Buying a SodaStream

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#2165726 22-Jan-2019 19:37

We were given one for a birthday, if you do your sums it is cheaper to buy soda water from the supermarket.

Also in case no one has mentioned, carbonated water is acidic ( carbonic acid ), this like any other acid is not good for the teeth.

John

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cruxis

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#2165730 22-Jan-2019 19:57

I never buy a refill its far far cheaper to buy CO2 as dry ice from the shop. 10$ for 1Kg will fill 2 bottles. Screw the top off chuck in 400g of CO2 screw back up and let it warm to room temp and your good to go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVlVqNQXJTk

Refills are the most rip off item I have ever seen. All your buying is Air eg, CO2

itxtme

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#2165816 22-Jan-2019 22:22

@cruxis Do you buy the pellets? Where sells such small quantities?

Geektastic

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#2165894 22-Jan-2019 23:59

I love ours.

I do not drink much alcohol at all, preferring sparkling water. We used to get through over 300 plastic bottles of sparkling water a year.

Now, we get through 3 plastic bottles every 2 years (the bottles for SS have use by dates on them).

I rarely put syrup in, preferring plain water, but the lemonade is good for making Pimms in the summer.

The saving on plastic bottles going to landfill, transport/emissions of the pre-filled ones you were buying to the shops you buy them in etc are all savings well worth making.

broozm

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#2166155 23-Jan-2019 12:37

hsvhel:

Handsomedan:

We gave up on SS syrups and started using things like Roses Lime Cordial and other such things.

We use ours almost daily over summer and have done for a number of years.

I second this, exactly what we do also......the SS Syrup is feral.

Lots better options that mix exactly the same out there

Such as real lime juice, bitters and loads of ice. And if it needs sweetening - a dash of the lemonade concentrate!?

And I did not know that Briscoes does the refills - and therefore that the refills will also be discounted from time to time - thanks for that! :)

Sometimes its worth buying the dodgy old sodastreams on garage sales to get the CO2 bottles for spares - but the plastic bottles need renewing very few years (I hear)!

Handsomedan

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#2166280 23-Jan-2019 14:12

broozm:

Sometimes its worth buying the dodgy old sodastreams on garage sales to get the CO2 bottles for spares - but the plastic bottles need renewing very few years (I hear)!

Our bottles expired some time ago (maybe 18 months ago?) and we are still using them...they just can't be held liable for a catastrophic bottle failure of they are past their use-by date.

In the old days with the glass bottles they never failed and never had a use by date. But they were tiny (200ml, from memory)

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geoffwnz

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#2166315 23-Jan-2019 14:38

Also running a SodaStream machine. Grabbed the spare cylinder when I got it for the reasons mentioned.

Thanks to some of the suggestions above, I'll be trying some of the alternate flavour options. Picked up the one of the Barkers ones last night so will see how that goes.

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tripper1000

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#2166324 23-Jan-2019 14:50

Handsomedan: In the old days with the glass bottles they never failed and never had a use by date. But they were tiny (200ml, from memory)

The old days are back - they do glass bottles again.

https://www.sodastream.co.nz/soda-makers/crystal/

dafman

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#2166325 23-Jan-2019 14:52

tripper1000:

Handsomedan: In the old days with the glass bottles they never failed and never had a use by date. But they were tiny (200ml, from memory)

The old days are back - they do glass bottles again.

https://www.sodastream.co.nz/soda-makers/crystal/

but only if you buy the new machine )-:

tripper1000

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#2166328 23-Jan-2019 14:58

They seem to change the bottles every 5 - 10 years anyway. Planned obsolesce I guess.

I suspect the threaded portion of the necks are too wide and thin walled on the plastic bottle system to make a glass replica.

jonathan18

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#2166334 23-Jan-2019 15:15

The scungiest part of the bottles, in our household at least, is under that plastic base. With earlier versions this was easily removed for cleaning, but more recent ones the base is glued on damn well. Any solutions to this? (This may not be an issue for the more recent teardrop shaped bottle?)

The inside of the bottles will also build up stuff on the sides towards the top if they’re not cleaned occasionally with a bottle brush.

geoffwnz

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#2166342 23-Jan-2019 15:28

jonathan18: The scungiest part of the bottles, in our household at least, is under that plastic base. With earlier versions this was easily removed for cleaning, but more recent ones the base is glued on damn well. Any solutions to this? (This may not be an issue for the more recent teardrop shaped bottle?)

The inside of the bottles will also build up stuff on the sides towards the top if they’re not cleaned occasionally with a bottle brush.

I've found that the glue is only spot glue on the very base and with some gentle pressure you can create enough of a gap around the lip of the base piece that you can flush it out easily enough. There are drain holes in the bottom of the base to let the water back out again.

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cruxis

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#2166634 24-Jan-2019 08:07

itxtme:

@cruxis Do you buy the pellets? Where sells such small quantities?

BOC gases, Christchurch. I take a ice cream container. It comes as pellets that nicely fit into the top of the soda stream bottle. I put in 400g per bottle.

https://www.boc.co.nz/shop/en/nz/gases/dry-ice

jonathan18

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#2801128 26-Oct-2021 08:14

We're looking to replace our long-in-the-tooth Sodastream so I've been checking out contemporary offerings; thought I'd ask for feedback via re-opening this earlier thread...

The model that most interests me is the terribly named Oh Bubbles, which is currently on sale (around $200). An interesting feature is that it can carbonate (or re-carbonate) any liquid without the overflow problem of a conventional machine (fizzy espresso or red wine anyone?!) Extra bottles aren't cheap ($40 each full-price!) and not even one cylinder is included. Does anyone here own one or used one of these and would be able to comment?

The Aarke Carbonator 3 is terribly stylish and well-built (stainless steel), but I think that's primarily what one is paying for there. There's even a Philips model.

I'd have been interested in the Sodastream Onetouch, which has push-button electric workings, but this doesn't seem to be sold in NZ at all.

If we were to stick with Sodastream I guess it would be the Source, as the Crystal seems more money for just fancy glass bottles (and the same not-so-great mechanism of the entry-level Spirit, which is similar to our old 30 l machine).

Anyway, any feedback on currently available models - especially the Oh Bubbles - would be much appreciated.

Dulouz

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#2801135 26-Oct-2021 08:36

I purchased the crystal as I really like the glass bottles.

Amanon

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