Home water carbonator

[stang]

Looking for a home device to carbonate my own water. I see the soda stream seems to be popular but just want to have the sparkling water, and mix my own healthy drinks.

Anyone using anything they want to recommend?

[jtfrogger]

We have a SodaStream and it is great.

However, their syrups are horrible. I usually just have carbonated water with a bit of lemon or lime. Also, if you want fruit syrup, there are plenty of sources. Most European markets have some good cheap ones imported. I often buy them from Maria Market. I also like the lingonberry syrup from IKEA.

[octothorp]

Yeah, go with a sodastream, but skip their syrups.

It's pretty easy to make your own soda syrups... might not get the pretty colours that some of the commercial ones have, but you can customize them to your taste. I've got this book, which has some great recipes, but usually I just experiment and make my own.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...-homemade-soda

Most of the time though, we just drink soda with whatever fruit juice we have around at about a 4-1 mix.

And yeah, lingonberry from ikea is pretty tasty.

[photon]

+1 for SodaStream and I like their cola bold but most of the time I just put a little lime or whatever. Those Mio water flavour are good too, they have them in SuperStore now.

[saskflames69]

Again, SodaStream is the best way to go. The syrups are terrible though. Avoid at all times.

[afc wimbledon]

Ebay a 60's soda siphon, they still make the cartridges for them, way cooler than some peice of modern plastic junk

[Wormius]

Are the CO2 cartridges interchangeable with the whipped cream makers?

[Smartcar]

No whipping cream chargers are nitrous oxide not CO2. I have a soda siphon and it worked great but I haven't used it in years.

[stang]

Wanna sell it? Lol

Thanks for the help... Gonna look on eBay

[jtfrogger]

Originally Posted by stang

Wanna sell it? Lol

Thanks for the help... Gonna look on eBay

If you do consider buying one of these, make sure you factor in the CO2 cartridges as part of your usage. I just about bought one, since they are cool. But I didn't want to spend that much money for carbonation.

[photon]

Originally Posted by jtfrogger

If you do consider buying one of these, make sure you factor in the CO2 cartridges as part of your usage. I just about bought one, since they are cool. But I didn't want to spend that much money for carbonation.

How much are they?

With the Soda Stream, you don't buy the CO2 cylinders, you just buy the CO2, so when its empty you take it to a store that sells the stuff, and they exchange the empty for the full.

[stang]

Living in a small town I don't know where I would take it to fill up....

[photon]

They do refills through the mail as well, thought that costs more to pay for shipping.

[nfotiu]

What is the allure of the sodastream? I drink quite a bit of seltzer water. Usually about 3- 2 litre bottles a week. They are only 59 cents for a 2 litre bottle though. At about 90$ initial investment and $15 per refill every 60 litres, it would take 9 years to recover that investment!

I suppose it is being a little nicer to the environment.

[photon]

I drink a bit more than that, maybe 2L a day on average. I don't like the 2L bottles because by the time I get to the bottom half, it's too flat for my tastes. So I prefer cans but that's like 5-6 cans a day, which is super annoying to deal with. Even the 2L bottles pile up fast.

So I like the SodaStream
1) The 1L bottle is a perfect size for me, it's about what I want to drink in one go and it stays fizzy for the time that I drink it in.
2) Water is heavy, hauling that stuff home for a weeks worth is annoying.
3) I don't have to haul significant amounts of cans/bottles to the depot every other week.

Even if there was no economic benefit it'd still be my choice.

[bossy22]

I'm thinking this might be good for us. My wife likes pellegrino. She will drink 1 750ml bottle per day. At $19/case. It adds up.

[yads]

Originally Posted by nfotiu

What is the allure of the sodastream? I drink quite a bit of seltzer water. Usually about 3- 2 litre bottles a week. They are only 59 cents for a 2 litre bottle though. At about 90$ initial investment and $15 per refill every 60 litres, it would take 9 years to recover that investment!

I suppose it is being a little nicer to the environment.

2L bottles go flat way too quickly and we like having soda on demand. Plus there are no cans/bottles to deal with at grocery/recycling time.

[jtfrogger]

Originally Posted by stang

Living in a small town I don't know where I would take it to fill up....

You have the same issue either way. If you get a seltzer, you still need to buy the CO2 canisters somewhere. I think they are just as hard to find as a place that sells Sodastream. Buying them online incurs a shipping cost.

A single Sodastream canister lasts a while. We are only on our second canister and we've had it about six months. Granted, it looks like you will consume a bit more than we do. I believe you can get them refilled (replaced) at any place that sells Sodastream products. That includes Home Outfitters and London Drugs. I am sure a few others carry it, but those are the ones I have seen carry them.

Originally Posted by nfotiu

What is the allure of the sodastream? I drink quite a bit of seltzer water. Usually about 3- 2 litre bottles a week. They are only 59 cents for a 2 litre bottle though. At about 90$ initial investment and $15 per refill every 60 litres, it would take 9 years to recover that investment!

I suppose it is being a little nicer to the environment.

For me, the cost is about a wash. The big thing is the convenience and environmental impact. I would prioritize the benefits as:

• No lugging water from store. We buy most of our groceries by walking to the store, so this is important to us.
• No salt in the water. Most club soda has salt. There is a minor taste difference, I prefer the taste without salt.
• Fewer trips to the bottle depot
• Less storage space. Living in a condo, avoiding storage of bottles or cans (full or empty) is good.
• There is the environmental footprint, which you mentioned
• We never run out unless you go through all your CO2. Having a back up canister and replacing it when convenient is pretty easy.
• It is kinda cool to have.

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by bossy22

I'm thinking this might be good for us. My wife likes pellegrino. She will drink 1 750ml bottle per day. At $19/case. It adds up.

soda water does not taste the same, some may not care but I would find out if it makes a difference to her.

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by afc wimbledon

soda water does not taste the same, some may not care but I would find out if it makes a difference to her.

Keep the sodastream out of sight from her, get some green glass bottles, slap a fancy label on them, and tell her it's mineral water from from some tiny Italian village.