After careful review of my past eMails, we felt that a good time saver for everyone
would be if we set up this area for FAQ's (Frequently Asked Questions).
Questions are always coming in so this post will always be a work in progress.
Please check back often as it will constantly be updated as time permits.
These are edited questions and responses to customers regarding our products and their
use. Questions are prefaced with a Q: and answers with an A: and are all in RED.
While some questions may seem obvious or redundant, please remember that Soda-Club /
SodaStream has deliberately mystified the CO2 world with twisted half truths, paranoia,
and monopolistic statements. They want it to stay a mystery, we want it to be the
Customer's Choice! Always!
Q: What are the CO2 fill capacities for the Carbonator Tanks?
A: Refill capacities for Soda-Club / SodaStream
Carbonators are 14.5oz for the 60L (small skinny tank), and 33oz for the 110L (large
tank). However, you will never be able to fill 100% to those capacities due to physics and
CO2 properties. We have covered this quite extensively in our User
Support Forum in the Technical Support area. Please stop by and read the articles,
they will help you greatly. Paintball tank capacities are stamped on the cylinder,
typically 9, 20, or 24oz. Same rules apply.
The short answer is that the Carbonators are refilled by
WEIGHT/CAPACITY and not by PRESSURE. It's like trying to fill an 8oz glass with 9oz
of water, it just cannot be done. Except that in a Gas like CO@, it can be
compressed but only if you have multi-thousand dollar equipment. Typical refills are
60-80% of rated capacity. Realistically, it does not matter since YOU now control
where and when you refill and it's CHEAP!
Q: When using a donor cylinder I am clear on the need to fill slowly so the
"Soda Club" booby-trap valve does not shut down the process. What actually
happens, would I need to empty the 60L or 110L cylinder and start over or am I locked out.
Can I use the cylinder even if it is not full and the valve has tripped?
A: If the valve activates, then you just turn off the CO2 fill
supply valve, purge a little gas with the purge valve, then start slow filling again.
It's not a permanent activation, it's just an annoyance, but there's no need to
re-empty the tank.
Q: Is there something that you sell that allows me to refill the Soda-Club
Carbonators WITHOUT modifying the Carbonator or Installing a FreedomValve product, since
the license agreement says that we do NOT own them? If not, what's the next best
option WITHOUT modifying the carbonators?
A: Modifying the carbonator is NOT 100% necessary. The
Carbonator Valve can be replaced with our FreedomValve product only if the client wants to
avoid the hassles of Soda-Club's anti-refill trap in their Valve. As for licensing
violations, that is subject to your interpretation and personal conscience. We are
not going to advise you on either since it is an ethical dilemma to either follow the
letter of the license and be held hostage to a CO2 monopoly, or do what is necessary to
recoup the outrageous money being charged to force you into a monopoly.
We suggest you review our Product Selector and our Glossary of Terminology.
Ultimately, if you desire to be 100% compliant with their licensing, then you will need to
keep using them for refills since they allege that refilling by anyone else violates their
license. Now, if you were to purchase a carbonator from someone other than Soda-Club
(like eBay) and the licensing label was not on it, then you are not bound by any such
license since you never agreed to enter into such an arrangement with the third party
seller.
We realize this is complicated but no different than the government telling you what you
can and cannot do in your private bedroom. Ultimately, YOU make the choices.
Q: Are the Adapters and Refill products safe to use?
A: Don't worry, they are safe, as long as you READ and FOLLOW
the instructions for installation and use. Some of the safety questions we get are
based on either misconceptions, bad information, or just plain fear of the mystery.
Companies like Soda-Club / SodaStream have have a monetary interest in scaring you into
believing that they sell only "Food Grade" CO2, or that refilling the mysterious
ALCO2JET Carbonators is dangerous. You know, automobiles are dangerous when in the
hands of stupid drunk drivers, but we still drive them!
Any product in the wrong hands can be misused, no argument there.
Q: Why don't I need a regulator? Isn't it dangerous not to have one?
A: Your Soda Machines do not have regulators because they rely
on the high pressure gas to do the carbonation. The buzzing you hear from the
machine occurs because it is detecting that you have plenty of pressure in the 1 Liter
bottle you are fizzing up. In essence, it's a relief valve to burp out excess
pressure. It is not dangerous to not have one, especially since the machine requires
the full pressure of the gas to operate.
Q: What's a Siphon Tank?
A: This is by far the most popular question and we have a
separate topic for it. Simply put, ALL refill Donor Tanks must be of the Siphon
type so that liquid CO2 can be transferred to the ALCO2JET bottle.
Siphon tanks look identical to Gas only tanks, except that
they have an internal Dip Tube that sucks up liquid CO2 from the bottom of the tank, and
dispenses it through it's CGA-320 Valve.
Q: What's the operating pressure of the CO2 in the lines and adapter?
A: Don't know. What's your room temperature? It
really does not matter unless your ambient temperature is that of boiling water. The
reason I ask about your room temperature is that temperature and pressure are directly
related. Bottom line, it does not matter unless you're trying to use a garden hose
to hook up to your machine. All our hoses are rated to 3,000 PSI. If the
machine pressure ever reached that you'd have alot more to worry about.
Q: Your site seems to suggest that your adapter is only for the large AlCO2JET
bottles. But maybe that's because the current smaller bottles are newer? Do
they all have the same proprietary fitting?
A: All of our adapters fit the ALCO2JET 60L and 110L
Carbonators sold here in the US and Canada as well as most of Europe as long as they have
the Proprietary Trapezoidal Thread.
Q: I ordered and received the FreedomOne with 48” hose and CGA-320 connection
for a standard CO2 tank. I had a question regarding placing a regulator on the CO2
tank. While I see the Soda-Club cartridges are rated at 1800 PSI and there is no
regulator to the dispensing unit, do you think it would be wise to place a regulator on
the 10lb CO2 tank? If so, what pressure should I run in the line (from the tank to
the dispensing unit)? Have you ever heard of anyone “blowing out” the
plastic components on the dispensing unit?
A: No regulator is needed because the machine relies on the
high pressure to operate properly. If you put one on, it probably will not carbonate
very well and start acting as if you had run out of CO2 gas due to the reduced
pressure. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. I would only be concerned if
the room temperature was above 120F (that’s when the CO2 Gas REALLY expands), then of
course you'll have bigger problems.
Q: I am very interested in your replacement FreedomValve product. Once I
install the new FreedomValve will I be able to take it to any refill station and have it
refilled or do I have to buy special fittings? I live in a condo and I don't have
the room to keep a donor tank.
A: NO. The FreedomValve Product only removes the
anti-refill trap that sodaclub built in to their valve. Our valve is 100% compatible
with Soda-Club's which means that it still has a non standard thread and you will still
need one of our adapters or fill stations to refill it. If you do not want to keep a
donor tank, then the only options left are to either convert your machine to use standard
refillable Paintball CO2 Tanks with our FreedomOne adapter or use a CO2Dapter with
Paintball fitting so a Paintball store can refill it for you. Just be sure they are
willing to do it.
Q: I was wondering if your products come with instructions on how to not over-fill
the CO2 cartridge for the Soda-Stream machines. It seems like there is some
technique to this.
A: Generally speaking, when using our products it is
technically impossible to overfill since we do not force-pump the liquid CO2 into the
sodaclub bottles. The refill process we use just allows the liquid CO2 to transfer
from one vessel to another until it is physically full (by volume, not pressure) which on
average is about 80% of the sodaclub carbonator's rated capacity. It is very safe
when following the simple to use instructions. Refills are always by Volume (liquid)
NOT pressure (Gas).
Q: I have my three empty canisters from SodaStream (14.5 oz. size) and I want to
refill them myself. I want to put my refilled canisters back into my Penguin soda
machine. I don't want the refill tank sitting on the counter next to the machine.
A: If all you want to do is refill your carbonators
yourself, there’s no need to have the refill tank anywhere on the counter, it could
be located anywhere, like the garage or outdoor storage. When its time to refill,
you just take the carbonators to wherever you have the tank, refill, reinstall in the
Penguin, enjoy.
Assuming you are going to either rent or buy a CO2 Tank, you will need one that has a
CGA-320 Valve and Siphon tube in it. These are available at any industrial gas or
welding gas supplier in sizes ranging from 5lb to 50lb. From us, you will need
either a CO2Dapter with CGA-320 Fitting or a FillStationPro-II, depending on your
convenience and budget considerations. Please look over our Product Selection guide for more information.
Q: Will the new 60L SodaStream Carbonators fit the FountainJet machines?
A: They are slowly discontinuing the sale of the 110L
carbonator and instead going with the 60L which is smaller. Their theory... give the
customer less, pay more. The machine can still use the 110L 33oz carbonators or the
slimmer 60L, either way.
Q: I know this sounds crazy but I would like to buy a 5lb cylinder and source the
fountain jet with the bottle directly. Do you have the adapters to do that? I
would like a 24" line to install it in my kitchen. Note: I do not have a carbonator.
A: That's not crazy at all. All you need is a FreedomOne
Adapter with the proper fittings and hose configuration and a carbonator valve which you
can take from an empty 60L cheap carbonator you can buy either from SodaStream or eBay.
Q: Will your Adapter work if I hook it up to my spare kegerator CO2 tank? My
gas guy down the street only charges a few bucks to refill it. I'm not sure if its a
donor siphon tank. If not will it work if I take it with me and let him use it to
refill my tank from his equipment? He probably has those tall giant tanks with a
standard hose fitting.
A: Unfortunately, the only product that will easily work with
your kegerator tank is our FreedomOne which completely eliminates the need to refill
carbonators. If you can stash the kegerator tank under the cabinet, that's the best
solution. You can also use our CO2Dapter product or the FillStationPro-II with a
siphon type tank at your gas guy's place. If he refills tanks then he must have a
siphon tank. Lastly, converting that spare kegerator tank to a siphon tank is easily
done by your gas supplier or he may just swap it out for you at no cost.
Q: I have the 33oz Alco2jet soda stream cylinders and live in Alaska where there is
no local person to refill other than a local paint ball store. I need an adapter to
hook up to his vertical cylinder to refill my cylinders. I have ordered a part from
another person over sea's but it did not come with the piece which pushes in the nipple to
let the tank refill. I like the "L" shape adapter (CO2Dapter), I presume
it will fit right onto my cylinder but was not sure which item to order as there is a 1/8
and a 1/4, do I need to replace the actual piece at the top of my cylinder?
A: I will assume that the paintball store is eager to work
with you? Most places just don't want to bother. Our CO2Dapter -II with
CGA-320 Fitting allows you to screw in your 33oz bottle and the other end directly onto
the tank you are filling from (must be a siphon type tank). This means that he will
need to disconnect his fittings, hook yours up, and carefully follow the fill instructions
to avoid the anti-refill booby trap. Another suggestion is to consider converting
the soda machine to use regular 24oz paintball tanks that are cheap, easy to fill and
store, and eliminate the hassles of refilling 33oz boobytrapped tanks. To do this
just order the FreedomOne product with either a 24” or 48” hose and paintball
tank fitting.
Q: If I buy a SodaStream Penguin machine, will your FreedomOne adapter work on it so
that I can save money on refills?
A: Yes, in fact, the FreedomOne product would totally
eliminate the need for expensive refills by adapting your machine to use external cheap to
fill Paintball CO2 gas tanks.
Q: How many refills do you get from a 50lb CO2 siphon tank? I will be buying
this and filling it close to my home, and just wondering if you know about how many
refills I would get as I understand you need to purge some of it from the soda club
bottle.
A: On a 50lb tank you'll get about 35-40 refills of the 110L
33oz carbonators, depending on how much is wasted purging etc. At less than $30 for
the full 50lb tank (Co2 cost) Vs $700+ doing Soda-Club carbonator exchanges. You'll
be burpin’ real cheap!
Q: I was looking at purchasing a 10 lb CO2 tank from a local welding shop and
purchasing your Freedom One with CGA connection and 24” hose. I had a couple of
question though. On your website you indicate we will need a non-siphon CO2 tank.
The welding supply store did not know what that is, but indicated they have a
“regular CO2 10 lb tank with standard CGA-320 valve”. Will this work with
your connections? Also once connected, do you leave the valve on the tank open
(I assumed yes as the valve on the small soda-club tank is opened once connection is
made).
A: A regular CO2 Tank from a welding supply house is fine,
they are non siphon type. Once connected, you can leave the valve opened.
Close the valve only when disconnecting or when letting the machine sit idle for long
periods of time (prevents extra wear and tear on seals) and avoid leaks. If
disconnecting from tank, be sure to press the carbonation button on the machine to purge
any line pressure and avoid blowing any seals. Most people opt for the way you are
doing it since it means less refills and ultimately costs less. The usual setup is
the FreedomOne with CGA-320 and 48” hose with quick-disconnects.
Q: I am concerned over safety so maybe you can help answer a few questions.
The FreedomOne adapter seems the most versatile in that you are no longer relying on the
Sodastream carbonators at all. But I have a few questions. Does a paintball
CO2 tank have the correct pressure (psi) to attach directly to the FreedomOne or is some
sort of regulator required to make sure the pressure is not too much? Should I even
consider a paintball bottle in the first place? What is the maximum recommended
pressure for use directly to the FreedomOne adapter?
A: Sodastream carbonators and paintball tanks are identical in
how they work. The only difference is the thread pattern. Both are filled
with liquid CO2, and both dispense gaseous CO2 as they empty. CO2 turns into a gas
at room temperature, the pressure generated (psi) goes higher as the temperature rises.
Sodastream machines are fairly crude devices in that there's no need for a
regulator, as long as there's enough pressurized CO2 Gas, it works.
Q: I've heard that there is something called food grade CO2. Do I need to be
concerned over the quality of the CO2. I have a Kegerator with a CO2 bottle but it
is regulated down to 0-30psi. Would something like the bottle itself work with this
adapter if I remove the regulator?
A: As for "Food Grade" CO2, that's just a marketing
ploy. The CO2 sold to you is as pure as any, except maybe Lab Quality or Assay
Quality CO2 for lab or experimental use which requires special purity standards.
Your kegerator CO2 tank will work fine as long as you take off the regulator or make a
special rig to branch off unregulated gas for the FreedomOne adapter.
Q: I have a 50lb siphon CO2 bottle and a paintball refill station. Which of
your products would I need to connect to a Sodastream CO2 bottle? Do you have an
adapter that will go from the paintball refiller to a Sodastream bottle? Also, how
difficult is it to refill the bottles with their special valve? I have 6 of their
CO2 bottles so it wouldn't be economical to replace all 6 with the FreedomValve.
A: You already have the majority of what you need. My
suggestion is to go with the CO2Dapter-II with 1/8" QDN, then go to our Parts Area
and order the Quick-Disconnect Coupling Set and a tube of Thread Sealer. Assuming
you have a standard Paintball Fill Station, this will allow you to (with a wrench) modify
the end of the hose where the Paintball Adapter is at, to the Female
Quick-Disconnect. Then take the Male nipple end and screw that into your Paintball
Tank adapter. Now you’ll be able to switch from Paintball to Sodastream just by
changing adapters. CAUTION, make sure you have no pressure in the line before doing
this, its dangerous and you can blow out o-rings and seals.
As an alternative, and do away with Sodastream bottles completely, you might also consider
our very popular FreedomOne product with a 48” Hose, Quick-Disconnects, and Paintball
Tank adapter. You already refill your own Paintball tanks, why not convert your
machine to use them. The Sodastream tanks can be difficult, depending on the
sensitivity of the booby-trap valve as well as the patience and determination of the
person doing the filling. Just consider that over the long term, even if you had to
replace all 6 with our FreedomValve product, you’re still saving a lot of
money. Also, consider whether or not you really need 6. Now that you can
refill your own, when empty, just go to the garage and get a refill.
Q: SodaStream states on their website that "you may return an Alco2Jet 60 and
receive a Sodastream 14.5 ounce carbonator in exchange." When you buy a new
"kit" now, you get a "Sodastream 14.5 ounce carbonator", not an
Alco2Jet type bottle. Are the threads, etc. all the same on the new style bottles as what
you are selling? If not, what choices are we left with?
A: Their game remains the same... pay more get less, and only
from THEM. As far as we can tell from the ones we've bought, all the threads are the
same, same trick valves to try and keep you from refilling. What's really sad is
that the "rated" capacity is 14.5oz, however, you will NEVER get that due to the
physical properties of CO2 which under ideal conditions gets you just over 20% of the
rated capacity. Refilling your own or converting your machine to our FreedomOne
product makes more sense than ever. Unless of course you own stock in Sodastream or
UPS.
Q: Just wondering how your adapters defeats the SodaStream anti-refill valve?
It looks like it just allows you to connect to a siphon tank. Can you explain how I
would be able to fill my tanks with the adapter?
A: Our adapters are made to mate with their proprietary
threads, they don't defeat anything other than allow you to refill their tanks which can't
be done without this adapter. If you have problems with overly sensitive anti-refill
valves or don't have the patience to deal with their quirkiness, then we suggest replacing
their booby-trapped valves with our 100% compatible FreedomOne Valve.
Q: Do I assume the FreedomOne has no warranty of any kind? What happens if it
breaks after purchase? Will this product work with the newer sodastream dispensers
and new smaller co2 60L carbonators?
A: If it is defective we replace it but the facts are that
there's really nothing to break unless it is deliberately crushed with a hammer. All
parts are either brass, aluminum, or stainless steel. This may sound odd but we've
never had one break. If the dispenser uses a 60L or 110L carbonator, it will
work. You will need to provide your own valve from an empty carbonator.
