Sodastream?

[LWJ]

Got one. Works great. How much bubbly water do you drink? My wife was all nuts about this. I don't think she has used it for months...

I hate kitchen gadgets.

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by motion

Wow, those 60L fizz bottles are $45 each!

I used to drink couple of liters of orange juice a day. When I got the sodastream and started drinking water instead I lost about 6kg in three weeks. It was all the sugar in the (real) orange juice that was getting me.

Motion, I hand in my old 60L and get a refill for NZD$17.50 which is about USD$12.70.

[Holger]

We thought about buying a soda stream.
But then we checked the price/litre and the soda streamed water is much more expensive than the canned version we buy now.
Also, we wanted glass-bottles, and there is only one soda stream version with glass-bottles.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Holger

We thought about buying a soda stream.
But then we checked the price/litre and the soda streamed water is much more expensive than the canned version we buy now.
Also, we wanted glass-bottles, and there is only one soda stream version with glass-bottles.

Actually, I think there are 2 models that are available online.

[Holger]

Ah, ok!

[group911@aol.co]

Bought an adapter years ago somewhere on the web to refill the Soda Stream bottles from a large CO2 bottle. Easy and since the growers started using a lot of CO2, the price of a large bottle is only $8 as compared to about $30 before they came along.

Originally Posted by masraum

I drink a ton of seltzer water. I used to get flavored (no sweetener, just flavor), but lately, it's mostly Whole Foods "Sparkling Italian Mineral Water". Just water and bubbles is what I really want/need, and saving some money would be nice if it worked out that way. How big of a pain is it? Any problems? Do you think it's actually cheaper? I assume you plumb it into your water supply or can you use a jug of water? My wife looked into them a few years ago, but I put the kibosh on it. I read some things on the 'Net that made it sound like the CO2 could end up being a pain, but it seems like it's been out there for a while and available at Bed Bath and Beyond.

Watch, I'll decide to get one and then BBB will stop carrying the canisters, hahahahah.

On a related note, scientists believe that we can actually taste carbonation.
Research News: Research Reveals How the Tongue Tastes Carbonation | Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)

[coldstart]

Sodastream is made in Israel and uses Israel/Palestinian workers.

I got a Sodastream for the holidays but have yet to open it as I still have a case of fizzy water to finish first. It came with lots of bottles, flavors/flavours and an extra CO2 cannister. I'm excited to try it out.

Originally Posted by aigel

I really wanted one but then checked - all made in China. Not going to spend my hard earned on junk from China, especially if it includes containers that touch my food or hold my drinks.

Unfortunately I have not found anything made elsewhere that fits the bill.

G

[masraum]

Originally Posted by group911@aol.co

Bought an adapter years ago somewhere on the web to refill the Soda Stream bottles from a large CO2 bottle. Easy and since the growers started using a lot of CO2, the price of a large bottle is only $8 as compared to about $30 before they came along.

Now THAT'S interesting new. The missus is interested in getting the CO2 cheaper to lower the price, but isn't interested in having the 6" wide 18" tall bottle on the counter. If I could have a tank in a closet or cabinet or something that can refill the 60L canisters, I think we'd have a winner.

The missus has been trying to get me to buy one of these for years. Back when she first mentioned it, they weren't as ubiquitous and what I found in online research was that if you ended up having to order the CO2, it could be expensive. If that's no longer an issue.

Much more expensive, and probably not something that we'll end up getting, but if your missus wants something more attractive laying around...

There's the Aarke which is, I think, a Swedish repackaging of a Sodastream that's mode from stainless steel.



And A kitchenaid version "powered by sodastream". This requires no electricity, but does have a built in pressure gauge.



Both have an MSRP of $199, so they are considerably more expensive than all of the sodastream versions including the electric automatic model.

There's also a Sodastream that's made for and sold exclusively by Williams Sonoma that's more attractive and uses the glass carafes that one of the other models use. It's also a lot more expensive than the regular models.

How hard is it to get a consistent level of carbonation?

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by masraum

How hard is it to get a consistent level of carbonation?

Pretty easy. You get used to it. The GF gives it too much gas. A new cylinder 4 seconds maybe. A cylinder on it's way out, maybe 6 seconds. A refill as I mentioned earlier lasts me three or four weeks.

I never drink those sugary flavors sodastream sell, but I put a splash of Rose's Lime Juice in instead.

[GWN7]

I bought one about 6 years ago. Maybe even longer. I bought it for traveling in the motor home. Takes up little space as compared to buying canned drinks and I can mix up a bottle of whatever flavor I want in a couple of seconds. The "cola" tastes like RC Cola and the other "brand" flavors are also slightly off but still taste good. There own flavors are very good. The diet ones are sweetened with Splenda, not aspartame so no headaches.

[masraum]

I'd be skipping the flavors and just going with plain. I'd do flavors if they were natural and completely unsweetened. I guess I could be tempted to just squeeze a little lemon or lime into a bottle or something.

[red-beard]

My homebrew dispensing setup can make fizzy anything. 5 lb CO2 cylinder, old Cornelius keg. Add cold water, turn up CO2 to level, check chart.

Keg were $5. I used to have about 100.

I used to make hard lemonade, 4.5 gallons lemonade, 1.75 vodka.

[masraum]

Apparently, the hot ticket with the soda streams these days is to get an adapter that allows you to use the CO2 can from a paintball gun. My local Home Brew store says he fills lots of those tanks. It's $4 a tank which is more expensive than a larger tank would be, but cheaper than the sodastream tanks. Apparently, sodastreams has modified their tanks to make them more difficult to refill as well.