Tweak A Sodastream To Use Cheaper CO2 Containers

Tweak A Sodastream To Use Cheaper CO2 Containers

Owning a SodaStream is awesome, especially if you’re a carbonated water lover (and I am). Shelling out for those proprietary tanks and refills though, knowing that cheaper CO2 is widely available, isn’t. Luckily, it’s not difficult to hack your SodaStream and save a ton of money.

Here’s how this works:

  1. First, you’ll need a CO2 tank that you’ll use with your SodaStream going forward. You could even use a paintball CO2 tank. It might be bigger (and more expensive) than the tanks that come with your SodaStream, but the benefit is that it will last much much longer between charges.
  2. Second, you’ll need a remote line to connect the actual SodaStream with the tank, since obviously none of these will fit into the unit itself. (For example, the web site we’re referencing for this, SodaStream Hack, recommends this $24 one.)

  3. Finally, you’ll need an adaptor, so you can connect the hose to the SodaStream itself. They’re pretty widely available. (Check out this one and this one for the type of thing to look for.)

So we’re at a total investment of about $80-$150, but here’s the kicker: This will, once charged, last way longer than your traditional SodaStream canisters, and over time, you’ll make the money back in terms of saved trips to buy the smaller, proprietary ones.

This tweak isn’t exactly uncommon. Lots of SodaStream owners have converted their models to accept standard CO2 tanks and lines that they can easily — and affordably — have refilled whenever they want, at a fraction of the price of the proprietary ones. For example, SodaStream refills are usually around $19, and fresh, filled tanks are more than that, while you’re looking at $40 to fill even a 4.5kg tank, and it lasts three or four times as long as the Sodastream model.

SodaStream Hack [Weebly]

This post is part of our Evil Week series at Lifehacker, where we look at the dark side of getting things done. Sometimes evil is justified, and other times, knowing evil means knowing how to beat it. Want more? Check out our evil week tag page.


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