Springking Under-sink Sparkling Water System

[Balderdashian]

So I purchased one of these.
Cooler Under Counter Carbonating Water Maker Sparkling Water Machine Cold Drinking Water Tap Soda Galatron Cartridge 4.5~5.5bar - Buy Soda Maker Machine,Sparkling Water Tap,Soda Water Maker Product on Alibaba.com
$300 shipping to Los Angeles, finally got it all hooked up this weekend. The regulator is set to 5 bar (72 psi). It's coming out foamy and flat. It's also blasting out very high pressure, I wonder if it's being agitated so much from the dispenser that's making it flat or if something else is wrong. Or if I need to just wait?

Does anyone have experience with this machine or something similar?

 

[El Turk]

I would first try turning the pressure up to ~100psi. I don't have experience with that specific system, but have installed my own system and learned a lot from the experience.

If the higher pressure doesn't solve the issue (and assuming the water is cold) it could be the faucet--though it's surprising that they would ship the unit with a faucet that isn't designed for the purpose. The only way to test if it's the faucet is to get a faucet specifically designed for soda dispensing. You can try with a cheap pluto gun for testing purposes.

 

[jcreason]

What faucet do you use that seems to work well @El Turk ?

 

[El Turk]

The best success I have had is with a soda gun. I did not have success with a faucet (even one with stainless steel water path). If there are faucets that are expressly designed for soda, they should work.

 

[jcreason]

Thanks for the reply!

I also haven’t found a faucet that works well either, but would sure like one that looks nice to put in the kitchen counter.

 

[Balderdashian]

Just a follow up to anyone interested in this product. Not entirely sure how I solved the initial problem I posted here but it's working well now. I use larger glasses now which seems to help retain the carbonation. Putting flavoring in first was also making it flat. Quality of the sparkling water is great, it's definitely more fizzy than La Croix @ 72 psi. Two small issues and why I'd caution anyone who wants to buy this:

1. The machine occasionally (like up to once a week) locks up with an 'E4' error, which the manual says there's not enough water pressure or something. Power cycling it fixes it, but this is annoying.

2. When the CO2 tank runs low the machine sends some water back into the regulator and tank. Not the end of the world to pour out the water of an empty tank but not ideal.