi, or so, and the patience to wait 24-48 hours.  The gas will diffuse into the liquid without shaking until a saturated solution is produced.  It's the exact reverse of uncapping a soda and leaving it on your counter at ambient pressure, allowing the CO2 to come out of solution and dissipate in the air.

[Spokehedz]

Their system wastes gas by injecting it into the water, which mixes the gas and water so that the gas can mix into the water. But, since such a small amount of gas has any chance to mix with the water (it's in the water for milliseconds, then it bubbles out the top) you have to press the button over and over again until enough gas has been mixed into the liquid... which wastes gas.

This system does not waste any gas, because it is a closed system. You shake the bottle to get the gas to mix with the water. That's why you have to shake it. If you don't like shaking it, then by all means buy the more expensive products that do all the hard work for you. I won't, but you can do whatever you want.

I suppose in THEORY that if you had a long tube put from the bottom of the inlet valve that had a very small air bubbler from a aquarium store you COULD get away from not shaking so much, but you would have to inject the gas, open the lid, and inject more gas until you had the right pressure--but you would still be wasting gas and the major point of this entire Instructable is that by doing a little bit of work you can save huge amounts of money

It is also slightly more dangerous (although, not much more dangerous than brewing beer at home which many people do) because there is no valve to release the pressure from the bottle except for the cap. However, this is a minimal risk, as soda bottles have to be tested to some crazy high number like 150PSI without exploding because people leave bottles in the backs of cars all the time.

[whayden]

(removed by author or community request)

[asteadman]

Great Instructable!

I built this exactly as written. Had a couple issues with product numbers, but got enough info to get the right parts.

Had friends over and got to impress their kids buy making "Coke" from scratch. Too much fun!

One question... Once in the glass, the cola loses fizz VERY fast. 5 minutes maybe? Any idea what I'm doing wrong? I do live in Montana. Could elevation be an issue?

Thanks again for posting. Fun weekend project while waiting for my cider to harden. :)

[asteadman]

Forgot to mention that I DID use the pre-fab cap from your link. Seems to work well, but it does leak under pressure. Anybody else experience this?

[bearing1]

Well Done
Great to see someone making their own seltzer and not using the store bought and chintzy method. I have been doing it for years. Only I have been refilling the old antique bottles from the 20's and 30's. Almost the same method but use a 35 PSI pump to fill the bottles with water, invert them bleed out the air usually it takes to times to fill the bottle. I use chilled water when filling then pressure with the C02. I normally shake while injecting the CO2 for more fizz. This puts to use my old and wonderful bottles. Now they are not just to look at but use on a regular basis. The water will stay "charged" indefinetly as it is sealed and the C02 is the propellant and shoots the water out when pressing the lever. 

[breitung1]

Nice instructable. I've basically done the same thing using a lot of your method. The RUBBER based stem, however, degrades in the CO2 atmosphere making the water taste like rubber.

I solved this by moving to METAL based stems - I found bent ones used for motorcycles to help the bottles fit in my fridge. Instead of 2L, I use 3L because the caps are larger and allow the fitting of the metal stem into the cap.

Rather than using a rubber gasket, i was careful to not tear the thin polymer film that's on the underside of every soda bottle. Usually available for about $1/bottle if you buy one with store brand orange soda. Using stainless steel washers and a nut to press the thin film against the underside of the plastic of the cap, i easily got a good seal.

I've been using the same bottles for at least 3 years - it's probably time to switch, but it's a great system.

Also - the metal fittings will allow for the insertion of a tube that can go to near the bottom of the bottle so you don't have to shake!

[ameno6]

So, how do the bubbles compare with store-bought fizzy water?

[letsapocalypso]

MUCH more bubbly...(Like at least 1.5 - 2x as carbonated)...Which also means that it lasts longer in the bottle before it goes flat!

[timbooth]

Regarding the questions below on shaking by us compared with injecting by Soda stream.
I hold my bottles upsidedown whilst bubbling the gas in, thereby causing the gas to pass through the water, this reduces, but does not eliminate the shaking requirement.

[Eddie_T]

Since we have to shake vigorously to carbonate I wonder how Sodastream accomplishes it without shaking?

[llathrop]

http://stores.kegconnection.com/Detail.bok?no=245
everything but the co2 tank, in an assembled kit, including carbonator cap for less than the cost of parts everywhere else...and they shipped quick! they also have a kit with the tank.I happened to check these guys for the regulator as they were local to me, but it turns out they moved a few cities away. still the best price I found .

[mugsisme]

Well, started gathering the supplies, bought a chuck at Pep Boys, opened it up and see that it says to wash your hands after touching it as according to the state of CA, it contains materials known to cause cancer, etc. Are they all like that?

[stevenh429]

What exactly is a "plastic pipe clamp"?

I am going to make this soon

[stevenh429]

oh sorry, i was on a computer with out those picture notes :O, now i get it

[joe.seltzer]

I love the idea of this and I actually am in the process of setting it up, but I would love to use bottles other than plastic 2 litter bottles. Those are the worst kind of plastic and using them over and over again doesn't sound very good and buying fresh ones all the time seems to defeat the purpose. Has anyone found glass or aluminum bottles that work with this system?

J

[screamkitty]

You can get a generic dual-gauge CO2 regulator for $42 at SodaDispenserDepot.com.

You could also buy a used carbonator for $150

..And, you can add the final touch with a used soda gun for ~ $75 - $85

[beehard44]

do you think this'll work with a co2 air duster?
because i still need to travel just to get a small, expensive can of co2 but i can easily buy an air duster for $4

[bwpatton1]

Most ''canned air products'' contain refrigerant R134a (Tetrafluoroethane, same stuff used in car air conditioning). Which is inherently bad for ingestion! Try a Paintball Co2 cylinder with some type of regulator apparatus.

[surfzombie]

NO Do not use an air duster. most of them have an additive put in them to keep durggoes fromo huffing the stuff but, You could use a paintball tank setup such as this one or cobble together your own. See link

http://stores.kegconnection.com/Categories.bok?category=*Soda%2C+Soft+Drink%3ASoda+Kits%2C+Carbonating

[beehard44]

i made some calculations and a 250mL can of co2 can yield 150 bottles approx, when compared to the 500 bottle capacity of a 20lb co2 cylinder (and that the stuff in the cylinder is liquid)
any ideas? anyone?

[snowluck2345]

that sounds wrong, i realy don't feel like doing calculations, schools out and i'm done with ap chem, no more. but based on the volume of a 20lb cylinder and assuming they both contain liquids, a co2 tank is much bigger than 4 times the volume. also, the critical point of co2 is at around 80 farenhite, welding tanks regularly go over that, so they switch between being super critical fluids and normal liquids, based on the tempature, and turn into gases once they get low on pressure. Welding tanks are up to 3000psi.

[gromit1943]

Can an ordinary pop bottle safely withstand 50 psig?

I wonder what pressure a bottle of Coke, say, is at when opened.

--Terry

[Eurober]

!00% of the bottles can stand well over 100psi, the reason for this is that Coca-Cola does not wish bad press and the expenses associated if a Coke bottle left it in the sun in the car while shopping would explode. The dissolved gas in a warm liquid is rather small (Henry's law), therefore the pressure increases to over 100PSI and the bottle has to hold. I read somewhere that 90% of the bottles can stand 150PSI.

[rloomis]

Is there risk to having the water in plastic containers in terms of pollutants?
http://www.livestrong.com/article/131237-dangers-plastic-containers/


Just curious. I really like the idea of carbonation my water.

[gromit1943]

Thank you for your reply. I stand reassured.

--Terry

[clibanarius]

Yes, we had our first glass of home-made seltzer tonight! I'd already had a 20oz paintball CO2 canister and a Gentec regulator (which I think is usually used for welding), so there were a number of different issues to solve. But so far so good! Still need to learn how to control the flow better with this setup.

[nitehawk86]

Also a 20lb tank is massivly overkill. I use 5lb tanks that are easy to get at any beer distributor. I serve with the gas as well as carbonate, so I am not sure how much carbonation I could get out of a single tank, however it is quite a bit.