Gas Me Up
Hi Guys, another gadget from the Nations Capital.
I got sick of washing,priming,capping etc many years ago & almost gave the hobby up, but by pure chance discovered kegging - oh joy! all my problems solved.
Then came the coast trip, up till then the odd barby/party had been accommodate by a Pluto gun & the lugging around of a D sized CO2 bottle, not being the hairy chested he man type ( I only have small man boobs ) this situation was unacceptable for an extended foray from home base.
So after a particularly effective whingeing session to good friend &
fellow homebrewer Colin Meadows ( fitter & turner extraordinaire )
was born the answer to all mobile carbonation needs; The Gasser!!!
What we needed was a small gas bottle that we could refill ourselves, easily transported & cheap, because as already noted elsewhere BOC are in the bottle rental business not the sale of gas.
Sodastreams proved to be the answer, once popular & expensive ( $130-$140 ) they are now obsolete & cheap, I got mine from Cash Converters for $13 complete.
Colin the bastard ( I can say that cos he's a pom ) got his for $10 from
Revolve (the tip).
The actual gas bottle can be exchanged for a full one at the stores that used to sell Sodastreams ( Big W, Woolies, ect ) for about $13 or purchased outright for about $30.
If you're really cheap ( like us ) you can get a hose made up that enables you to fill your own from your D size.
!!! WARNING !!! See photo of hose, 5,800 psi !!! that's there for a reason.
If you don't feel comfortable messing about with 3,000 psi, which is
what you can get from an unregulated CO2 bottle ( even more from Nitrogen,
Stout lovers ) then pay the $13 & live to see your grandkids grow
up.
Now to the business, after much thought,a Mk1a & Mk1b, we are proud to announce the Mk2,"Gasser". Construction is self- explanatory, note O rings to seal plunger shaft & valve, also the large button, as a considerable amount of pressure is needed to depress the valve.
A commercially available item from the US, apart from being mega bucks has a screw valve instead & it's very easy to overgas the keg & blow the hose of the valve, with this design you just give it a quick squirt, it's almost impossible to overgas the keg.
Anyone with access to a lathe can knock one of these baby's up in 3 or
4 hrs, but if you're rotationaly challenged I'm sure Colin would consider
supplying one if you cover his time & materials cost.
A quick note to our U.S readers or anyone else who thinks of litigation as a get rich quick scheme.
This device is only intended for blowing up balloons - the disconnect is shown for scale purposes only.
There, that should put the cat among the pigeons.
Have a gas...
GRMBLZ
(Not my real name)
