My Beloved and I are thinking about getting a Soda Stream machine, but we would like to know how cost effective it really is over the long run, whether the use of it diminishes over time, how good it tastes etc.
“You shouldn’t drink soda!” screeds not welcome.
I just bought one a couple of months ago.
Whether it is cost effective depends a lot of what sort of drinks you’re replacing. If you prefer/buy Perrier, then yes, I think you will save money. If you prefer flavored sodas, then you may not. If you buy a lot of SodaStream flavoring agents, it can get expensive, AIUI.
I like plain, cheap seltzer water and used to buy it by the 24-can case for $5/case. Each case would last about 2 weeks (roughly 2 seltzers/day). When I did the math, the purchase of the SodaStream unit + CO2 cartridges + refills, I figured it would take me about 2 1/2 years before I realized a savings.
For me, the purchase was about convenience. This calculus includes storage of aluminum cans both coming and going and having seltzer water available when I want it. I live a long ways away from the town that sells seltzer water in cans.
The SodaStream has exceeded my expectations.
My water is well water and it’s ok, not great, not bad. I filter it for better taste. My seltzer tastes fine. I drink more water because of the carbonation and that’s a good thing.
My use has not diminished over time. I make/drink roughly a liter per day.
As for the screed-inclined, it’s important to note that soda, which contains much sodium, is not the same as seltzer, which does not. There’s nothing unhealthful about drinking carbonated water.
First, I agree with the above. I only use mine for seltzer. Flavoured drinks make a mess I am not interested in. I did try flavoured drinks at first and only fruit drinks are palatable.
As to how it tastes - great - perfect. And I like that I can control how carbonated the drink is.
My machine is the cheapest one, and I have had it 3 years, drinking from it now.
As to cost, no idea. I don’t think it is more expensive. I love not carrying home 2 litre soda bottles that are heavy, and I don’t have to dispose of them.
If you purchase the SodaStream CO2 canisters, you won’t save any money at all. In fact, you’ll probably spend more than just buying soda. Those things are a rip-off.
If you get a mod and hook it up to a 10 or 20 lb CO2 tank, which you might only need to refill once or twice a year, you’ll save quite a bit of money in the long run.
For years, I had a 5lb tank under the sing with a regulator and a simple valve. On the end of the hose was a ball lock fitting which easily snapped onto a cheap cap made for 2 liter bottles. I don’t think you can do it cheaper than that. Other than the cost of the regulator and bottle cost was negligible. Fill that tank for 10 buck and I could make sparkling water for moths. Had nice tasting tap water though.
This Christmas, I bought my wife a ridiculously extravagant present. We now have a small unit that lives under the sink that filters, chills, and carbonates water. There’s a little button on the sink faucet that makes it dispense the sparkling water. It is one of the most amazing purchases I’ve ever made.
https://www.grohe.us/kitchen-collections/modern/grohe-blue-chilled-sparkling
We have one, We get through lots and lots of sparkling water.
Prior to the lockdown we got through about 10-15 litres per week. mostly bought in 2 litre bottles at a rock-bottom 18p per bottle.
So that was about £2.50 per week.
When lockdown started and we have been getting through even more (As we are all at home all day) and the home delivery shopping we get does not supply the 18p bottles and the cheapest is 45p. So we would have spent £5 a week. £20 a month.
We bought the soda stream and a CO2 subscription for £10 a month. they send you 5 canisters and when you have used 4 of them you mail them back and they send you another 4.
It works well, because (a)it is cheaper and (b) more convenient because the water is always fizzy, the bought-in bottle went flat quite quickly. and © we were restricted in the number of items we could order and getting 10 bottles of water is a pain, and (d) less waste.
I was sceptical but the maths check out and it has made life just a little bit easier.
In this thread, there’s info on how to save money on the cylinders.
I use my machine all the time. I wouldn’t drink bottled water otherwise because of the plastic waste, and I don’t ordinarily drink commercial soda. I make homemade sodas with fresh lemon juice/rind, ginger, mint, rosemary, etc. Also chocolate soda. That said, the sodastream brand diet root beer and diet orange syrups aren’t bad at all.
I assume that this was before you lived in Santa Barbara.
That’s very altruistic of you. The lepidoptera community are in your debt.
But not the cervidae.
Goddamnit. Months! I could make sparkling water for moths for months!
Oh yes. That was before my tap water came with a small side of gravel. These days, extensive filtering is in play.
I wanted one of these back when it was first marketed as “make your own soda for pennies a glass” Now since there’s been a decade long backlash against soda they market it as a “alternative”
My rough calculations were that, using SodaStream’s gas cylinders, it was only a bit cheaper than buying two-liter bottles of seltzer. But, of course, a hell of a lot more convenient than trundling home 4.4-lb two-liter bottles once I got rid of my car.
I switched to a five-pound commercial tank about 16 months ago. A $20 refill lasts about 10 months, drinking about a liter a day, so that’s a substantial savings even over 2-liter bottles on special for 88 cents.
Pork_Rind, about how much did that Grohe unit cost?
Be aware that Soda Stream is intended for use with water only, flavoring added later. Putting anything else through it, like juice or wine, will void the warranty. The “Drinkmate” branded device does not have such restrictions.
My $0.02 here. My wife uses the sodastream frequently for what she calls ‘fizzwater’. Basically just wants the carbonation burn, but no flavorings. During the summer, she goes through 2-3 bottles per week, but not really in the winter. I don’t, but what I do like, is that every once in a while I want a Rum and Coke. But just 1-2. So normally I was stuck buying soda in cans or plastic, and digging one out when I wanted a drink only to find I didn’t have any. Or sometimes buying a 2L of Soda and 3/4 of it going flat before being used.
So I don’t think it saved me money on soda (originally), but there is savings on the carbonated water. [For what it’s worth, since no one explicitly stated it, Sodastream brand refills with trade in are $15, so not super expensive for an expected 60L, but not cheap either]. One thing I have enjoyed more recently is making my own custom syrups. Again, this will not be saving money, but you can certainly make yourself a better soda than the ones you buy. And in my case, my homemade cola is is caffeine free, so that Rum and Cola after work doesn’t keep me up. If you want to try, here’s a recipe close to the one I use.
These are intensely flavorful, with a strong citrus and herbal flavor. For me, has all of the best parts I like from a good root beer and a cola. And I have found that kept in the back of a cold fridge in a mason jar, the syrup (protected by it’s metric ton of sugar of course) lasts for several weeks without much loss of flavor.
How does it keep water fizzier than from a bottle? AIUI, You make a whole bottle at a time (not carbonate individual servings) and wouldn’t that go flat at about the same rate as a store-bought bottle?
I drink lots of flavored seltzer water and have thought about SodaStream for ages but the cost of the tanks has been a bit too much for me. It barely saves money.
I might consider using paintball canister to recharge but that seems like a bit of trouble to arrange.
Um, it was not inexpensive. It was about $1,800 shipped, and I did the installation myself. Compared to store bought bottles, or my home brew system, it’s an extravagance. But on the other hand, we never have arguments about who ‘forgot’ to refill the bottles. And being able to get chilled sparkling water at the press of a button is nearly as good and futuristic as the flying cars we were promised.
Hm, recipe for the chocolate one please?
Our roomie makes me a killer good lemon/ginger/honey syrup that works a treat on chemo induced nausea, and I was thinking it would be interesting as a soda, so my better half bought an unused soda stream at the secondhand store on the military base near us [great place for getting stuff that people never bothered using, we got a virgin in the box still sealed air fryer there last year that is amazing!]
mrAru likes ginger ale, and he likes the ginger syrup, I prefer the syrup thinned out with hot water as tea =) Not much into sodas until they are mostly flattened out.
I just use chocolate syrup. If you want an egg cream, add some milk.