Houston, we have a drinking problem. . .

hybernia

MANY THANKS to everyone here for the help and advice!:T

I'll give up on the idea of tiny can seals then (and husband's solution of consuming more alcohol stays rejected.)

Thanks to rosalie-lavender, I've just followed the eBay link kindly provided and have bought the £3 "fizz retainer" thingy.

I'll report back on here if it works as hoped. Of course, if it doesn't, then I'm going to sue rosalie. . .

Eenymeeny

I'm glad that rosalie-lavendar has pointed you in the right direction. I was trying to remember something like this that used to be in the Betterware catalogues. I think they were for individual bottles though.:)

xrjtg

rosalie-lavender wrote: »

When my children were small I had a special top that fitted on to the top of fizz bottles that you then used to pump the air out

I'd assumed that the idea was to pump air in, to keep up the pressure so that more gas stays dissolved. Doesn't affect whether or not it's a good idea though.

rosalie-lavender

xrjtg wrote: »

I'd assumed that the idea was to pump air in, to keep up the pressure so that more gas stays dissolved. Doesn't affect whether or not it's a good idea though.

It could well be to pump air in. We don't drink much fizz these days so I haven't actually got one of the gadgets anymore.

i_wanna_save_money!

The tiny cans are often in Home Bargains for 15p each if you have a store near you it might be worth stocking up

hybernia

rosalie-lavender wrote: »

When my children were small I had a special top that fitted on to the top of fizz bottles that you then used to pump the air out.

Like this

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PUMP-CAP-FIZZ-KEEPER-FOR-1L-1-5L-2L-BOTTLES-GREEN-BNEW_W0QQitemZ290527206668QQcategoryZ98842QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m263QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DDLSL%252BSIC%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BFICS%252BUFI%252BDDSIC%26otn%3D8%26pmod%3D290516125574%252B290516125574%26po%3D%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D7074524237593200781

Rosalie-L: you're a star! I ordered one as you suggested, came within a couple of days, and I've since used it on a litre (plastic) bottle of Dry Ginger and a ditto of Soda.

It was always my experience that once the contents dropped below the halfway mark, they began to go flat. Once below the three-quarters mark, totally flat.

There's obviously some scientific principle here that I haven't grasped, but yes, this little device screws onto the top of the bottle and then you use the up-and-down thumb plunger to pump air in until the bottle feels more firm than it did before. (It just seems counter-intuitive to put more air in.)

Anyway. You're right. It works, yay! At the halfway mark, no difference in the fizz than when full; at the three-quarter empty mark (when, before, the contents were undrinkable) the fizz is still there.

Many thanks again for the tip-off; considering that I can get 3 x 1L bottles of ginger or fizz for less than half a dozen of those expensive little Schweppes soda cans, this £3 gizmo looks like paying for itself double-quick. (I've just ordered another one.)