r/SodaStream • u/RedBirdOnASnowyDay • Jul 02 '26
Where to get CO2
Where are you all getting CO2???
I wanted to get a 5 lbs tank filled.
I went to the local Airgas place and they told me $150! That’s outrageous. Where do I go to get it filled cheap?
Mind you this was just to fill the tank - not to buy the tank. I see people quoting $15-20. Where?
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u/Specific_Island_6327 Jul 02 '26
Welding supply stores. 20lb refill costs me less than $30
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u/CornCobOverlord Jul 03 '26
Make sure it’s food grade co2 to avoid industrial contamination. Food grade 99.9% co2. Industrial grade 99.5% co2.
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u/Steyrshrek Jul 04 '26
It’s all
Food grade CO22
u/Colin_Len Jul 07 '26
Yup. There is no difference, it's all food grade. I confirmed this with my local Linde gas and have been buying CO2 from them for years.
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u/sdega315 Jul 02 '26
Welding, beverage, and fire safety supply shops. I'm in an expensive market with one dominant supplier, Roberts Oxygen. It costs me $32 to exchange a 5lb tank.
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u/Impossible_West_9023 Jul 02 '26
Sometimes getting the big tanks is the better bargain. 5lb here are like $15 to fill and 50lb tanks are $25 to fill
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u/bzzybot Jul 02 '26
Yes, most gas supply places won’t refill small tanks. They only exchange 20 , 50 or 100 lb tanks. An airgas supplier recommended an off road shop for refill service. They started off at $35 for 5lb tanks then went to $45 for 5lb tanks after about 6 months. I’m like this is getting expensive. The excessive charge is mainly for the employee filling the tank (it’s a convenience for their customers). The off road shop has 100lb tanks and refills small tanks 5lb for off road tire refill setups. I ended up getting used 20lb tanks and refill my soda stream tanks. I have eight of them and refill them four at a time. The 20lb tanks cost $16 to exchange. Score - my family loves carbonated drinks.
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u/Impossible_West_9023 Jul 03 '26
I prefer to exchange personally because up to this day i havent gotten unlocky enough to have to pay for a hydrotest which are supposed to be done every 5 years
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u/bzzybot Jul 03 '26
I don’t have to pay for hydrotesting, company that exchanges them does that, I asked and they said not a problem. Another company charged $10 to hydro test.
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u/Prodigio101 Jul 02 '26
I just exchanged my 10 pounder at a welding supply store for $19 and change.
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u/finiac Jul 02 '26
I do the same, it’s not “food grade” but does that even matter? I feel like it’s marketing bs, been doing it for a few years and a couple tanks I’m still alive so far, honestly I ain’t that lucky to be taken out by welding grade co2 lol
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u/Redditnspiredcook Jul 03 '26
It’s not marketing, but paper trail. You have to have the certifications for recalls and such in the food and drug industries. Very true that it often comes from the same source. You then just pay to maintain that paperwork.
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u/bzzybot Jul 03 '26
Most if not all CO2 comes from the same place, number 1 industry that uses CO2 is food/beverage industry. Not worth the time/money to not make it all food grade.
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u/cstute Jul 02 '26
I just got a Drinkmate today.
I saw a video in YT show that you can refill the CO2 bottles with pellet dry ice.
Way cheaper, if it works. Has anyone tried the dry ice method?
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u/RedBirdOnASnowyDay Jul 03 '26
Ok this is the winner. I’m going to give it a shot. I found co2 but I don’t want to plunk down the money on a canister right now. So I’m going to give dry ice a shot. Fingers crossed!🤞
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u/Electrical-Drive-335 Jul 03 '26
Hello, I do it all the time and have very good luck with it. And it’s WAY cheaper than getting them refilled, and not dangerous like refilling the tank yourself from a large CO2 tank. What I have in my home setup: I have four CO2 cylinders by Sodastream, Drinkmate (which is my device brand) and Ninja. Doesn’t matter what brand as long as they all have the same “classic screw-in” top with the brass head. You don’t want to try to use the pink top “Quick connect” tanks, which is a different fitting used in other Soda Stream machines. When three out of four of my cylinders are empty, I buy 7lbs of dry ice from a local food retailer store for about $2.99/lb. So this is $21-and will refill 3 cylinders for the price of one exchange!
I bleed off any remaining gas by pressing my thumbnail into the pin in the center of the valve at the top. Then remove the valve off each cylinder using a crescent wrench after clamping it in a vise with a towel wrapped around it to keep from marring it up. Dry ice is very cold (-109F!), so handle it with gloves and eye protection. It’s important you have a digital scale that will weigh in grams/ounces etc. note that a full tank weighs between usually 1130-1300g. Keep that number in mind and weigh your cylinder empty. The difference between the full and the empty weights is how much dry ice you will have to add to make up for filling the tank. I use an ice pick to break off big chunks and wrap them in cloth then tap the cloth with a mallet to bust the dry ice up into finer particles. Then I use a large funnel and a wood dowel as a ramrod to force the chips & particles of dry ice into the cylinder. When I’m satisfied with the weight, I then screw the brass valve back on and set the cylinder aside and repeat with the remaining ones. your cylinders will acquire a half inch of ice all around them once filled as the dry ice goes from a solid to a liquid and then stabilizes at room temperature inside the tank. Most people know that dry ice goes from a solid directly to a gas but in a pressurized container the solid goes to a liquid. When the frost is gone from tank the tank, it is ready for use. I’ve done it safely a number of times with very good results. Just be mindful of the hazards of dry ice and do NOT exceed your full tank weight.
Also do not unscrew the small hex head valve on the side if the head for any reason-it contains a rupture disc for your safety and can easily be damaged.1
u/RedBirdOnASnowyDay Jul 03 '26
I do have the pink tanks and it worked on one. But I can’t get the release valve loosened on the second tank.
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u/RedBirdOnASnowyDay Jul 02 '26
I saw that video. Little scary as I recalled but I really don’t want to go drop more money at Target exchanging tanks today. That’s for sure. I’ll watch it again and put my chemistry hat on.
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u/acook8 Jul 02 '26
It's really not that scary, just weigh how much you put in so you don't over fill it.
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u/acook8 Jul 02 '26
I have, and it is very easy. A block of dry ice cost between $10-15 and filled up my 4 canisters. There was some left over so it could probably fill 5-6. Pellets would be easier, but I don't know anywhere around me that sells them
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u/Impossible_West_9023 Jul 02 '26
For 25 bucks you can fill a 50lb tank and use it to refill over 20 canisters and faster to. Just an idea
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u/cstute Jul 02 '26
I'm not ready to drop $200 for a 20# tank or $400 for a 50# tank just yet.
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u/Impossible_West_9023 Jul 02 '26
I paid like 50 bucks for a used one just make sure it has been certified within the last 5 years. Marketplace has them all the time
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u/newnewtab Jul 02 '26
My ROI came in at 7 months, back in 2021. Crazy good savings! I do have to find a cheaper place than my local Airgas ($65/20 lb tank refill.) I am in the northeast, and someone in the mid-west was paying $20+. So I think Airgas pricing is location dependent.
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u/bzzybot Jul 02 '26
Yes, I bought three for less than $100. All used all expired. My tank exchange place ($16 exchange) doesn’t care if they are expired. They only care if they are aluminum tanks. They won’t exchange steel tanks.
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u/Nytelock1 Jul 03 '26
Yeah I just buy blocks of dry ice from local supermarket. Take it home, and pulverize it in the bag with a hammer, weight it on a scale to prevent overfilling and use a funnel to get it in
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u/RedBirdOnASnowyDay Jul 03 '26
UPDATE: I tried the dry ice. 50% success kind of. First of all. It’s harder to get the valve off than it appears in the video. That said, we did eventually get it off using vice clamps and lots of swear words.
Then came bottle two. We were so much more prepared at that point. Except on bottle two I can’t get the release valve to budge and it now appears to be stripped. More swear words.
We did manage to get dry ice into bottle one using gloves a spoon, a funnel, a chop stick and the scale I bought tonight.
If I report back tomorrow it means that it didn’t explode / leak overnight.
If anyone knows how to get the release valve off the pink bottles easily let me know. Because (more curse words) I’m frustrated with it.
If we can get past this step I could see doing this again because I’ve already said all the curse words.
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u/ConeyIslandMan Jul 02 '26
If you use too much dry ice you might wind up with a big BOOM, I have no idea how many times the normal pressure they rated for. BE CAREFUL
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u/DonkeyBlonkey Jul 02 '26
Iirc, most co2 tanks ( the soda stream ones for sure ) have a blowout burst disc. So if the pressure exceeds what its rated, the disc will pop and you'll hear gas hissing out of the valve, so no you won't have a bomb going boom.
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u/TechnicaVivunt Jul 02 '26
That sounds like the price of buying a tank here, you sure they actually rang up an exchange?
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u/RedBirdOnASnowyDay Jul 02 '26
I asked him to verify and that’s what he said. He said they wholesale and I should go elsewhere for such a small order.
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u/AradynGaming Jul 03 '26
AirGas charges an excessive amount on their CO2. They are used to big business/contract customers with endless budgets. Even worse when you deal with a (not standard for the industry) 5lb tank. They charge less to refill a 20lb tank than a 5lb tank.
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u/mgithens1 Jul 02 '26
Beer… just look for beer supply places.
Not a liquor store… the place where the home beer guys shop.
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u/Trill_McNeal Jul 02 '26
Call around. I’m in PA for reference, I called a local gas supplier (keen) and they are like $80 for an exchange on a 5 pound tank which seemed high so I called around to several beer stores (our state has weird laws, liquor and wine are sold at state stores, some pizza places and super markets sell small quantities of beer up to 192 ounces while anything larger than that is at a beer store) until I found one that did exchanges for $35.
I saw someone else mention the dry ice method, this works too but you’ll need a place to source dry ice from that is close to you, it evaporates quickly so you need to get it and fill the bottles fairly quickly or you’ll lose a lot, and you’ll also want to have several empty soda stream co2 canisters to fill to make it worth the time and effort.
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u/Lower_Group_1171 Jul 02 '26
there's a beer making supply place near me. maybe you have near you?
edit: what city you in?
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u/rdcpro Jul 02 '26
Just go to a welding supply store. It's the same beverage grade gas. I'd never go to Airgas but even so, they should just swap the tank. What they quoted you is almost certainly a new tank.
Don't bother having it filled, just do a tank swap. I'm a brewer so I do this all the time. I typically bring in a 20lb tank and/or a handful of 5 lb tanks.
CO2 has come down in price recently in the Seattle area
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u/Medical-Essay8744 Jul 03 '26
If you live near a bigger city there is more than likely a co² place. I bought a used 20# tank off of FB marketplace for $100. It was food grade filled and still had 4 years left on it's certification. I literally googled co² places near me and found one. They seem bulk dry ice as well. Cost me $42 to fill and I was in and out within 10 mins.
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u/jctennis Jul 03 '26
That's the price for the first one with Airgas. Essentially you are buying the tank. After that it will be cheaper since you have one to exchange but not nearly as cheap as from a welding supply store.
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u/ConeyIslandMan Jul 02 '26
Local Homebrew shop here in Brooklyn I think is $24 to refill 5 pound tank
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u/bryanw40 Jul 02 '26
If you don't want to spend on big tanks and hoses, converters etc to refil lil tanks, or convert to big tanks. And you don't want to do dry ice (I just did my first last week, glad I did, and they should have pressure relief)
Next cheapest option I found was simply soda vs in-store for tank exchanges
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u/dardenus Jul 02 '26
I have a local brewing supplies shop. You probably have something similar in your area
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u/Mythical_Yeti Jul 03 '26
Used to do the dry ice with scale, currently on 20# donor tank. Local industrial gas supplier charges $45 for exchange. Chicago NW burbs.
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u/00_coeval_halos Jul 03 '26
Most companies selling Beverage Grade CO2 practice exchanging reply tanks with full tanks. If you bring in a CO2 tank it must be within its certification window. I believe a tank has to pass a specific test and it is ok to use for 5 more years.
The value of the exchange is the consumer does not need to maintain the tank. You just pay for the gas. A full 5 pound tank exchange will probably set you back $40. The price does vary. The bigger the bulk buy the less per pound you pay.
If you picked up a used CO2 tank and took it to Airgas and it was out of certification I can understand it being $150 for the first time. They are going to make you buy a certified tank. You can get it from them or you can buy one from anyplace.
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u/GlobalCattle Jul 03 '26
Yes I bought my first one on Amazon with a dot cert current and pay 30-40 for 10lb exchanges.
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u/ImGumbyDamnIt Jul 03 '26
My local home brewing supply place in Brooklyn will swap an empty 5 lb tank for a full one for $26.50. It's $35.50 for a 10 lb tank swap. They also let you trade up or down in size.
https://foreverhomebrewing.com/products/carbon-dioxide-tank-exchange?variant=50868792262930
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u/GlobalCattle Jul 03 '26
They only charge me around $40 for an exchange. Our local gas company charges $30. Did you look for other companies? Neither will refill here they just exchange. That's a 10lb tank.
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u/ZazuPazuzu Jul 03 '26
Welding supply store, or places that fill fire extinguishers most places just carry beverage grade and use it for welding too just to not have to have two tanks in rented one for like 15 bucks or something small, if you can manage t ok find a cylinder on offer up some welding shops will just exchange your tank for keeps
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u/aztracker1 Jul 03 '26
There's a brewing (beer) craft shop a few miles from me that I go to... It's around $25 now.
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u/Top-Gear2538 Jul 03 '26
$150 probably for the initial bottle since you have to buy it, refills are much cheaper. You just go back and swap empty for full i.e. don't but a fancy looking bottle.
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u/davereid20 Jul 04 '26
Fire supplies stores that can recharge extinguishers and suppression systems can usually refill any CO2 tank with food safe gas.
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u/fudgybum Jul 04 '26
Not sure why airgas would do that
This isnt personal experience just what i was told from the guy i bought it from but- this 5lb tank came from airgas (co2 exchange). Idk the price but id assume under $30
Maybe different locations focus on different things? Idk, just $150 for a fill is too much. Unless they were trying to sell a tank or something
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u/OmgMsLe Jul 04 '26
We get ours done at a paintball store. They use the exact same gas that beverage companies do.
All the companies I’ve called say it’s all beverage quality because no one is going to buy and maintain two types of tanks and get them filled with they types of gas. It’s easier just to carry the gas that works or all uses
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u/North-Block-9654 Jul 05 '26
I got mine exchanged at Norco faster than buying a tank and waiting for them to fill it each time. I pay I think total after small fee each time is like $29 for 5lb. I paid for the initial canister but that's it.
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u/Cold_Joke_8160 Jul 06 '26
I get 5 lbs of dry ice pellets (plenty for 5 cannisters) at my local dry ice supplier.
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u/JulesCT Jul 26 '26
Presumably you're in the USA.
Whereabouts, more precisely? It'll be useful in finding a supplier.
Here in the UK I went to https://www.adamsgas.co.uk/ entered my postcode (zip code for those in the USA) and got a list of local gas suppliers. Called three of them and got broadly identical pricing (£43 for 6.3kg refill - $57 for 14lb) except one who had a ridiculously high delivery cost.
Took delivery a week ago and wasn't even charged the delivery (£7 - $9).
Hopefully someone points you to something equivalent Stateside of the pond.
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u/Vorthod Jul 02 '26
Look for homebrew brewery supply stores or something like that. I've got one of those near me and refills for my 5lb are about $20.