Soda Stream - is it worth buying?

DigForVictory

We had one <decades ago> and it was not at all MSE let alone being that nice a drink. We'd like a concentrate for the first two or three drinks & then go off it - so we had a lot of part used concentrate bottles & were on for a lot of cavities til our dentist had a stern word ("Brush!").
The gas wasn't cheap then & the noise - industrial fart - was not that appealing. My lads drink quite a bit of fizzy pop, but I'll lug 2 litre bottles willingly to avoid the cylinder, the concertrates, the spare bottles & that unsubtle noise!

theoretica

ripplyuk wrote: »

I was planning to just use diluting squash, instead of buying the concentrates, but I've no idea what it'll taste like. I usually buy the own brand fizzy drinks, big bottles which work out cheapest, but I find that the fizz is gone from them quickly after opening. It makes it pointless to store them for any length. I know the supermarkets do own brand cans too, so maybe they would still work out cheaper.

Might have a look on eBay etc for a second hand one.

I assume that squash concentrate made up with fizzy water (which is what I do sometimes) will taste similar to squash soda syphoned. My solution to things going flat has been to look out for the smaller bottles of fizzy water in bulk packs on sale.

coffeehound

Turn any still white wine into sparkling Champagne-style too – might just give a few neglected soda-streams a new lease of life

babyshoes

I grew up with a soda stream, as it made financial sense for my parents in the country where we lived. We couldn't usually get the concentrates which were mostly a bit nasty anyway, but my folks liked soda as a mixer, and we would sometimes have it with cordial/squash as a treat. I remember my brother and I as teenagers used to 'dare' eachother to drink double or triple fizzed water. Generally used to end up choking slightly as the gas made it's way out of your nose...!

When I did the maths years ago after coming to the UK, I ignored the initial purchase price of the machine, accessories & etc, and just compared the gas bottle refill price with budget brand 2litre bottles of fizzy water. The budget water was cheaper by quite a long way - I have forgotten the numbers, but it was fairly significant. In addition, at the time we didn't have a car, so would have had to walk into town to swap bottles.

Obviously the prices have changed since then - the water has gone up to about 20p (or a bit less in some shops), so not breaking the bank, and I'd bet it's probably still cheaper than the gas refills.

bertiewhite

Sodastream!!! Haha, that's a blast from the past. "Get busy with the fizzy".

I thought they were museum pieces nowadays.

Willh5080

Hi! Soda makers is really good for home. Especially for those who can't imagine even a day without fizzy drinks. I use SodaStream Fizzy. It's quite handy and fast to maka some fizzy drink

hugh1988

Wow this thread is still at the top of Google! If anyone's considering one, you can get 10% off your first order here:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6133247/get-10-off-your-first-sodastream

Hope this helps!

joedenise

We bought one a few months ago when Lidl had them as one of their Special Buys.  Have to say I'm glad we didn't pay full price for it as we've hardly used it!  There aren't many diet drinks available - we've tried the diet tonic and the Diet Coke, both of which are far too sweet!

Any

ripplyuk said:

That's very kind of you to search out the paperwork .

I'll go with one of the cheaper models. It's good to know yours has lasted a few years so I don't see any point in paying extra for the more expensive ones. Thanks for the tip about Argos for the gas, especially as it seems Amazon won't post them to my area for some reason. I pass an Argos store regularly so can easily pick them up.

Just checked, and they also do some sort of cylinder exchange which reduces the price.

Hi
Another here that uses it for the fizzy water, not buying mixers-I love mine with Vimto! Love fizzy drinks. Also good when making mojitos😁
I had mine for about 4 years I think, I have bright red one to look pretty on my worktop. 
I also do the Argos gas cylinder exchange. I found it the easiest and best.
My sister said but fizzy water is so cheap if you buy store own, but I said at least I am going Eco. That many empty plastic bottles is not good for environment😝

joedenise

Agree with you that it's great for fizzy water but we actually wanted it for diet tonic & coke as mixers to stop having to buying plastic bottles and/or cans.  Now just use it for fizzy water with diet squash.