[SML] soda siphon water bottle

[Joe D]

Some ideas, not a real-world tested methods...

Assuming that the fluid path is not the thing that is restricting flow, you might simply use a traditional seltzer siphon bottle, but "charge" it by pouring in pre-carbonated water.  Be sure to pre-wet the interior of the seltzer siphon, and thoroughly chill the fresh bottle of seltzer water before pouring it into the siphon bottle. Those steps will help to preserver the carbonation.  Then, warm the full container before use, because warm water will not hold as much water. (Sorry global-warming fans, warmer oceans cause more CO2 in the atmosphere. Hence the historical record shows that CO2 increases about 800 years after a global increase in temperature caused by other factors)

Personally, I prefer to keep glass off of the stage, especially if it is pressurized at all (though seltzer siphons are fairly thick and rugged).  So, I wonder if there are some clear plastic bottles that are fairly thick and can take more pressure than the cola bottles.  The garden pump-up hand sprayers are nice in function, but the bottles are not transparent.  Transparent food containers, I have seen, are much more brittle.

I mention the plastic, before I go to my next idea, which would be to drill into the bottle, and simply add a screw-on tire valve. Then you can increase the pressure. But, I really don't like this idea, even with the plastic, because of the brittle nature of the clear plastics. 

However, I suspect that part of how the standard slap-stick gag works is that the gas in the water continues to come out as the seltzer goes through the valve, and this expansion accelerates the water as it goes through that nozzle.  So, plain air is not the same as the CO2 in the spraying function.

It may also be that the Three-stooges and other similar movies with the seltzer gag, used other techniques to make the seltzer seem to be spraying harder than what it really can do in real life, thus setting false expectations for the gag.  I will leave it up to the reader to determine if bending a crow-bar, by hitting the head of the actor, is real-life or not, since the actors I am around are quick to accept instruction. Your experience may vary.

-Joe