Kitchen

[gardenman]

I've been intrigued by these for a while now. I'd signed up for emails from them, which gave me a 10% off coupon, and they have a sale going on with the Art Carbonation bundle, where you get the SodaStream Art, three CO2 cylinders, and a one-liter bottle for $99. I added two flavors to the order, used my 10% off coupon, and the total came to $101.70. Buying it directly also gives me a two-year warranty. I think it should be more cost effective than buying soda, also means less plastic waste, and less hauling heavy bottles of soda. 

I'll play around with it when it comes and see if it's worth the trouble. It should be here sometime this week. It's a pretty good deal if you've been intrigued by them.

[wagirl]

I have an older model and have to say, it works great!! Now it is packed away -no room in my tiny kitchen but I used that thing a few times a week. The cartridge lasted a pretty good amount of time--cost me $15 to exchange it for a new one and I did it locally. The water taste just fine , you can fizz it up alot or not, and adding the flavor drops made it taste even better---and no cans/bottle to have to recycle----thought it was a $$ saver.

[gardenman]

I'd been playing with the math and it made sense to me. I'd thought I'd wait until fall, but the current pricing was too good to pass up. Lots of flavor options to play with.

[Bri369]

I've been thinking about getting one of those.  I'm going to go take a look at them.  

Thanks for this thread @gardenman 

[JeanLouiseFinch]

We had one many years ago.  It had its pros and cons.  I don't miss it.  I don't drink pop and DH only drinks Zevia or flavored carbonated water now unless he's at a restaurant. 

[MithrilStar]

I absolutely love my SodaStream. I have an older, plug-in model that I found for $10 at a thrift store. The cartridges 100% do not last for 60L like they say, but I don't care. I don't drink a lot of soda, but I love having the machine there for when I do want one. I pretty much only use the half-size bottles, too.

I don't know if the syrups go bad in the fridge eventually, but because I don't drink but maybe 1-2 sodas per week, I've had the syrups in my fridge for weeks, and they seem to be fine. 

Hope you enjoy yours! If I had to buy one new, I would have bought the Art model, just because I think it's the prettiest. 

[gardenman]

@MithrilStar 

It's going to be an experiment for me. They talk about levels of carbonation with one pull of the lever for one second being minimal and three pulls for a second being "normal." Supposedly, the 60 liters is for a "normal" level of carbonation, but we'll see. It's something new to play with and see how it works. 

I'd been debating it for a while and looking at the various models and brands on the market. Then this one popped up at that sale price, and with the 10% off coupon, I decided to give it a try. 

Most brand-name sodas now retail at full price for well over $3 a two-liter bottle. Sale prices are typically around $2 or more. Sixty liters would be thirty two-liter bottles. So $60-ish plus dollars worth of soda. Refills are around $17, so around $0.57 per two-liter bottle if you get 30 two-liter bottles per refill.  Flavorings cost $6-$7 for eight-and-a-half-ish liters or $1.40-ish per two liters. (Depending on how strongly you want things flavored.) That puts the cost per two liters at around $1.97 depending on the strength of flavoring and carbonation. Not cheap, but cheaper than store-bought name-brand soda.

Saving fifty cents to a dollar or more per soda should count up fairly quickly. And it cuts down on plastic use, hauling/storing bottles of soda, and you always have some on hand. The math isn't amazing, but it's good enough to give it a try. The unit comes with a two-year warranty, but warranties aren't always worthwhile. Still, better to have it than not.

It's going to be an experiment for me. I'll play with it, try out different flavors, and see if the math holds true or if there are hidden costs.