Hello everyone,
Does anyone have experience with soda faucets in the kitchen? I mean faucets where you can carbonate the tap water directly. How much does such a system cost? Or is it just a very expensive gadget? Water carbonators are quite affordable. Thank you very much
Does anyone have experience with soda faucets in the kitchen? I mean faucets where you can carbonate the tap water directly. How much does such a system cost? Or is it just a very expensive gadget? Water carbonators are quite affordable. Thank you very much
G
garfunkel2 Aug 2016 18:52Well, what does practical really mean? To be honest, I don’t find those things very practical at all. Usually, you don’t want to get up from the sofa or dining table just to get a glass. That’s why you take a bottle with you. Whether I fill it with water and quickly add carbonation with a soda device, or if it’s already ready from the tap, it doesn’t really matter.
You can also add flavors more easily in the bottle since there are plenty of flavor mixes in all kinds of varieties.
Then you only need to clean the bottle, not a whole system.
So, I think those systems belong in businesses, schools, or similar places—just where there’s a lot of “foot traffic” and hardly anyone brings their own bottle. In a private household, they’re simply impractical or unnecessary.
You can also add flavors more easily in the bottle since there are plenty of flavor mixes in all kinds of varieties.
Then you only need to clean the bottle, not a whole system.
So, I think those systems belong in businesses, schools, or similar places—just where there’s a lot of “foot traffic” and hardly anyone brings their own bottle. In a private household, they’re simply impractical or unnecessary.
In our company kitchens, we have both:
1. A faucet with adjustable carbonated water / sparkling water
2. A separate 100-degree Celsius (212°F) faucet for hot water used for tea
These faucets are supplied by a central water system with tap water, which is filtered before entering the drinking water circuit.
These installations are very nice and practical – in my opinion, however, they are suited for use cases with frequent demand (such as in a company environment). Otherwise, the investment is quite high compared to the actual benefit. These systems were designed to prevent situations where 20, 50, or 100 people bring their own kettles and coffee machines to the workplace, turning the kitchen into something like a car dealership parking lot—only with kettles and soda makers.
After three years, the 100-degree Celsius (212°F) faucets often tend to fail and require repairs. They break down in large numbers.
The sparkling water faucets also use a CO2 cylinder, similar to a SodaStream.
So – even though I find these faucets fascinating despite the high price:
Regarding point 1: We deliberately chose to buy a SodaStream (with glass bottles) instead of such a faucet. It’s used daily, has proven very reliable, especially since we have excellent and great-tasting tap water. Yes, it takes a little longer to prepare a bottle of water compared to the faucet, but that is only a matter of a few seconds.
Regarding point 2: When I boil water for a cup of tea in a kettle, it’s very fast and energy-efficient; the faucet can’t compete with that.
In my opinion, for normal household use, a SodaStream and a good kettle are more than sufficient. With a combined purchase cost of about 130 euros (approximately 140 US dollars), it’s quite reasonable.
Best regards,
Thorsten
1. A faucet with adjustable carbonated water / sparkling water
2. A separate 100-degree Celsius (212°F) faucet for hot water used for tea
These faucets are supplied by a central water system with tap water, which is filtered before entering the drinking water circuit.
These installations are very nice and practical – in my opinion, however, they are suited for use cases with frequent demand (such as in a company environment). Otherwise, the investment is quite high compared to the actual benefit. These systems were designed to prevent situations where 20, 50, or 100 people bring their own kettles and coffee machines to the workplace, turning the kitchen into something like a car dealership parking lot—only with kettles and soda makers.
After three years, the 100-degree Celsius (212°F) faucets often tend to fail and require repairs. They break down in large numbers.
The sparkling water faucets also use a CO2 cylinder, similar to a SodaStream.
So – even though I find these faucets fascinating despite the high price:
Regarding point 1: We deliberately chose to buy a SodaStream (with glass bottles) instead of such a faucet. It’s used daily, has proven very reliable, especially since we have excellent and great-tasting tap water. Yes, it takes a little longer to prepare a bottle of water compared to the faucet, but that is only a matter of a few seconds.
Regarding point 2: When I boil water for a cup of tea in a kettle, it’s very fast and energy-efficient; the faucet can’t compete with that.
In my opinion, for normal household use, a SodaStream and a good kettle are more than sufficient. With a combined purchase cost of about 130 euros (approximately 140 US dollars), it’s quite reasonable.
Best regards,
Thorsten
D
daniels877 Aug 2016 11:04It depends on your expectations. Personally, I think the Sodastream doesn’t add enough carbonation to the water. To me, it always tastes like the last sip from a store-bought bottle.
Therefore, I’m curious whether the larger machines can do better.
Therefore, I’m curious whether the larger machines can do better.
daniels87 schrieb:
Personally, I find that the Sodastream doesn’t add enough carbonation to the water. It always tastes like the last sip from a store-bought bottle.
So I’m curious whether larger devices can do better.Hi,
I’m a bit surprised. Well – I myself drink water with fairly low carbonation. But my wife prefers it very carbonated. The Sodastream works perfectly fine for us. The water my wife makes has so much fizz that I feel like I would float away from the bubbles in my stomach.
The “Max” setting on the G***e faucet at our workplace is roughly equivalent to pushing as much carbonation into the water as you do with the Sodastream. “Low” corresponds to just one press on the Sodastream. There’s really nothing to complain about with the Sodastream device – unless it’s broken or the cartridge is empty or running low. But we also have empty cartridges at work…..
Best regards,
Thorsten