I posted about that guy a while ago in the real Soda thread. :P
Apparently my kid and I drink a lot of soda water. We went through about 60 liters of highly carbonated water in about 15 days, which means if we continue at the same rate we would be spending $1 per liter from here on out (refilling two 110L C02 canisters costs $60).
So it looks like I am actually spending more money now using the Fountain Jet than I was on store-bought mineral water and such, which was usually about $1 for a 1.25 liter bottle. And that’s not factoring in the cost of the water filter on my sink.
Of course, the reason we’re drinking more than we were is because homemade soda is pure ambrosia, and we’d be saving more $ if we didn’t overcarbonate as we have been.
I have to wonder if there’s a cheaper way to refill these canisters. I assume it’s impossible to refill them anywhere but at an official Soda-Club retailer because the canisters lack a valve, or perhaps the connectors are proprietary, or something.
If there’s a Williams Sonoma nearby, you can exchange them there, although I am not sure if it’s any cheaper than doing it by mail. If you’re drinking homemade soda, you could probably factor in not buying soda as a factor in the price.
I totally agree, I didn’t really like any of the flavors that came with the kit. Torani was fine, and this week I ended up ordering a few unflavored syrups from Prairie Moon (thanks, Sparky). Here are their syrup making instructions. Haven’t done it yet though. I plan to try using agave nectar.
Anyone here ever make ginger ale or ginger beer from scratch before? I’m curious if a syrup-based concoction could be enhanced and improved further using additional natural ingredients.
Unfortunately, the closest facility (not WS but some camping store) is ~20 miles away, and I’d only be saving $10. And that’s the funny thing, I didn’t mention in my other post that before we were only sparkling water drinkers, not flavored soda drinkers. Doh!
I’m not sure how much it costs when you do it online, but when we take them back to WS, it’s $15 per 60l cannister, including the return credit.
Man, 60 liters in 15 days? That’s a lot. Karen and I go through 60 liters in 30 days, give or take, and we drink a lot of seltzer. In fact, aside from coffee in the morning and a beer or glass of wine with dinner, seltzer is the only thing I ever drink.
I’ve been wondering the same myself, if a local place would refill the stuff.
I almost wonder if I could hit my local paintball shop, they refill carbon tanks, afterall. Is CO2 just CO2, or should I be looking for a high grade?
I’ll call around local restaurant supply stores and see what I can find, and if there’s something that works, definitely put it in here.
I still love my Sodastream, but they do charge a ridiculous amount for the carbon, overall. But the machine itself is pretty great.
Also, for those wanting carbonated juice, I’ve been using frozen juice concentrates. Just thaw 'em out and mix it in like any other syrup. Works great.
Also makes the energy drink mix tolerable to mix 20 ML of that with 60 ML of juice! :D
I dunno, on top of the convenience of always having seltzer available and not having to go to the store all the time to buy bottles, it only costs $.26 a liter. That’s about a quarter of what I’d pay at the store. Seems pretty reasonable.
Wow, thanks for the link. Prairie Moon looks great. I have to ask, though…WTF flavor is “Tiger’s Blood”?
Yeah, that’s the whole reason I bought Soda Club in the first place – after calculating the price of the canisters vs going out and buying a flat of water a week, the canisters are cheaper.
Well, I’ve found the best long-term way is to buy an adapter, like the sodastreamrefill.com ones. The bottles have a proprietary threading and some valves to prevent refill. Easily enough overcome. There’s things to let you use a siphon tank to refill small bottles, or just go directly off a normal carbon tank, which is my preference, since it’s still way, WAY cheaper for a long term supply. I can also get 20lbs of carbon for $30 or so, which is to say, dirt cheap compared to the Sodastream price.
I can get a 5 lb CO2 cylinder (2.5 110s from SS, 5 60s) for 60 bucks, gas will cost 5-10, and a regulator on top of it. 100 bucks for the adapter, so I’m aiming at an initial 175 I’ll say. Now that’s definitely not a price to sneeze at, but then my next refill in say a half year is 10 bucks on the high end, compared to 70 plus shipping.
I got the machine as a long term investment, and by all means it’s been a good one, I’ve saved money for sure, but I can do this cheaper with a little work and another investment, which I’m happy to do. In a year, I’ll probably spend 15-30 bucks versus the 180 on refills, and after that I’m saving.
Plus I don’t have to watch my supply so closely for when I need a refill, because I can’t afford the price of the one upcoming, nor do I have the shipping delay, or feel like I’m wasting money if I overfizz or mess up on one.
I’m well aware I’m talking pretty low prices anyway, overall, but after being broke long enough and jobless long enough, I’d MUCH rather pick the long term savings option.
Also-I tried mixing the energy drink with some concentrated juice. It was DELICIOUS. I mean, the part I got to drink. Probably not as big a deal with other juices, but OJ concentrate can go Vesuvius on you. Tastes good though, instead of Red Bull Ass flavor, almost like a creamsicle. Definitely going to try other concentrates, on their own and with the mix, but 20 ML syrup to 60 ML juice is GREAT (aka, half cap of syrup+half cap juice, one cap juice).
Just pour it slow and after you shake it, let the gas push out nice and easy.
I don’t really use any of the flavors that came with it–I typically prefer simple carbonated water–but it is pretty tasty with just about any kind of fruit juice. Karen uses cranberry juice a lot.
I wish they sold unsweetened flavors. I like the base they’ve made for most, but they’re too damn sweet. If they had 'em ready to go, just add sweetener, I’d buy a ton.
Alas. Pomegranate concentrate was great though, and the amount I get from using frozen juice vs. the price of kool-aid syrup is pretty reasonable. Not something I want to pay for daily, but definitely a nice option. Might do a can a week, get three solid liters from that. Two servings worth of concentrate seems to be all it takes to make the soda, enough to make 480 ml of juice, so the cans say.
Sparky turned us onto Prairie Moon earlier in the thread. They sell concentrated syrups for about $3.50 per bottle. This requires a pound of sugar and makes a gallon of syrup.
If you’re sensitive to the sodium benzoate they use as a preservative in all their syrups and concentrates, as some people I know are, they mentioned Naturesflavors.com to me as a possible alternative.
So, as mentioned in other threads, I got one of these for Christmas, and I’m quite enjoying it. But after opening my refrigerator this evening to find my Sodaclub tonic completely frozen, I’m wondering, does the steel-capped bottle lead to frozen beverages? The root beer I made in that bottle earlier also got a little icy, but nothing in the plastic-capped bottle has…
I’ve not had any freezing issues myself. Try moving the bottles a little forward in the fridge, maybe? They might just be catching a vent.
So! I got the type c adapterthing (the direct connection option vs refilling) from sodaclubrefill. It’s fucking great. Expensive startup, but I’ve got a couple years supply of carbon for the price, and then, $15 for a few more years worth. I also no longer have that psychological block about using more than three or four carbon pumps, since the stuff is so cheap now I don’t have to hold back or feel like I’ve wasted money if I messed up a flavor. Yay!
That’s awesome, Zeke. Wish I could do the same, but I shall have to enjoy your newfound freedom vicariously through Qt3 instead, for a while. I’m jealous.
A refrigerator always stays several degrees above the freezing point (6°C is standard I think). It’s impossible for any liquid to freeze in there unless you set the wrong temperature. Did you put the bottles in the ice compartment or something?
Just bought the Fountain Jet deluxe starter set combo via the top link. Thanks for all the testimonials - that’s what made my decision!!
I’m intruiged by the stuff at sodastreamrefill.com, but I’m a little cagey about following their recommendation to go buy a tank of CO2 from a welding/industrial supply vendor, seeing as I’m going to ingest it.