My gas game
Today, I may have resolved my gas issues. Gas, as in CO2, not anything petrol based. Our family has developed a taste for bubbly water, and the SodaStream unit goes through those cylinders like a mad thing. Gets expensive, feeding an addiction. My long term goal is to bring the cost of recharging my little tubes to as close to zero as possible. And, like I learned in that high school course about calculus, the last few units are the hardest. No matter. Today, I made progress.
I found myself in the city centre with several hours to kill and a full tank of gas (the petroleum variety). Also, an old dog who had his own gas problems; those odours are probably fatal. Anyhow, I had made some baseline calls about a month ago, so with a bit of map study I arrived at the warehouse of one of the commercial suppliers of compressed air.
The man behind the counter was receptive, but when I mentioned needing a “hydrostat”, he waved me off. Their back room is full of big tanks needing tests, and the wait time would be several weeks. He suggested that I try the people who refill fire extinguishers, across town.
I had almost forgotten the connection between fire fighting and CO2. Back in university, we would occasionally liberate a tank and use it to quickly chill beer. Works well, as long as you open doors and windows. Another map reading session and I opened the door to a small enterprise that was ready and equipped. Hydrostat? No problem. My cylinder should be back from the test centre AND refilled, in just over a week.
I am now very optimistic, and I’ve ordered the special adapter assembly that will be required for the next step in the recharge process.
