For Australian business owners, especially those in the hospitality sector, the choice of CO₂ cylinders for their water dispensing systems is paramount. Whether you run a hotel, cafe, spa, gym, restaurant, or bar, the quality, efficiency, and sustainability of your sparkling water systems and CO₂ cylinders can significantly impact your operations and customer satisfaction.
Have you installed the best system for ultimate performance, cost-savings, and sustainability? Below, we look at all the options to help you find the right solution for your needs. In this comparison, we’ll delve into four leading disposable cylinder brands in Australia: Crystella, Bromic, Billi, and Zip.
Carbonated and filtered Australian tap water offers a refreshing alternative to traditional beverages. It provides all the benefits of bottled sparkling water without the environmental damage. By choosing this option, businesses can eliminate the need for extra fridge space, logistics, disposal, and most importantly, the use of single-use plastics and glass. This not only reduces the carbon footprint but also enhances the customer experience by offering fresh, chilled sparkling water on demand.
The cost savings add up, from logistics through to disposal, leaving you with less expenditure and more profit. Your profit margin per glass of water also increases when you use a system like Crystella’s chilled still and sparkling water systems.
For many years, both Billi and Zip focused on offering boiling water taps. More recently, they have begun to offer sparkling water taps, too. Their products are ideal for use in offices or homes, but not necessarily for use in hospitality, such as in restaurants or hotels, since the technology is vastly different.
Crystella, in contrast, caters to commercial settings in the hospitality industry where large capacity, consistent performance, cost savings, and sustainability are paramount. The CO₂ gas cylinder you choose for your sparkling water system needs to be food grade and compatible cylinders for the system you have installed.
Customers can choose between Billi, Zip, Puretec, Bromic, or Crystella. All these brands offer reliable food quality grade gas bottles that are non-refillable. The best way to choose the right brand of cylinder for your company is by looking at the differences in what the brand offers versus what your system requires.
While all these brands offer a 2.2ℓ disposable gas cylinder, not all systems can accommodate a bottle from any brand. The Billi Sparkling Replacement CO₂ Cylinder, for example, is only compatible with Billi water systems. Unlike the other brands, Crystella water systems can both accommodate and recycle 2.2L CO₂ cylinders from all Australian brands. We also offer affordable, quality cylinders that can fit most Co2 cylinder regulators.
The capacity per cylinder remains consistent in this comparison, since many systems used in the hospitality setting use 2.2ℓ cylinder CO2. All the brands being compared offer CO2 replacement cylinder options for sparkling water systems in Australia. It must, however, be noted that Crystella CO2 may have the same capacity of cylinder, but nonetheless deliver up to 60 litres more bubbly water per cylinder than other brands.
Ensure that the brand you select ships their CO₂ products with a dangerous goods courier. At Crystella, our delivery partners adhere to all relevant safety and health guides. We’ve appointed reliable dangerous goods couriers to deliver our CO₂. We also have technical teams who can come to your premises to replace filter cartridges, CO₂ cylinders, and perform routine maintenance on your systems.
Your empty cylinders need to be responsibly recycled. Unfortunately, there are very few companies in Australia who offer cylinder recycling. In this respect, Crystella stands out as a clear leader with our Recylinder Program. With Recylinder, you can recycle any brand of CO₂ cylinder.
There is no need to overpay for cylinders or to cut costs for a potentially faulty item. A cheaper price can be great, as long as the product has still passed all the necessary health and safety checks. For this reason, we do not recommend buying CO₂ from brands that do not have proven reliability and a reputation for safety. Thanks to our Recylinder program, we can offer affordable pricing and a solution that is sustainable and easy on your pocket.
Bulk refillable gas cylinders are often more affordable than smaller 2.2L CO2 cylinders in venues with a larger capacity. They can be refilled time and again, and they last longer, since they contain more gas. Non-refillable options, as the name implies, cannot be refilled.
Companies in Australia are legally required to dispose of such CO2 cylinders in a suitable location according to the regulations, such as a licensed waste management facility. Non-refillable options, if not recycled, can contribute to landfill waste and have an environmental impact that is undesirable for establishments interested in the sustainability of our future.
This is why programs like Recylinder are vital, allowing companies to recycle non-refillable cylinders and remain compliant with all the legalities around cylinder disposal in Australia.
This table contains relevant details about the 2.2L CO₂ cylinders offered by each brand in Australia for commercial applications. Please note that this table is correct at the time of publication to the best of our knowledge, but variances in data may occur as products evolve.
| Feature/Brand | Billi CO2 Gas Bottles | Zip CO2 Cylinders | Bromic C0₂ Food Grade Cylinder | Crystella CO₂ Cylinders |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cylinder Volume | 2.2ℓ | 2.2ℓ | 2.2ℓ | 2.2ℓ |
| Compatibility | Suits all current Billi Sparkling Models. Uses a thread connection of M10, which should be compatible with other brand water systems (unconfirmed by Billi) |
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| Max. Pressure | 145 bar | 120 bar | 165 bar | 165 bar |
| Weight (full) | 1.1kg | 1.3kg | 1.3kg | 1.3kg |
| Cylinder Recycling | Recycled by Crystella | Recycled by Crystella | Recycled by Crystella | Recycled by Crystella |
When choosing a sparkling water system, it is important to consider long-term maintenance, the initial costs compared with the potential for profits, the sustainability of the system, and the unique benefits of each system. Commercial models need to deliver the level of output and consistent performance needed for the industry reliably.
Crystella sparkling water systems are currently very different to the Zip and Billi systems. Our sparkling water systems have significantly larger sparkling water and chilled water capacity and don’t have boiling. This means a reduction in energy usage and an increase in performance delivery, with the ability to serve up to 120-chair establishments comfortably. Our systems use a unique, advanced technology for the carbonation of water, resulting in a higher concentration of bubbles and more fizziness to enjoy for the same amount of gas.
While each brand has its strengths, Crystella stands out for businesses that prioritise sustainability and profitability. Our still and sparkling water tap systems ensure businesses are making an environmentally responsible choice. For Australian establishments that want to stay ahead of the curve and make a positive impact, Crystella appears to be the top choice.
Our cutting-edge, always on-tap systems deliver chilled still and sparkling water for office, workplaces and the hospitality industry, eliminating the reliance on single-use plastic bottles and minimising the costs associated with bottled water and their supply chains.
