Does anybody have recommendations for a drink carbonator? (like a sodastream)
My partner likes fizzy drinks. I want to get something that will last, and won’t lock us into a single vendor for replacement parts.
I looked at making our own custom one - like this. We might still do something like this, but I’m also pretty clueless with this stuff and don’t want anything to explode or poison us :)
Our priorities, ordered by importance, are:
- No lock-in (adversarial interop is fine)
- Well built/long-lasting
- Convenient, safe, easy to use
Any suggestions?
I don’t know about it, but Big Clive switched from soda stream to drinkmate earlier this year.
There’s not going to be a buy it for life option because your CO2 canisters are eventually going to need recertification. But this is close
I have a 10 lb CO2 tank that you can get from any home brew supply store. Get yourself some hosing and fittings from that same source. Then get yourself a carb cap that fits on the fittings and on a standard plastic drink bottle.
Total cost will be about $180. But you will be able to get you CO2 tank refilled until it fails a certification.
I bought all this stuff when I was making beer but now I have unlimited soda water without device or brand lockin.
Cost on co2 tank is going to depend on where they get co2. Some places you just give a deposit, and they swap tanks instead of refilling the same one over and over again.
OP, kits to do this are available (e.g., https://www.kegconnection.com/fizz-kits-carbonating-kits.html). The kits seem to leave out a carbonation stone, which i think is a really useful thing to have. Just shoving a bunch of co2 into the headspace will eventually carbonate something, but not that quickly. A carbonation stone makes the co2 diffuse faster (similar to the way that soda stream sprays bubbles).
Honestly, it’s not that complicated, and if you go to a homebrew store, they’ll probably get you up and running for cheaper, and they’ll be happy to help. Regulators and other parts have really come down in price over the last 10-15 years.
You could go drink by drink or do a whole keg (they make really small ones now).
I have a kitchen-aid one that I’ve had for 10+ years and it’s still going strong with more-than daily use. The bottles I use are whatever brand my refill company has, but not soda stream. I’m not sure if that’s what you’re looking for, but it has been a workhorse and I’m still quite happy with it.
you can get an adapter for a soda stream to connect it to a stadard co2 tank on amazon. It likely the easiest thing to do. You may want to check if there is anyplace around you that you can get a standard co2 tank though. If your in the chicago metro area I can point you to one.
This is great advice but doesn’t get around that fact that sodatreams themselves are cheap plastic, have weak valves and don’t last super long. I have seen all-metal carbonators for sale online but they’re $$$ and I’m also not sure how easy they are to convert to a larger tank.
This is definitely not “BIFL” advice but sodastreams are cheap and usually there’s one or two at thrift stores so it’s not the end of the world if one breaks.
You can buy all of the parts needed to hook up a plastic bottle safely to a 3k psi CO2 tank. All you need is a few brass NPT fittings, as well as a pressure regulator. The whole setup will cost like 60 bucks to get started and even a small co2 tank will last probably years.
My system is partially BIFL. I have a 20# co2 tank that I use to refill the small cylinders for my plastic, non-sodastream countertop carbonator. In the past, I had a regulator on the big tank and carbonated directly from it, but the process was less convenient.
The homebrewing community (at large) does a lot of carbonating, so that’s a good place to research and get equipment.
That DIY option looks like a good option. Avoid glass, and/or keep it in a solid box while charging and you should be fine as far as safety. Poisoning is hard to accomplish.
You could also get a small keg and refrigerator.
No lock-in (adversarial interop is fine)
I didn’t realise Sodastream had a lock-in mechanism, which means buyers not only support Israel w/the purchase but they are in fact forced to continue supporting Israel. The DiY page you linked says this:
It uses no electricity (no microchips, like some Soda Stream systems).
Oof… so IIUC, Sodastream needs electricity for the purpose of powering a vendor lock-in mechanism. yikes.
In my area, the streets are littered with N₂O tanks because making whipped cream is /very/ popular (particularly around university campuses). I wonder if those tanks can be repurposed for fizzy drinks. I heard they are spec’d to handle around 100 bar, which is far beyond what would be needed.
For those that are intrigued/confused, there is no actual whipped cream being made, inhaling compressed NO2 is just an easy way to get a quick, very temporary high (generally called ‘whippets’.
This does fuck you up long term, especially higher doses, just like every other drug on the market.
Soda Stream is an Israeli company that’s based in the occupied West Bank.
Just thought I’d put that out there in case anyone wasn’t aware.
I was going to mention that as well but you beat me to it.
The only way I would have a Sodastream would be if I pull one out of a dumpster and fix it, or if it were shoplifted. But then there’s the next problem: I boycott Coca-Cola and Pepsi both, and I have never seen consumables by other brands (at least not locally).
I believe that Pepsi bought Sodastream several years ago
PepsiCo bought Sodastream in 2018. Sodastream is still headquartered in Israel, however.
My all plastic soda stream broke after 10 years of daily use. I switched to the all metal Aarke and I’ve been really happy with it. Uses the same bottle and carbonator size as soda stream.
That looks well made. Thanks for the link.
get one of the old 1970s ones that were made in Czechoslovakia.
