I bought myself a seltzer bottle for Christmas. Isn’t it pretty?
At first, I couldn’t make it work. Then I noticed the cartridges not only said “Cream” but also said NO2 instead of CO2. (I had those cartridges because that’s what the chick at Williams-Sonoma sold me, okay?) I took the cartridges back, got the ones labeled “Soda,” and discovered they work much, much better.
Normally I drink carbonated water mixed with a slug or two of Torani syrups, available in nearly every flavor you can think of (and even more, if you buy the full-sugar ones — currently i use the sugar free ones flavored with Splenda). I hope adulterating perfectly good water with syrup removes it from my “glasses of water per day” total, but I can’t say that with certainty.
The best thing about making the bottle of soda is, of course, adding the CO2 to the water. You add the cartridge to the cartridge holder, carefully screw it in… and when the seal on the cartridge is pierced, WHOOMP! The water bubbles up. Then you shake the bottle a few times (to distributed the CO2?) and you’re good to go.
Now that I have used the seltzer bottle (successfully), I can give you a side-by-side comparison of how the bottle stacks up against a bottle of carbonated water (say, Crystal Geyser) bought at the store:
| Seltzer bottle | Bottle of water | |
| Attractiveness | High | None |
| Start-up cost | $50 | inc. in price of bottle |
| Price per liter | .50 (assuming box of cartridges at $5.00) | .88 (assuming 1.25 liter bottle at $1.10) |
| Sodium | As much as your drinking water | Low, but definitely there |
| Fizziness | On par with beer | On par with soda |
| Trash left over | One small cartridge per liter(recyclable) | One plastic bottle per 1.25 liters (recyclable) |
| Liberal guilt assuaged | Much | None |
Clearly in the short run it’s much more cost-effective to keep buying the carbonated water at the store, but I much, much prefer using the seltzer bottle. It tastes better, there’s no sodium, and best of all, I’m not filling up our recyclables container every week with four or five bottles.
So if you’re like me and a)like carbonated water and b)like to make your own Italian sodas with Torani syrup, I highly recommend picking up a seltzer bottle. There are both cheaper ones and bigger ones out there, depending on your needs.
Hah! We (well, I) had a major brain fart over the holidays. We have both the cream-whipper and a seltzer bottle and I (chemistry-challenged dork that I am) didn’t know they took different cartridges (they look exactly the same). So, I whipped up a batch of cream. Tasted AWFUL. Ew! We thought maybe the mechanism hadn’t been cleaned well enough from the last time. Cleaned. Whipped up another batch. Ew! Bitter and just awful. The hubby thought maybe they’d gone bad, but then noticed where I went when I went for another….
Problem solved. Oy.
Comment by hanna — January 16, 2006 @ 9:46 pm
(1) you shake it up to cause the CO2 to be absorbed into the water. It seems to me that it works better (more carbonated) if you then leave the cartidge attached a minute or two after shaking and maybe until you fill your first glass. My directions also said to use cold water (if you want cold soda).
(2) the soda cartidge is truly recyclable can be melted down into whatever metal is used for, and even saves much energy expended to refine raw ore into metal whereas the plastic bottle is not made into new plastic bottles, but into bulk plastics like 2×4s for park benches, which when done with go into landfill (unless something has changed lately), increasing the amount of liberal guilt assuaged. I first got a seltzer bottle about 1980, but got out of the practice till recently.
I make my own sodas, especially for my daughter who is alergic to artificial colors and other additives.
Comment by Carey Schug — November 30, 2006 @ 5:34 pm
Are any brands of seltzer bottles better than others?
Comment by Rick W — February 19, 2007 @ 6:19 pm
can you use the seltzer bottle to make egg cream fountain drinks such as the ones sold in the old days in Brooklyn? The kind where you put in some chocolate syrup, a little milk, then fizz in the soda and it gets all foamy. It doesn’t work when you just add club soda. You need some pressurized umph to it and I am wondering whether the seltzer bottle will do the trick. jean
Comment by jean — June 10, 2007 @ 9:37 am
Yup, absolutely — the seltzer bottle is what was originally used for making those egg creams.
Comment by Diane — June 11, 2007 @ 9:01 am
Where did you buy your seltzer bottle? I’ve been looking but all I can find are vintage pieces or modern stainless steel (” “) ones.
Thanks
e
Comment by Kirstin — March 3, 2008 @ 9:12 pm
I bought mine at Williams-Sonoma, which has some very nice glass ones.
Comment by Diane — March 4, 2008 @ 11:19 am
I bought the same wire mesh bottle at Goodwill for $3.99! I was wondering, do you need a housing around the chargers, or stick it right in?
Comment by Bruce — March 21, 2008 @ 12:59 am
You definitely need the housing. Check with the mrfizz.com website and call them; their accessories will possibly fit. Otherwise try the Williams Sonoma folk.
Comment by Jeff — May 21, 2008 @ 11:54 am
Best place for parts:
Types of seltzers
http://prairiemoon.biz/fuliofsosise.html
Links to parts pages
http://prairiemoon.biz/sosisebopa.html
Mr. Fizz wasn’t much help when I contacted them. Luckily, Liss parts fit my vintage BOC and Sparklets seltzer. Prarie Moon has a great return policy so you could try the cartridge holders for different brands and see what fits.
There is also the Nitrokit http://www.nitrokit.com - I haven’t been able to get answer from them about what siphon brands their charger holder works with but it looks very interesting. (I have an old seltzer missing the piercing pin).
Comment by jobo — August 11, 2008 @ 8:57 pm
More info:
Kovocas also made a steel mesh glass seltzer (along with Liss, and Sparklets). Most were made in Czechoslovakia or Hungary:
Kovocas/Kovočas Parts:
http://www.fantes.com/seltzer.html
Kayser Parts (don’t know that they did a mesh version but their parts might fit other brands):
http://www.trulythefinest.com/prodList.cfm/5251,M,Soda_Siphon_Spare_Parts,1,1,F,MX0
Comment by jobo — August 11, 2008 @ 9:33 pm