I starting carbonating when I moved the to the West Coast and couldn't find any seltzer bubbly enough for my tastes. I visited my local home brew shop for parts and soon had a system that could carbonate almost anything. I've made my own ginger ale and root beer, revived flat champagne, made gin and tonics from scratch, and even added fizz to coffee and blueberries (they're acquired tastes).
This guide will help you find a system to meet your needs. I'll start by reviewing the benefits of carbonating, then compare 4 systems including costs, provide recommendations based on what you're looking for, and provide links to other websites where you can buy the systems and CO2.
Save money: Make your own seltzer for 5% to 50% of the cost of commercial seltzer.
Save space: Eliminate the need to transport and store heavy bottles.
Help the environment: Reduce the carbon costs of shipping liquids long distances. Use the same bottle many times.
Get creative: Carbonate your own sodas and cocktails, or even blueberries and cherry tomatoes!
SodaStream | DIY | Fizz Giz | iSi Soda Siphon | |
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Initial Cost | $80 - $200 | $130 - $150 | $43 | $48 |
Cost Per Liter 1 | 29¢ | 5¢ | 50¢ | 42¢ |
Ease of Use 2 | ★★★★★ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★☆☆ |
Earth Friendly 3 | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★☆☆ |
Liquid Options | water only | any | any | any |
Bottle Material | PEN plastic 4 | PET plastic 5 | PET plastic | steel or aluminum |
CO2 Source | proprietary canister |
standard CO2 tank |
single-use cartridge |
single-use cartridge |
SodaStream | DIY | Fizz Giz | iSi Soda Siphon | |
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Pros |
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Cons |
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the easiest system and only want to carbonate water, get a SodaStream.
the least expensive system in the long run, put together a DIY system.
a portable system, get a Fizz Giz.
a system that looks great on the table or at your home bar, get a siphon.
SodaStream:
sodastreamusa.com/sparkling-water-makers-c1.aspx
See their comparison
for help choosing a model.
DIY:
You can buy a pre-assembled kit for $150 from Keg Outlet.
To build your own, see the
Serious Eats tutorial which includes links to buy parts online.
Tip: CO2 tanks ship empty, so check for local places to fill your tank size ahead of time.
Fizz Giz: fizzgiz.com and 16g unthreaded cartridges (also known as chargers or bulbs)
iSi Siphon: Stainless Steel Siphon and 8g unthreaded cartridges (also known as chargers or bulbs)
All calculations are in US dollars as of December 2015.
Liters per pound of CO2
8 grams of CO2 per liter of water makes fizzy seltzer.
1 pound = 454g
454 / 8 = 57 liters/pound
SodaStream
A SodaStream canister exchange (14.5 oz / “60L” carbonator) costs $15.
It makes about 52 liters at 8g/l.
15 / 52 = $0.29 per liter
Note: About half of SodaStream models
allow using the larger
“130L” canisters. These
reduce the cost by a few cents per liter if you pay $30 per
exchange.
DIY
A pound of CO2 costs about $3 from most suppliers.
3 / 57 = $0.05 per liter.
If you have a large tank (5, 10, or 20 pounds) it may cost even less.
Fizz Giz
A package of 100 unthreaded 16-gram CO2 cartridges
costs $99 from Amazon. Each bulb costs $0.99 and makes about 2
liters of seltzer.
0.99 / 2 = $0.50 per liter
iSi Siphon
A package of 100 unthreaded 8-gram CO2 cartridges costs $42 from
Amazon. Each bulb will make 1 liter of seltzer.
42 / 100 = $0.42 per liter
I rated the SodaStream higher because I've found it to be the easiest system to use right off the bat.
The other systems have a small learning curve, but are all fairly easy once you get used to them.
Any system is significantly better for the environment than buying bottled drinks, primarily because of the carbon cost of shipping water long distances.
SodaStream
Slightly less environmentally friendly than the DIY system.
Smaller CO2 canisters require more trips to the store and higher
shipping weights.
DIY
The
most efficient because you can buy large CO2 canisters. There is a
small cost for plastic bottles, but they can be reused many times
instead of being recycled or thrown away.
Fizz Giz and iSi Siphon
Rated lower because they
use single-use CO2 cartridges. Cartridges are recyclable when empty but use
more material and energy than a large canister. 8g cartridges are a bit less efficient than 16g.
The overall amount is very low as a percentage of all emissions.
PEN plastic is polyethylene naphthalate, used in current SodaStream bottles. (Older SodaStream bottles used PET.) It's dishwasher safe and recyclable in some places (#7 plastic).
PET or PETE plastic
is polyethylene terephthalate, used in most seltzer and soda
bottles. It's also known as #1 plastic and should not be exposed to
high heat. With the DIY and Fizz Giz systems, you can reuse bottles
from any carbonated drinks.