PHILIPS ADD4901BLO/37 Sparkling Water Maker Soda Maker Soda Streaming Machine for Carbonating with 1L Carbonating Bottle, Seltzer Fizzy Water Maker, Compatible with 60L CO2 Carbonator(NOT Included)

I owned a Sodastream, and I can't tell the difference between that model and the Phillips brand of carbonator. They both do the job equally well. I'm thrilled that I saved myself all the money it would have taken to get a Sodastream. I have used the Phillips for two weeks...which means I can't comment on its longevity. It could break right after I write this review. (If it does, I'll update the review.)Both units are very simple. Screw in the CO2 cannister and push the oversized button to carbonate the water. I don't use sweetener. I like plain H2O.If you're new to this product, you might be wondering how long the CO2 cannister lasts (I don’t think the type of carbonation machine you purchase, whether Sodastream or Phillips, makes a difference). After all, you want to save money on eight-packs of Bubly, right? Overall, you will save money. . .except you'll drink more water, which might end up being more expensive. Still, as far as dollars to product, this method is less expensive (once you surpass the initial cost of the machine and cannisters). Again, I save money because I do NOT buy flavors.Based on my body weight, I need to drink about a gallon of water per day. (If you're interested in improving your health, divide your body weight in half and drink that many ounces per day.) That means I need to drink 128 ounces or so. Four Phillips bottles of carbonated water allow me to meet and exceed that goal by about four ounces. Each bottle is one liter. (1 liter = 33.814 ounces).Over these last two weeks, I ended up drinking three or four bottles of soda water per day. I pumped the oversized button three or four times per bottle. The problem is you have to pump more as the CO2 cannister nears empty (at the end, it was five or seven times). On the thirteenth day, I couldn't get any fizz worth enjoying, so I figure I got twelve days of use out of a single cannister. Those last few days produced mediocre carbonation, hardly worth drinking. Once the carbonation is gone, the water tastes unpleasant to me.I just replaced the cannister at Walmart for $18 after tax. That means I spent $1.50 per day on my habit (18 dollars / 12 days = 1.5).Previously, I would purchase Bubly brand eight-packs. That came to about $4.75 after tax, each, or $0.60 per can. I would need to drink 11 cans per day to match four Phillips bottles. That’s about $6.60 per day—as opposed to $1.50 per day making my own fizzy water. I’ve saved roughly five dollars per day.THE HIDDEN CATCH: I didn’t usually drink Bubly every day. Carbonated water was a treat that cost me about $25 per month. But now that I can make my own treat whenever I want, I am looking at about $45 per month refilling those cannisters.THE HIDDEN BENEFIT: I am more likely to meet my healthful water-drinking goal if the water is carbonated. It makes me feel like I’m being naughty, so I drink more.So, look, if you are a soda hound, making your own fizz is the way to go. But do the math, because it may or may not save you money.====Update.For those of you who are like me: canned soda, whether just water or cola, is only good for a few minutes after you pop the top. I rarely finish a Coca-cola unless I drink it right away. It's the same for Sodastream and Phillips. The carbonation is just begging to escape the bottle. Therefore, I marathon drink my fizzy water, because if I wait, the beverage will lose its "oomph" and I'll dump it out, wasting CO2.That might not be you, but do consider that you might be speed-drinking these 1-liter (33 ounce) bottles just to keep up with the C02 loss. It's less to lose if you're drinking a twelve-ounce can of soda. Something to consider.

This carbonator is fantastic. Minimal space on the countertop and WAYYYYYY more cost effective than the other brands out there! I bought when there was only white, but now I wish I'd gotten the pastel colors!

Here at home we are big consumers of sparkling water, and in Brazil this equipment is not very common. With this equipment I can make sparkling water whenever I want, being very practical and quick to do it. Positive points: design, stainless steel button, quality of the bottle, speed to obtain sparkling water. Negative points: the plastic material of the body of the device seems fragile, the placement of the cylinder, although easy and quick to place, the fact that the cylinder container is not visible, generates a bit of insecurity when screwing it on. The manual says that a noise will be heard when the gas charge per bottle is sufficient. The only noise I heard was the gas being expelled from the cylinder, which I confess is a bit scary. But it may be that I am not experienced and I was worried about the expansion of the gas in the bottle.

I converted to sparkling water years ago. I would buy 2 litre bottles from my local grocery store but got tired of running out or having to make special trips to the store for more. This machine solves all the problems and does it in a simple, elegant and functional appliance. Screw in a CO2 cartridge and away you go. Great sparkling water any time you need it.

Why has Philips made this so difficult??? My old Soda Stream carbonator broke after several years of great service & I thought I would try the Philips brand - I now wish that I didn't. I bought the Philips ADD4902BKO/37 carbonator on the basis that it was compatible with the screw valve CO2 cylinders I already have, and based on comments I had read it seemed to be compatible with the Soda Stream plastic bottles. When I got the carbonator it did work with the screw in CO2 bottles, but I found that it wouldn't work with the Soda Stream plastic bottles. The Philips plastic bottle has 4 'bayonet lugs' that are used to lock the plastic bottle to the carbonator. I realized that I obviously needed to order the correct plastic bottles for this Philips carbonator. I selected from the Amazon website a pair of Philips plastic bottles that were recommended as being compatible with the carbonator I had purchased - and I checked that they were listed as being compatible with the ADD4902BKO/37 carbonator. When I received these new plastic bottles I realized that they didn't have the 4 bayonet lugs and hence are just the same as the Soda Stream bottles I already had. Something didn't add up here so I went digging into this compatibility issue further.On close inspection of the carbonator machine I had purchased I realized that the serial number on the bottom of the item suggests that the model number is actually ADD4902BKOQ/37. It seems that the letter "Q" in the model number has major significance - not that this is pointed out on the Philips website, nor is this highlighted on the Amazon advert. From what I can tell it seems like this letter "Q" denotes that the carbonator has what some people are calling a "quick twist neck" - I.E., the plastic bottle features 4 bayonet lugs, and the absence of the letter "Q" means that the plastic bottle is the original screw top type.It wouldn't be so bad if this was all clearly laid out however the Philips website doesn't even talk about these two completely different bottle types nor does it explain that there is a compatibility issue if you have the wrong type of plastic bottle. I see other users have made comments about the plastic bottles not sealing correctly when carbonating & I am guessing that this is the cause of issues with other users and I suspect that they might not have an engineering background and the ability to try and diagnose exactly what the issue is.What made this issue particularly bad in my situation was that I ordered a carbonator with the ADD4902BKO/37 model number but in reality I was sent a ADD4902BKOQ/37 and to a new customer not fully versed in the subtle differences in Philips part numbers, there was nothing obvious to suggest that I had been sent the ADD4902BKOQ/37 model - I am only able to determine this difference by inspecting the serial number on the bottom of the carbonator.As a customer I don't really care which model of carbonator and plastic bottles I have - BUT what is important is that I want a carbonator and plastic bottles that are compatible with each other.What makes this a really bad issue is that it seems that even Philips are not aware of this compatibility issue - if you order a device with one model number and they actually send you a device with a slightly different model number.I would characterize this issue as constituting that this product is not fit for its intended purpose. If Philips can't effectively manage the fact that they are selling different types of carbonators and plastic bottles and they have compatibility issues then they shouldn't sell this product. I would welcome a technical representative from Philips contacting me so that I can show them the extent of how bad this compatibility issue is - specifically regarding many of the product pages on the Amazon platform and even the information on the Philips website.