{"id":9602,"date":"2024-12-03T12:28:03","date_gmt":"2024-12-03T19:28:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/?p=9602"},"modified":"2024-12-04T08:15:15","modified_gmt":"2024-12-04T15:15:15","slug":"sheridan-natives-portable-water-carbonizer-taking-the-beverage-world-by-storm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/2024\/12\/03\/sheridan-natives-portable-water-carbonizer-taking-the-beverage-world-by-storm\/","title":{"rendered":"Sheridan Native\u2019s Portable Water Carbonizer Taking The Beverage World By Storm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It looks like he just is using standard CO2 cartridges to carbonate water, with the cap holder and delivery method being the patented technology. Consequently, when in the backcountry filtering cold stream or lake water (even filtered glacial water), I never needed carbonation or anything to enjoy the pure water. At home we do enjoy sparkling water, but some Schrader valves and a restaurant CO2 tank with some beverage components for brewing beer and you can make your own setup cheap. The commercial CO2 tank lasts us a little over a year and was about $40 for the last refill. Though with the home brew setup below we have to do a little shaking and leave a bit of the bottle clear, but I can also adjust the CO2 level higher and even add more charge before the bottle is empty so it’s never flat. Consequently, I think the business play for this product is to sell out the business to a megacorp and become a millionaire, and get the refills in brick and mortar stores like REI, Walmart, Target…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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https:\/\/cowboystatedaily.com\/2024\/11\/30\/sheridan-natives-portable-water-carbonizer-taking-the-beverage-world-by-storm\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n
Although other water carbonizers exist, what has made Buzz Wiggins’ invention successful is the portability of it. If someone wants to carbonize their water 10 miles into the backcountry they can do that. If they decide they want to carbonate their water at the office, they can do that too. <\/h5>\n\n\n\n

By Leo Wolfson<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Sheridan
Sheridan native Buzz Wiggins invented the Aeflo system, which allows people to carbonate their water on the go. (Courtesy Aerflo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sheridan native Buzz Wiggins always knew he wanted to invent something big but wasn\u2019t sure what it would be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wiggins said he had always tinkered with creating items his whole life, working in his dad\u2019s shop on projects like building skis or fixing his Nintendo, but he had never really invented anything. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One day in 2019, he found himself fiddling around with a bike pump valve. After injecting it inside a filled water bottle, he was shocked to discover it carbonated the water. Voila, his invention was born. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPretty shocking that it worked,\u201d he said. \u201cThat was really proof of invention. I think actually it gave us too much confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Idea To Reality<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although the discovery only took about a day, it took Wiggins and his engineers about a year to develop an actual prototype for their Aerflo company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three years and countless dealings with the federal government later, Wiggins and his Aerflo-founder John Thorp now have multiple patents to their names and are finally selling their self-carbonating water bottles to the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe did all of the groundwork ourselves so our users don\u2019t have to think of it,\u201d Wiggins said. \u201cYeah, we did this 3 \u00bd years of work, but that\u2019s so it takes you 20 seconds.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For $99, one can buy an \u201cAer System Bundle\u201d that includes an Aerflo water bottle and 15 CO2 capsules, which are inserted into the bottle and then punctured to release the air inside. Each capsule carbonates four bottles of water, which gets you 60 total fills from the get-go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a no-brainer from a cost perspective,\u201d Wiggins said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best part is, the capsules can be shipped back to Aerflo and refilled with their two-way valve, getting you 12 more capsules for free on the first refill. Every first order also comes with a prepaid shipping label and box to help facilitate reusing it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI really don\u2019t like to produce waste,\u201d Wiggins said. \u201cThere\u2019s no single-use waste at all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By putting a small-scale CO2 cartridge into the cap of an Aerflo water bottle, the water carbonates at varying levels ranging from \u201cmild fizz\u201d to \u201cwild and crisp\u201d sparking bubbles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although DIY water carbonizers already exist, Wiggins believes his product is one-of-a-kind thanks to its ease of portability when compared to the stationary, at-home nature of other carbonizing products on the market. If someone decides to carbonize their water 10 miles into the backcountry they can do that. If they decide they want to carbonate their water while sitting at the office they can do that too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOtherwise, it\u2019s not really convenient to carry around a six-pack of sparkling water,\u201d Wiggins said. \u201cIt\u2019s so convenient to have something that sits in your hand. All you need to have is water.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Sheridan native Buzz Wiggins invented the Aeflo system, which allows people to carbonate their water on the go. (Courtesy Aerflo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
A view of the many prototypes Aerflo tested out before settling on its final product, including the most rudimentary version seen on the far left. (Courtesy Aerflo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Sheridan native Buzz Wiggins invented the Aeflo system, which allows people to carbonate their water on the go. (Buzz Wiggins via LinkedIn)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Overcoming Bureaucracy<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the biggest hurdles in bringing his product to the public, Wiggins said, was getting the U.S. Department of Transportation to approve the shipping of his gas canisters through the mail. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were told no or ignored 90% of the time,\u201d Wiggins said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the company remained diligent and jumped through all of the DOT\u2019s hurdles, a six-step process Wiggins said took \u201ca lot of work and patience,\u201d including shrinking their large-scale canisters to gain approval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This also involved inventing a valve to make the canisters refillable, a valve that is also a safety feature in case the canisters over-pressurize. They also had to establish their refill facility before the government would give them the thumbs up to sell<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just getting to meet with DOT officials, Wiggins said, was about a year-long process alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBy the time we had the actual signoff it was about three years of work and a lot of money,\u201d Wiggins said with a laugh. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By taking a tenacious approach and never missing a deadline, Aerflo started to make headway with the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re just selling gas, it\u2019s a much better way to shipping the canisters,\u201d Wiggins explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wyoming Dreams<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Wiggins is based out of New York City, with the air canisters filled up in New Jersey. Bringing the company to Wyoming, he said, is a dream he hopes to make a reality someday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once the company becomes a little more established, Wiggins said he’ll at least try to bring a field office for his company to Wyoming to take advantage of the Cowboy State\u2019s low tax rates and high quality of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll call it an \u2018inkling of an idea,\u2019 but I think Wyoming is going to play a pretty important part,\u201d Wiggins said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It looks like he just is using standard CO2 cartridges to carbonate water, with the cap holder and delivery method being the patented technology. Consequently, when in the backcountry filtering cold stream or lake water (even filtered glacial water), I never needed carbonation or anything to enjoy the pure water. At home we do enjoy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wyoming"],"blocksy_meta":[],"featured_image_src":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Jason","author_link":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/author\/jturning\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9602"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9602\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9615,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9602\/revisions\/9615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}