Over the last several years, my husband and I have become rather attached to our SodaStream machine. It gives us a quick burst of bubbly without all the chemical-sounding ingredients that traditional soda pop is laced with.
Everything has been wonderful until we picked up a new CO2 canister from a brick and mortar store and to our surprise — it was empty!
In the past we've always used the mail-in exchange program that the company offers. It's super easy, they send you a bag and you send your old canister back and in return, they send you a new one for a small price. Easy peasy.
We happened to be out shopping and saw the canisters for sale at a local retailer. Deciding to stock up instead of having to do the whole mailing thing, we purchased a spare for our pantry. Our old canister finished up and we turned to the new one we had purchased, hooked it up and it was empty! Empty!
We were in shock, could it really be empty? That seems ridiculous, it must have been our own mechanical error except that SodaStream machines are pretty foolproof. You just attach the bottle, push a button and done. We then picked up both bottles, old and new and sure enough, they had the same weight. Puzzling.
After a chat with the retail manager at the local it was purchased, we were able to get a refund, but it wasn't easy convincing them that we hadn't in fact used it all up and were just trying to pull a fast one. So we wanted to issue a warning to those folks buying your refills at a retail store, pick up more than one and make sure they're both heavy! We learned the hard way!
New To SodaStream? Check Out These Links
• Product Review: SodaStream Seltzer Water Maker
• Real Cream Soda!Learn To Make Soda Syrup At Home
(Images: Soda Stream)
How to Cook Moist & Tender Chicken Breasts Every Time
Recipe: Thai Ginger Chicken Stir-Fry
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Red-and-Pink-Stripe...
Things Fall Apart: Living Alone in a Space After a Breakup
Juan's Garage Turned Modern Guest House
This actually just happened to us too! The canister wasn't entirely empty, but it ran out about two days after we got it. My husband had a receipt, but they were weird about it. I hadn't thought to complain until just now, but I will be sending them a note shortly.
Good to know! I'll stick with the mail order then!
Wow. I've been buying my refills at Williams-Sonoma for years and have never had this happen. Did it have the green cap and plastic seal on it?
I work at a retailer that sells the SodaStream machine and refill bottles. Even though I've never sold one of these machines myself or even a refill, I did learn recently that there IS a difference in the bottles that we're to give to someone who comes in to buy a refill. By that I mean, the packaging and the bottle itself, never mind the weight. It could very well have been an innocent mistake on behalf of the sales associate, in which the case would be poor product education on behalf of the managers (yes, it happens all the time!).
If it happens to many times at one place, then that or those sales associates ignore what they are suppose to be selling to the customer who comes in asking for a refill bottle. And if that is the case, I would encourage for every customer to call in or leave comment cards to complain about the situation. The necessary product education training would be carried out to prevent this from happening in the future.
What is in the bottles? Kids inhaling nitrous?
SecondFloorWalkup- It was sealed just like normal, there was no indication of the mix up!
Anita83 - This store we purchased them from only sells new canisters, they didn't take returns, but I can see where a complication like that would occur!
if it still had the seal on it, that makes me think it had to have come from the vendor that way...
Agreed splatgirl, I don't think the store tampered with it in the slightest. Maybe it was just a hiccup in their production, but you better believe I'll start double checking from now on!
I did the math and decided it was better to refill my containers myself. I bought a 20lb siphon tank and a adapter valve online. now whenever i need a refill i just goto the garage and fillup. no waiting for the refill which is nice cause i use them up alot. Upfront investment was around $250. Worth considering your ROI if you end up spending alot on refills. Also consider splitting the cost with friends if they have a sodastream too.
http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/c908/ 8 bucks. Can be used on any liquid and is refilled with kitchen ingredients. Not as classy looking, but cheap effective and science fun!
Unfortunately you end up paying 10 to 20 times the cost of C02 by using their bottles. There are dozens of sites that show how to hook your Sodastream up to a 5 gal. C02 tank under your sink. You will refill the tank maybe once a year at a cost of about $18. Here is just one of many how to sites: DIY Sodastream
I ordered a sodastream on ebay and it was supposed to have 60 liter carbonater and it was empty. I called sodastream and the nice lady is sending me two 60 liter bottles for my trouble. :)