I think there is an issue though with getting the right sized ball lock cap. Some are meant for beer (liquids) while others are for soda (gas).
I don't know the difference between them since they all look alike to me.
What is the cheapest or easiest way to fill up sodastream special ~1 pound & normal 5 pound carbon dioxide tanks? FAQ
May 05, 2023
Last reply: 3 years ago
32 Replies
This thread prompted me to want to get my own setup as described here.
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$100 five pound aluminum carbon dioxide tank (non siphon type)
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$80 Regulator
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$25 Ball Lock cap hose kit with one stainless steel carbonation cap.
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While I'm sure that specific ball lock cap hose kit works together, the problem I have is finding the right sized additional carbonation caps.
You only need one ball lock cap, but you need a handful of carbonation caps because you'll likely carbonate a few bottles of cold water at a time.
How do you know which carbonation caps fit the ball lock cap you have?
How would you know if any of these fit, for example?
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say they fit both and some don't say at all.
It would be nice to know what parts fit & what parts don't & how to tell.
I can't find anything firm yet that shows us how to select the ball lock valve for gas or for liquid that is the part you need a half dozen of.
It's kind of crazy to have to figure things out by reading the inconsistent descriptions of the things you're trying to compare, but apparently there is a gray and a black ball lock valve based on these advertisements.
These "grey" colored quick disconnect says explicitly they're used for gas.
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This one says it's for gas, and it's gray but it doesn't say that.
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This explicitly says gray is for gas and black is for liquid.
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So we can assume the one part on the hose is colored gray for gas & black for liquid, but that doesn't tell us anything about the part that mates to it which is screwed onto the soda bottle, and which you need a handful of.
What I liked about that video is they showed for one manufacturer that the plastic QD (quick disconnect) is colored black for liquid and "lighter" color for gas (was it white or gray so you can't mix them up.
They also gave the reason, which is that you will damage the QD because the "posts" on the carbonation cap are, they said, DIFFERENT for gas vs liquid.
So they confirmed that you can't really tell just by looking at the post. And they confirmed there can be DAMAGE if you use a wrong post for the QD.
The main problem with that video is they only explain ONE company's method. They put no marks on liquid posts, one mark on gas and two for multi-post.
But what about other companies other than KegLand?
For example, this article on Ferroday doesn't explain how you can tell.
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They point to these $14 plastic caps, but you can't tell what kind it is.
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They also point to this $11 Ferroday brand-name stainless steel cap
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It doesn't say either. But notice the Ferroday has two concentric rings on the part that holds the 1-1/16th inch open end wrench. Is that the notches?
It might be. Then again, it might not be. Don't know yet, but if I were to guess (usually I guess wrong), it's one concentric scratch for gas, two for both gas and liquid, and none for liquid posts.
I'm glad you found that video about the notches as it was confusing me.
This video also shows the notches for the gas and liquid posts on kegs.
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That guy says there will "always" be "notching" on the gas post. And he says no notching on the liquid post. But do we believe him?
And, if we accept the ring as a notch, is this one notch or two?
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of the photos in that Amazon page says it fits both types.
What is confusing to me is that everyone says they're different. But nobody shows us how to MEASURE how they're different.
At least I can't find anything yet showing how to tell for absolutely sure. Can you?
While anything can be said on a forum, this forum says they're different.
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It says "The posts are slightly different diameters. Not enough to be obvious" and "the lip that the connector latches onto is bigger on the beer side [liquid] than the lip on the gas side. That's what makes it impossible to get it [the QD] back off."
Apparently even the red tube that you commonly see with these is a color standard people tend to follow according to this which another guy said. "I use black o-rings for beer and red for gas, which matches the red gas line. For the quick disconnects I use "black for beer" and "gray for gas."
If you make the mistake of confusing them, this says you'll be sorry.
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"I am sure there is a difference in the disconnects and or the posts. Though i dont "see" a difference, it sure was a bitch to pry off the gas disconnect from the liquid post. Like, i had to literally get a flathead, and use it as a lever to apply upward force, even with the disconnect pulled up (toggled)."
This forum thread has a photo which shows the middle lip is different.
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It's would be hard to tell if they didn't have those little arrows for you.
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