I bought my Carbonator / Soda Siphon / CO2 Charger from Soda Club USA ( Soda Club International ) to carbonate filtered tap water. Carbonater does not use electricity.They have several different models to chose from. My model takes a 33oz gas cylinder. This will carbonate about 110L of cold water.My original order included the carbonating machine, two gas cylinders and two carbonating bottles.Soda Club's large gas cylinders are refillable. This is better than the most common type of soda siphon that uses one time use, individual charger cartridges for each Liter of water.Soda Club sells the chargers with two cylinders so you can continue using the charger while waiting for an empty cylinder to be refilled. You can also purchase additional back up cylinders.My order was delivered in 2 days. From what I understand, they have local folks as local distributors. These individuals will exchange your cylinder when it is empty. You do not need to ship, or mail it in anywhere. Place the order and you will receive a date when the delivery is scheduled. Leave the cylinder by your front door and it is magically full when you come back home. Reminds me of the Milk Man when I was a kid.I suppose I might get faster service because I'm in San Francisco, an Eco friendly big city.The system also came with two Soda Club bottles. These are heavy plastic bottles that I fill with (only) cold water and then mount on the machine and carbonate. There are suggestions on most Make your Own soda sites, to carbonate these full bottles of water and then add syrup to have a bottle of flavored Soft Drink.I prefer to keep only water in the bottles. When I want a soft drink, I pour one ounce of syrup into a glass and fill it the rest of the way with carbonated water.This way I can keep many different flavors of syrup on hand to make into a soft drink in an instant.I also can drink the carbonated water as just clear seltzer, use a squeeze of lemon, or dilute fruit juices half and half. There are many suggestions to use carbonated water on stains (I haven't tested this).If you would rather have full bottles of soft drinks, you can order additional charger bottles from Soda Club.How to charge a liter of waterWarning - do not attempt to charge anything but water. Other liquids will cause a mess.There is a line on the side of the bottle that shows the fill level.Add cold filtered water to this line.Screw the bottle onto the charger.Depress the button on the top.The charger will make a loud noise when fully charged. You can depress the button a few more times if you like more carbonation.Unscrew the bottle from the charger and put the cap on.Pretty simple.Colder water holds more carbonation.Machine service and maintenanceI've found the surface to be easy to wipe clean if I splatter it with something (It is on my kitchen counter). Because you only carbonate clean water, there is no cleaning of any kind necessary.When the gas cylinder is empty:* Unscrew the empty cylinder* Replace with the full spare cylinder* Put the cover back on the machine* Put the empty cylinder in the box you just removed the new one from* Order a gas refill by phone or on the internet* On your delivery date, put your gas cylinder outside your door. Don't wrap or box it up.* A full cylinder will be exchanged for the empty oneThese cylinders are refilled over and over. This is so much better than the single use cartridges that are disposed or recycled.BIG NOTE ABOUT MEASUREMENTS AND COSTSThere are huge possibilities for cost differences. I like a lightly flavored, lightly sweetened, highly carbonated soda. If you like a different style your costs and measurements will be different.Costs change drastically with quantity also. I can only tell you what it costs for me.*I rounded all Metric conversions to what I think is probably the common size used.* * For example the 4oz bottle of concentrate actually contains 118mL. I used 120mL for the calculations.* * A single serving in the U.S. is 16oz, that is 473mL. I used 450mL for the single serving conversion as I think that is the standard size used in many countries.Please let me know if you find a large error. Small mismatches in conversions are probably because of the simplification of measures.

MAKING YOUR OWN SYRUPThere are premixed syrups available for sale on several sites including Soda Club and Prairie Moon.I prefer to mix my own syrups.I purchase concentrated soft drink flavorings from Prairie Moon Beverage Company in 4oz 120mL bottles. I sweeten my soda with Generic Aspartame (Equal or Nutrasweet). You can use almost any kind of sweetener that you prefer. I've never used sugar, so I'll provide a link to Prairie Moon Beverage Companies Recipe Page.Prairie Moon syrups can also be used to flavor coffees, ice cream, and in mixed drinks.Prairie Moon offers 41 flavors of concentrated syrup flavorings. I'll include a list of these flavors on the last step. They are continuously adding new flavors to try out (they also drop the most unpopular - they can't all be hits).They are sold in 4oz 120mL bottles. Although you can buy individual bottles of syrup concentrate, the price is reduced for larger orders. Order 24 bottles and the price is only $2.49 per bottle. You can pick any variety of flavors for the order. You could purchase 24 different flavors in that single order. The choice is up to you.I ordered 12 bottles in an assortment of flavors with doubles of my favorites. Since it was my first order I didn't want to do the full 24 until I'd tasted them. Now I'd have no problem ordering 24. These flavorings are DELICIOUS. I can also mix them with my favorite sweetener and to the strength that I choose.BIG NOTE ABOUT MEASUREMENTS AND COSTSThere are huge possibilities for cost differences. I like a lightly flavored, lightly sweetened, highly carbonated soda. If you like a different style your costs and measurements will be different.Costs change drastically with quantity also. I can only tell you what it costs for me.*I rounded all Metric conversions to what I think is probably the common size used.* * For example the 4oz bottle of concentrate actually contains 118mL. I used 120mL for the calculations.* * A single serving in the U.S. is 16oz, that is 473mL. I used 450mL for the single serving conversion as I think that is the standard size used in many countries.Please let me know if you find a large error. Small mismatches in conversions are probably because of the simplification of measures.

My delivery of 12 bottles of syrup was in a box about 1/2 the size of a shoe box (I wear a size 12 shoe).Syrups and sodas are mixed to taste. You may get more or less per bottle of concentrate, and you may use more or less sweetening.I mix my soda with about 1/2 the sweetness of Prairie Moon's recipe. I also mix my soda with a little less syrup than suggested. I prefer the light, not overly sweet sodas that I can make at home.MIXING INSTRUCTIONSSyrup1 oz (30mL) Concentrated Syrup Flavoring30 Packets of Equal (Aspartame) The brand was on sale but I usually buy the generic* I haven't found large quantity sweetener in anything but individual serve packets!15 oz (420mL) Water 1/2 warm and 1/2 cold1 oz (30mL) measure16 oz (450mL) repurposed glass bottle - I use Snapple bottles mainlyFill one half clean empty Snapple bottle with warm water.Add 30 packets of Aspartame.Cover and shake. Let bottle sit for a few minutes.Then shake until sweetener is dissolved.Add 1 oz (30mL) Concentrated Syrup FlavoringCover and Shake.Fill the rest of the way to the top with Cold Filtered Water.Refrigerate mixed syrup.Syrup concentrate does not need to be refrigerated when unopened but will last longer if it is.Mixing a single serving of Soft DrinkIn a 16 oz (450mL) glass, add 1 oz (30 mL) mixed syrup (I use slightly less), pour in plain seltzer water from Soda Club bottle. Stir gently, add ice and top off with soda.How Much does 4oz (118mL) Concentrate make?32 oz (1.8L) SyrupFinished soft drink - *32 16oz 450mL servings*3.75 gallons 14.5L All estimates are based on my tasteCost per 16oz (450mL) serving:7 cents concentrate1.3 cents sweetener9 cents Soda Water (gas only)Total 17.3 cents per 16oz 450mL serving of SodaBIG NOTE ABOUT MEASUREMENTS AND COSTSThere are huge possibilities for cost differences. I like a lightly flavored, lightly sweetened, highly carbonated soda. If you like a different style your costs and measurements will be different.Costs change drastically with quantity also. I can only tell you what it costs for me.*I rounded all Metric conversions to what I think is probably the common size used.* * For example the 4oz bottle of concentrate actually contains 118mL. I used 120mL for the calculations.* * A single serving in the U.S. is 16oz, that is 473mL. I used 450mL for the single serving conversion as I think that is the standard size used in many countries.Please let me know if you find a large error. Small mismatches in conversions and cost estimates, are probably because of the simplification of measures.

Syrup Concentrate Flavors41 flavors in 4oz 120mL bottles are currently available in concentrated from from Prairie Moon Beverage Company .Some are meant to be used for other things like flavoring coffees, ice cream, snow cones,...All can be used for Soft Drinks.*Personal note: Cream soda is the best I've ever tastedCURRENT FLAVOR LIST - Nov 2008Almond Cola Lemon Pink Lemon Sour (pink lemonade)Amaretto Cotton Candy Lemon Drop (lemonade) Red RaspberryBanana Creme de Menthe Lemon Lime Root BeerBlackberry Cream Soda Lime SarsaparillaBlack Cherry Fruit Punch (hawaiian) Mango Sour CherryBlueberry Fuzzy Navel Maraschino Cherry Sour GrapeBlue Raspberry Fuzzy Peach Marshmallow StrawberryButterscotch Ginger Ale Margarita Strawberry BananaCaramel Grape Orange Strawberry DaiquiriCherry Green Apple Orange Dream Tigers BloodChocolate Guava Orange Pineapple VanillaChocolate Malted Hazelnut Papaya WatermelonChocolate Raspberry Irish Creme Peppermint Wedding CakeCinnamon Kahlua Pina ColadaCoconut Key Lime Pie PineappleCoffee Kiwi Pink Bubblegum