How to make your own Sparkel water Carbonator

Follow me on Twitter & Instagram @ErinLYYC

Have you purchased a Sparkel seltzer or sparkling water machine? This machine carbonates your beverages without CO tanks, like Sodastream uses. Instead it used special sachets to create carbon dioxide for your beverage naturally. I’m Erin TGC.com and One advantage of the Sparkel machine is that if you don’t want to pay for and deal with the waste associated with pre-portioned plastic sachets of carbonator, you can make your own. I’m going to show you exactly how to do it. Early heads up if you Like &SUB...

If you’re not familiar with Sparkel and how it works, check out my full review or my head to head comparison to sodastream here on the channel.

First off, What is Sparkel carbonator?

Sparkel carbonator is just two things: citric acid and sodium bicarbonate, each in its own little packet. Sparkel says this combination mixes with the water and generates CO2 gas naturally when mixed with water.

Citric acid is Citric acid is found naturally in citrus fruits, especially lemons and limes. It’s what gives them their tart, sour taste. A powdered form of citric acid is commonly used as an additive in food, cleaning products, and it’s used as a preservative. It’s largely odorless and colorless. You can get it at soapmaking or natural health stores or find it on Amazon.

You’ll be familiar with sodium bicarbonate under another name… baking soda. This powder gives lift to baked goods and creates those lovely air pockets in things like cakes and muffins. You can get it in grocery stores in boxes or pick it up in bulk to save money.

Here’s how to make Sparkel carbonator powder.

I measured out Sparkel’s sachets with measuring spoons so this isn’t super precise, but it works for me: To make your own Sparkel carbonator powder, measure 1 tablespoon of citric acid and just under 1 tablespoon of baking soda. Pour them into your Sparkel and close the lid.

Go through the carbonation process as you normally would.

This hack works just as well as the company’s own branded sachets. It’s less expensive and creates less waste.

That’s how to DIY your Sparkel. Of course you can also keep it simple and order the sachets right from Sparkel or pick them up at the store where you got your machine.

If you want to read more TCG.com I’ve also got blogs about sparkel vs sodastream and how they compare plus a detailed review of the Sparkel.

[ritchiedee]

I LOVE that she doesn't waste time and sounds professional. great job.

[joannek]

I weighed the carbonator for accuracy, it's 10g citric acid and 12g baking soda. I honestly can't tell the difference between the two.
I ordered this a few days ago based on your recommendation and it's held up great!

[Amy-ejpx]

Did anyone feel like they were listening to a newscast? Great voice.

[joannek]

Hi Erin and everyone, just writing to say, almost after a year my Sparkel has held up great. A tip to keep it clean is to carbonate some water after each carbonation of something else (whether it's juice, wine, tea, etc.) and to make sure you tidy up as much powder spillage as possible near the opening.
A kg of Citric acid and Arm&Hammer baking soda has saved me easily $100 so far, and i'm still not finished either packs!
Hope this helps any viewers passing by!

[joannek]

Hi again everyone! It's been about 2 years and I still have my sparkel!
Nowadays the bottle is having trouble being seated into the machine, thus not carbonating. It needs to be wiggled a bit in order to work.
I've also noticed some "gunk" building up in the reservoir where the two powders mix. Cleaning that area is really annoying.
I think this is the last you'll hear of me since I'll be retiring the sparkel for a new appliance. Thanks again for your review, I got a lot of joy from this thing :)

[soulandsoleandsoforth]

Just got a Sparkel and tried this and it tasted lovely! Just as good if not "fresher" (according to my husband) than the Sparkel packets. I also used the Millard Citric Acid and Arm and Hammer baking soda. Did the Tbsp thing and it seemed to work perfectly for me. Thanks so much!

[dskgc]

Girl, they should be paying you to make your videos about Sparkel! You are AWESOME

[jeanwilson]

Review and DIY for powders was why I bought my Sparkel.

[benfaust]

It's 14 or 15 grams of sodium bicarbonate and 12 grams of citric acid. I weighed out 13 and 11 of the pre-measured packets, but adding those weights of ingredients caused the Sparkel unit to stop carbonating before the cycle was complete, terminating with a double beep. Adding 14 / 15 and 12 causes it to complete the cycle.

[arodisatool]

I bought this after watching your videos and it arrived today- pretty quickly. The family is very excited. Thx!

[modalities]

I know, 3 years after making this video, it still is applicable, and great advice. Thank you so much for making this video. I love carbonated Sparkel water @$0.03 per container. The cost of a 20oz bottle of Schweppes is $1.79 (locally), and the savings per container makes an awesome, and quick Return on Investment (ROI).

[skamithi]

your recipe works! Thx. Really like the sparkel system. Ditching sodastream as soon as my last tank is done.

[realMartinHamilton]

This is a great video for educating us on how to make very cost effective sodas. Thank You.

[wh]

I recently bought one before seeing the videos - I love my machine now I love it more - I ordered the citric acid once I use it I will post a comparison 🤪

[annesfavourites]

I bought this machine based on your video and we love it and everyone we show it to loves it also. Just tried my first bottle with bulk ingredients. Thanks for the weights Joanne K. Will see which is easiest to use.

[mmmodem]

Thank you, Erin. I tried to get a canister of CO2 yesterday and they were out. Going online, they were out. I kept looking and found your channel. Sodastream has more customers than they can handle. Putting in an order now.

[Taric]

I actually have a Sparkel and measured this more accurately, first using a scale and then measuring spoons. I repeated the measurement several times with several sachets for accuracy.

I found that it's actually 2⅝ teaspoons of each, not a whole tablespoon. If you prefer to weigh instead, it's 13 grams of baking soda and 11 grams of citric acid.

By the way, I found citric acid in at my local grocery store, since people use them for canning and jarring tomatoes and strawberries.

[garsua]

This helps and saves a lot of $😍Thanks a lot😍 I just purchased my Sparkel 3 weeks ago

[SM-sycd]

You should be on Marketplace! Great professional voice. I think making your own is the way to go.

[mrman]

Besides the CO2 you have also made sodium citrate "congratulations " if you add another 3-4gm of citric acid you will have made a refreshing lemony drink .
ps check the ph of your concoction, most commercial sodas are around ph 3-4 and the small amount of citric acid added extra was around 6 . Cheers