Mildly Interesting

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This Sodastream was on sale for 1/3rd of its regular price... (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) by cosmicrookie@lemmy.world to c/mildlyinteresting@lemmy.world

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[–] bilb@lem.monster 9 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (3 children)

I use a "Spärkel" carbonator. Instead of CO2 canisters, it uses packets of citric acid and baking soda to generate CO2 and uses a compressor to infuse the liquid.

Pros:

You can either use their pre-measured packets if that's convenient for you, or do what I do and just buy a bulk amount of both the citric acid and baking soda.
You can carbonate pretty much any liquid. Water, wine, flat soda, mixed drinks, you name it. The sodastream will explode and cause a huge mess if you try to carbonate anything besides water.
They don't appear to be Israeli.

Cons:

Because it uses a compressor, it needs to be plugged in to operate. It's pretty loud too!
It takes longer than a sodastream. While a sodastream is almost instant, this will take 1-3 minutes depending on the level of carbonation you desire.

[–] grue@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago (2 children)

I suddenly find myself wondering if I could make carbonated water by mixing citric acid baking soda directly in a 2-liter bottle, and pressurize it by screwing the cap back on quickly. It's probably a really bad idea due to the risk of explosion if you add too much reagent, and also because you'd end up with a bunch of sodium citrate in your carbonated water, which seems like it would be safe to drink but might not taste good.

[–] bilb@lem.monster 3 points 1 week ago

You probably could, but you'd have the taste of citric acid (which is not awful) and baking soda in the water. The Spärkel has the water that activates the reaction in a separate chamber so they don't wind up in your drink. You need to change that water every four or five times you use it.

[–] Sphks@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Please film it. Thanks.

[–] Not_mikey@slrpnk.net 3 points 1 week ago

Thank you, been looking for a replacement for my soda stream but have been hesitant since it's so easy to get canisters for them, but none of the competitors.

[–] Krauerking@lemy.lol 2 points 1 week ago

Yeah I really like mine too but you got to make sure to clean out the activation chamber occasionally with warm water.

I keep wishing/wondering if there was a simpler version that could be made using baking soda and dripping in vinegar as the acid.
I feel like there is a shocking amount of improvement possible on the concept of base and acid homemade carbonation systems.