REVIEW – My kids and I love soda. Yeah, I know it’s not great for our health. Being in my 50s, I’ve cut way back on my soda intake and drink a lot more water. But sometimes, you WANT something fizzy with flavor. We’ve had a Soda Stream in the past, but SOMEONE kept putting the plastic bottles that came with it in the dishwasher, which deformed them, making them useless. So, we just stopped using it and got rid of it. Fast forward a couple of years, and the kiddos started asking for another soda maker. I was reluctant until the Drinkmate LUX came up for review. I figured they would use it a time or two, and then I’d have to find someone else who wanted it. So, how did the Drinkmate Lux fare? Was it as easy as the previous one we had? If you like soda and fizzy drinks, read on to find out.
⬇︎ Jump to summary (pros/cons)
Price: $299.99
Where to buy: Drinkmate or Amazon
What is it?
The Drinkmate LUX is a stainless steel soda maker that uses CO2 tanks but can make pretty much any drink fizzy, not just water. The LUX set even comes with a stainless steel bottle, which is better than any plastic one.
What’s included?
- Drinkmate LUX
- Stainless steel fizz maker
- Stainless steel 0.7L bottle with cap
- 1 60L CO2 cylinder
- User guides
Design and features
The main feature of the Drinkmate LUX, really any of the Drinkmate soda makers, is the fact that you can carbonate pretty much any drink. That’s right. You aren’t limited to just fizzing up your water and adding it to whatever you want to mix it with. Would you like fizzy fruit juice? You can have it. Do you have a fizzy drink you “forgot” about, like my teenagers tend to do? You can recarbonate it. Yep, even adult beverages like beer, sparkling wine, or champagne.
The snazziest feature of the LUX is stainless steel. The main body, the fizz infuser, and the included bottle are all constructed of or with stainless steel. If you are going for that look in your kitchen or bar setup, then the Drinkmate LUX fits right in.
The fizz infuser also has an automatic release valve, so you can’t overpressurize the bottle. Honestly, I don’t remember if the Soda Stream had that or not. I do remember opening a bottle or 2 and having the contents spew everywhere. IF you follow the instructions, you shouldn’t have that issue here. More about that in a bit.
The stainless steel bottle that came in the LUX bundle that I received has a double-wall construction, meaning it’ll keep the contents cold longer. It comes with a separate screw on cap just for that purpose.
The LUX bundle also comes with a 60L CO2 cylinder so you can make plenty of drinks right after taking it out of the box. You also aren’t limited to Drinkmate-specific cylinders. If you have or purchase other tanks with compatible threads, they’ll fit right in. Drinkmate also has a tank exchange service, so you can order more cylinders in exchange for your empties, even if they aren’t the Drinkmate brand.
The Drinkmate systems are also designed for easy cleanup. Simply rinse the fizz infuser under warm water while the stainless steel bottle is dishwasher safe. They do have PET plastic bottles, but they recommend hand washing those.
Assembly, Installation, Setup
Assembling the Drinkmate LUX soda maker is pretty simple. First, remove the front plate of the stand itself.
Next, flip it over and look down at the valve where the CO2 tank will connect. There’s a small black plug that needs to be removed. Simply unscrew that and take a picture for your review. Or, you know, toss it if you’re not reviewing it for others. Now, attach the tank by screwing it into the aforementioned valve and pop that plate back on.
Now we’re getting somewhere! Fill the bottle up to the line inside the bottle with whatever liquid you plan to carbonate. It’s recommended that if you’re mixing ingredients for your fizzy masterpiece, you do that beforehand and then pour it in. Then, attach the fizz infuser to the bottle.
Next, flip the lever out to 45 degrees and slide the bottle in, paying attention to align the grooves in the fizz infuser to the tabs in the lever. Push the bottle and lever back to the 90-degree position, and you’re ready to go. Press the button on the top of the Drinkmate in short bursts until you hear the fizz infuser release gases. Flip the lever and bottle back to 45 degrees and remove the bottle. Drinkmate suggests swirling the bottle a bit to ensure better carbonation. Now, flip up the black tab on the fizz infuser to release more pressure from the bottle slowly. Finally, press the blue tab that acts to release any remaining pressure faster. Now go enjoy your drink, you animal you.
Performance
The Drinkmate LUX does just what it claims to do. You can fizz up pretty much anything you can think of. My daughter made some homemade ginger ale syrup with lemon. Man, that made some good soda. I suggest you do follow the instructions, though. Although instructions are included, I did accidentally bend the white tube coming out of the nozzle. Either because I’m a moron or couldn’t really make out some of the written instructions. I didn’t understand that the “lever” flipped out to a 45-degree position. When I first started trying to flip it out, I felt like it was taking too much pressure to do so and was afraid of breaking something, so while trying to insert the bottle, I bent the tube. After finally saying what the hell and pulling a little harder, the lever popped into position, and we were able to insert the bottle correctly. The bottle itself has some lugs that allow the fizz infuser to positively attach so at least I couldn’t screw that up.
We wasted a lot of CO2 from that first bottle because of my goof-up. CO2 was leaking out because the nozzle wasn’t aligned properly, and the drinks were fizzy but not as much as we expected. While we were waiting on the arrival of a couple of more tanks, I futzed around with the nozzle and was able to get it back into place, and now the Drinkmate works perfectly. The drinks are extraordinarily fizzy. One of my sons pretty much drinks juice exclusively and really enjoys carbonating it.
A couple of things to note. One, don’t overfill the bottle. My kids, who aren’t into the whole “read the instructions” thing, have overfilled the bottle a couple of times, causing it to spew contents. Naturally, as a Dad, I did what most other dads would do. I pointed and laughed. I said I told you so followed with now clean up the mess.
Final thoughts
We love the Drinkmate LUX here at the Woodham household. We’ve made our own soda syrup to make the ginger ale I mentioned. We’ve gotten some different syrups to try, which made a pretty decent cream soda. I’m a simple fellow. I like flavored sparkling water, and just squeeze a lemon or lime into some water. Out of all the items I’ve reviewed for The Gadgeteer, my kids have all said this one is the best. It is a little pricey but considering the cost of sodas, you could save money over time and the Drinkmate can carbonate more than just water.
The Drinkmate LUX is easy to use as long as you follow the instructions. Drinkmate has a good video on their website showing the whole process. Here’s the link if you’re interested.
What I like about Drinkmate LUX
- Looks great
- The bottle is dishwasher-safe
- Compatible with other tanks
- Can carbonate more than just water
- Easy to use
What needs to be improved?
- Nothing if you actually follow the instructions
Price: $299.99
Where to buy: Drinkmate or Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by Drinkmate. Drinkmate did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
Check out these other reviews!
- iGulu F1 smart beer maker review – It’s like a bread machine, but for beer!
- Carbon8 sparkling water dispenser review – Ditch the bottles with this gadget!
Gerber Gear 22-47162N Fast Draw Folding Assisted Opening Pocket Knife, Fine Edge, Black
15% Off
