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Sodastream Carbonator Leakage, Usage, and Weight

SodaStream 60L "Carbonator" CO2 cylinders have a specific weight when empty, plus about 410 or so grams for the CO2 they should have when they're "full".  A little while ago I went to buy a replacement Carbonator from my local hardware store. The dealer pulled a new Carbonator out of the box and sensed it was lighter than usual.  He put the "light" Carbonator in the "empty" pile and sold me a different one. 

At that moment I concluded that it would be smart of me to weigh both new and empty SodaStream carbonators.  Here are the results.

Weighing a SodaStream Carbonator - for both Science and Consumer Protection.  

 

The dealer told me that sometimes the carbonators leak after they leave the SodaStream filling facility.  That means there could be an opportunity for customers like me to get ripped off!

The SodaStream cylinders I buy claim to have a net product weight of 410 grams - and that means that a full Soda Stream Carbonator should weigh at least 410 grams more than an empty Carbonator.

 Here are the typical gross and empty weights of SodaStream Carbonators I've found:

"410g Net" 60L SodaStream Carbonator Weight
Full: 1155 grams
Empty: 724 grams
CO2 Content: 431 grams

Actually it's a little more complicated than that.  It seems that there are two styles of carbonators, one with a dry weight of 686 grams, and another with a dry weight of 762 grams.  I think the newer ones are lighter, but I don't know that for a fact.

Here are my actual measurements of the Carbonators I've purchased, measured using my handy postage scale.

  • Carbonator1, empty: 688 grams
  • Carbonator2, empty: 690 grams
  • Carbonator3, full: 1114 g, empty: 686 g, net CO2: 428 g, days: Unk.
  • Carbonator4, full: 1192 g, empty: 762 g, net CO2: 430 g, days: 18
  • Carbonator5, full: 1126 g, empty: 686 g, net CO2 440 g, days: 17
  • Carbonator6 , full: 1180 g, empty: 762 g, net CO2 418 g, days: 21
  • Carbonator7, full: 1164 g, empty: TBD g, net CO2 g, days: TBD.
  • more coming as I use my SodaStream!

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