Sodastream help

ripplyuk

I'm not sure if this is the right part of the forum for this.

I've bought a used Sodastream on eBay. But I can't get it to work. I've read the instructions and it says to hold down the button in short presses until I hear a buzz. I've watched a few YouTube videos as well. I've checked for leaks too.

It works to begin with, but then the gas just seems to fade out and it stops completely after one of two presses. It quits long before I get any sort of 'buzz' and the water is totally flat after.

The problem is I'm not sure if the machine is faulty, or if the gas canister is. I bought a new canister from Argos but the same thing is happening. I expected it to feel heavy in comparison with the old one but it didn't. I also can't hear any sort of liquid in it when I tip it about but I don't know if that's normal.

Could anyone help me work out what to do? I could try a third canister but it'll be a fortnight before I can get to Argos again. The machine itself looks quite old and rickety, like it's been in the back of a cupboard for years. It also arrived really filthy, but it was cheap too. The seller advertised it as in good working order so I don't know which is faulty.

C_J

Are you sure you have the right size gas canister for it? I think you'll find that the older machines take a different sized one, and these aren't available any more. I got caught out by that when I bought a soda stream from a charity shop earlier this year but then couldn't find a cylinder to fit it.

ripplyuk

Yes, the gas cylinder is the same as the one that was already in it.

The machine itself is the 'Jet' model.

Slinky

ripplyuk wrote: »

Yes, the gas cylinder is the same as the one that was already in it.

The machine itself is the 'Jet' model.

Did that cylinder actually work though? Could be somebody else got caught with the same problem.

flea72

Does the gas come out ok, when not attached to a bottle of water, or does the same thing happen? What temperature of water are you using?

ripplyuk

The same problem happens with the new cylinder. I don't know how to tell if the cylinder is faulty.

I could try buying a third cylinder and seeing if that works better, but I would have to return this one to Argos as faulty, which I'm not sure it is. It might be the machine itself.

Without bottle attached, the gas comes out but it feels weak, and soon stops. I'm using chilled water from the fridge as the instructions said that was better.

ripplyuk

I'be just tried both the old and new cylinders again and they both do the same thing ie; air comes out at the start but quickly runs out. I think both are empty.

So I'll go back to Argos and ask for a replacement. The packaging was opened which should have also made me suspicious to begin with.

Does anyone know why the plastic sodastream bottles have an expiry date? Mine say 'Do not use after 04/2014'. Is there some danger or is it just for them to make more money?

facade

ripplyuk wrote: »

Does anyone know why the plastic sodastream bottles have an expiry date? Mine say 'Do not use after 04/2014'. Is there some danger or is it just for them to make more money?

Plastic is not the wonder material that it used to be.

Modern plastic goes brittle after a few years, just look at what happens to all that plastic that they conned you into replacing your cast iron guttering and wooden front door with with :mad:

They probably think the bottles will burst under pressure, the date is like the "sell by" dates in the supermarket, it is the last day they will absolutely guarantee that there is no problem, they are fine for ages after.

ripplyuk

Turns out the gas canister was the problem. It was empty and Argos exchanged it. The machine seems to be working as it should now.

However, my problem now is that the water isn't very fizzy. It's much less fizzy than bottled supermarket water and compared to a tin of Diet Coke, it's almost flat. I've tried chilling the water more, even to the point where it starts to freeze but it hasn't made any difference.

What am I doing wrong? Or, is this as good as it gets with a sodastream?

Slinky

Memory tells me they were never very fizzy. Nothing like commercial products

ripplyuk

Thanks Slinky.
I wish I'd known that beforehand. I wouldn't have bothered with it at all. What a waste of money :mad:

Though, at least I didn't pay for a brand new model!