I love the idea!! The mountain of Diet Coke cans to be returned in our garage has made me look at the idea before. It just seems so expensive.

It is not cheap...it will run around $2000-2500. But, based on my family's use of diet coke, etc., I figured the payback would be sometime between year 5 and year 6 of using it. Expensive up front and relatively cheap to run after that. I think I may do it...but it is hard to pull the trigger even though I know that we would love it.

When I was a little girl, the soda guy would come around with bottles of seltzer and coke syrup that you mixed up to make your own soda. Your thread reminded me about that!

PS slightly OT, but anyone remember "Fizzies," tablets that you added to a glass of cold water to make your own carbonated beverage?

Oh, I loooved 'fizzies'...

Don't want to change the subect to a debate on health, but since this stuff is sweetened either with aspartame [responsible for 75% of all 'adverse food reactions' according to the FDA] or the high fructose corn syrup that's lead to epidemic levels of diabetes, I'd question the wisdom of drinking this stuff at all, never mind having a dispenser in your home.

That said, the 'Schwanns' trucks used to sell home kits for this, don't know if they still do. Other than that, you could contact your local bottling company, see if they'll sell you the kind of setup small restraunts use. I know they sell and refill the CO2 canisters [used by many aquarium keepers], so all you really need is the syrup and water.

Don't want to change the subect to a debate on health, but since this stuff is sweetened either with aspartame [responsible for 75% of all 'adverse food reactions' according to the FDA]

This is untrue. From http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/qa-adf9.html, an FDA Web page:

"After reviewing scientific studies, FDA determined in 1981 that aspartame was safe for use in foods. In 1987, the General Accounting Office investigated the process surrounding FDA's approval of aspartame and confirmed the agency had acted properly. However, FDA has continued to review complaints alleging adverse reactions to products containing aspartame. To date, FDA has not determined any consistent pattern of symptoms that can be attributed to the use of aspartame, nor is the agency aware of any recent studies that clearly show safety problems.

Carefully controlled clinical studies show that aspartame is not an allergen. However, certain people with the genetic disease phenylketonuria (PKU), and pregnant women with hyperphenylalanine (high levels of phenylalanine in blood) have a problem with aspartame because they do not effectively metabolize the amino acid phenylalanine, one of aspartame's components. High levels of this amino acid in body fluids can cause brain damage. Therefore, FDA has ruled that all products containing aspartame must include a warning to phenylketonurics that the sweetener contains phenylalanine."

The link below is to Snopes's debunking of other urban legends regarding aspartame.

Here is a link that might be useful: Snopes's Aspartame Urban Legend Debunking

I just know this thread is going to turn into one of those out of control debates veering horribly off topic and horrifying the original poster. And since it's headed there anyway...

I don't know why, but the idea of someone putting fountain drinks in their home is just appalling to me. For some reason I can accept $10,000 ranges but fountain drinks at home just seems too decadent. Not to mention unhealthy (I know that people do drink that much soda with or without a fountain, but not in my house).

And while artificial sweeteners may not do any of the things listed on the Snope's site, it has been proven that they slow down your metabolism so that you are in fact burning less calories - offsetting the benefit of taking in fewer calories.

Personally I LOVE soda water with no syrup and would be thrilled to have a fountain just for that.

Budge, would love to see the research on the proven slowing of metabolism - I need all the help I can get - we don't want to slow that down at all! However, me and Diet Dr. Pepper need the proof before I'll quit my can a day habit!

Fizzies...oh my. Do you remember rumors about what happens if you feed fizzies to birds? Their stomachs blew up! And Pop Rocks!!! Those actually came back not long ago and I bought a bunch for my father-in-law. Gave him terrible heart burn.

Sorry, back on topic...it would be super cool to have a soda fountain in my kitchen but I can't afford it. AND I drink WAYYYYYYYYYYY too much cherry coke as it is, with a fountain in my hand my teeth would rot out of my head in a week!

BF wanted one of these systems in the new kitchen but I quickly found out they were WAY too expensive - besides, I'm trying to convince him to drink LESS soda, and I know if he had a fountain he'd never touch a glass of water again. I promised him that when we win the lottery, he can have one in his game room. LOL!!!!!!!

i'm with you budge. you are 100% on target about aspartame and metabolism. amazing how there are actually defenders of adverse chemicals. as far as installing a system in your home, well, if you drink that much i guess it might be cost effective. can't see it doing much for resale if that interests you at all.

I don't know about defenders of adverse chemicals. I'll cop to being a defender of properly conducted and reviewed scientific research. I haven't seen any research linking aspartame (or all artificial sweeterners?) to lower metabolism, but this isn't my field. I'd be interested in seeing some. There's an awful lot of junk science out on the web, but there are sites that are trustworthy.

And yes, I would think that a fountain might hurt resale value, too, but if you're planning to be in the house for the next 20 years, it might be the right thing.

Not to be a total party poop, but you might want to check your dental insurance too! Especially for kids' but honestly for all of our teeth, too much consumption of soda/pop/etc is so not good - then there's also the issue of brittle bones and carbonated drinks...okay, enough of that - if it floats your boat, go for it - it's your house!

Interesting points to you all. On a sidenote...the two companies that I listed, I asked them about how many units they push thru the door a week to residential homes and each one said between 50-70 units a week. So, about 5-6000 a year between the company.

I am not terribly interested in re-sale issues right now, but I don't see it hurting resale either. I doubt that I would be able to up the price of my home by $2K, but I don't see it lowering my price either. Anyway, I guess I could look at as by buying not the highest end of appliances, I can use that money saved and by a fountain drink unit. :)

It's a fun idea for a large rec-room entertaining style kitchen (I hope you know what I mean, Brosamj...I don't mean to imply you have a ping pong table in your kitchen). Why the heck not? And hey...it's better for the environment not to be tossing all those bottles and would probably pay for itself in little time (plus, it would be FUN, and you can't put a price on that).

Vjrnts, thanks for standing up for aspartame! Maybe the aspartame lowering metabolism thing is just a part of dieting in general, where if you take in fewer calories (without increasing burn) the metabolism slows to compensate. I heart aspartame in soda. Splenda is grody to the max.

Perhaps I took Wikipedia to seriously when they reported:
"In 1995, FDA Epidemiology Branch Chief Thomas Wilcox reported that aspartame complaints represented 75% of all reports of adverse reactions to substances in the food supply from 1981 to 1995.[6] Concerns about aspartame frequently revolve around symptoms and health conditions that are allegedly caused by the sweetener. A total of 92 different symptoms and health conditions were reported by physicians and consumers.[7]"

I know Wiki isn't the best source for this sort of data.

I also know this stuff gives me an incredible headache followed by hours of intestinal distress[when I accidently ingest it, would never knowingly do so], that the FDA is constantly having to pull medicines it once considered 'safe', and that there's an entire industry dedicated to keeping aspartame on the market. Given how many of my family and freinds eat it, I honestly hope it really is safe as can be...

I shouldn't have let my anti-soda bias out to play, and I'm sorry for hijacking the thread.

A friend of mine had one. It was in the bar, which was off the kitchen (previous owner put it in). She thought it was ok. I seem to remember her saying that cleaning the lines was a pain, but I don't remember for sure.

There is no way I could have one, though. That is all the kids would want. But, if you drink a lot of soda, you'll be saving yourself the recycling of those cans/bottles.

A soda fountian in the house? Hmmmm. I would be as big as a house and toothless in no time. Think of all the people (especially kids) that will just drink the pop instead of a glass of water because its convient.
BTW allergen or not, some people are sensitive to aspartame and its one of the leading causes of migranes. Im VERY sensitive to it.

I cannot imagine ever needing access to that many sodas in my home. We rarely have soft drinks for the kids. It's bad nutritionally. I'd rather mine drink water and 100% unsweetened juices.

I'm with Cynandjon. But if that's what you want, go for it.

Well, this is what I think...heck yeah, that sounds fun if you have more $$ than you know what to do with! : )

And heaven knows I love Cherry Cola Zero. But for whatever whacked out reason, it does slow down my weight loss a bit if I drink too much. HOWEVER, switching from regular (sugared) soda 3 years ago to diet soda has made a huge difference.

So I buy it when it's on sale and drink only 1 can a day. At one store (Krogers) during the Labor Day sale, after all the discounts plus $1.50 off coupons on the 12 packs, I bought each 12 pack for a final price of $0.75 each. So yes, we stocked up!

Susan ~

I agree with fori in that I could see it in more of a kitchen/great room area; the "fun" aspect of it might not get fully appreciated in the kitchen.

I won't comment on healthy or not except to say that we drink very little coke (meaning any kind of carbonated soft drink) in my house. But when we redid the kitchen and my kids (teens) saw the hot water dispenser, they each had their own ideas about an instant dispenser they'd like to have... My older son wanted one which would dispense OJ, my younger son, cranberry juice. If I were getting my druthers, I'd go with freshly made iced tea. Guess we each have our own faves! LOL

Sorry, I don't have my source handy for the metabolism lowering info, but I heard about the study in one of my university science classes (either bio or chem, for some reason I'm thinking chem but bio would make more sense). Not that science prof's can't be wrong, but the info wasn't taken from a dubious internet source.

While I can see how this might be fun in a family room/rec room type setting, I must admit it appalls me a little.

While most of us have a few (or many) unhealthy eating habits, building them into our homes seems crazy to me. Like opening a McDonalds outlet in my garage.

Soda is horrible, horrible, horrible for your health. I don't drink and will be doing everything in my power to limit my kids' consumption of it.

Forget soda--I want a kegolator, but plumbed from the basement.

My goodness, many are reacting as if the original poster has solicited opinions on opening a crack den, not installing a relatively innocuous beverage dispenser. H/she never said it was a necessary, cant-live-without-it item, but these forums are full of lengthy discussions about pretty arcane and unusual products. I canÂt exactly figure why this one gained so much vitriol. Obviously, if you donÂt like, or endorse, soda, it wouldnÂt be for you, but IÂm not sure how it differs, at all, from those that have talked about and installed in-home beer taps or wine fridges. Heck, itÂs actually more akin to installing a fancy coffee maker. (And most pediatricians and dentists I know would say that juice, of any kind, is just as bad, if not, worse, since it has that "healthy" veneer to it, than soda for your teeth and your waistline.)

IÂve never smoked, nor taken an illegal (and rarely even a prescription) drug in my life. I rarely, if ever, drink alcohol (about a glass of wine a month; less now that we have a little one) and I eat fast food about once a year, if that. I donÂt buy processed convenience food at all and there are no bags of chips or boxes of cookies in my house, ever. (I do bake myself, though.) I donÂt drink coffee and eat only a limited amount of red meat. I do drink diet soda. Is it a health food? Definitely not. Should I drink more water? Absolutely. But, cÂmon, as a "vice" drinking soda is about the most benign bad habit I can think of. (For full disclosure, yes IÂm overweight right nowÂfor me, anywayÂbut thatÂs baby weight I havenÂt lost yet. ThatÂs all my faultÂtoo much sitting around and getting takeout, not enough exerciseÂnot Diet CokeÂs.)

I think those people who sit their babies in front of Baby Einstein videos every day are doing their kids a disservice, but I donÂt go around bashing folks who suggest the purchase of DVD players. In the same way that not everyone with a wine fridge is an alcoholic, not everyone who has a soda dispenser drinks too much soda.

To a more relevant point ... I had a friend in high school who had a soda fountain in her basement bar area and I always thought it was terribly cool. I will say that, if youÂve drunk anything poured from one of those portable soda-gun dispensers (often seen at weddings or in bar settings), like the original poster was mentioning, it doesnÂt taste terribly good. A countertop model would seem to be more serviceable and probably a better "show it off" itemÂsomething youÂd probably want to do if you sunk a couple of thousand into such a speciality item.

The only way i could see such an item hurting your homeÂs value is if it required drilling into countertops, etc. If a future buyer hated it, they should be able to take it out easily; the same for you if you want to get rid of it in the future or it becomes obsolete/unrepairable.

Frankly, we have my husbandÂs team over pretty frequently, requiring me to keep a fridge full of soda at all times. If weÂd had a place for a soda fountain (though I, personally, think canned soda tastes better), I might have installed one. (We do have a home theater and if we had a place for a "concession area" that would look pretty neat, I think. WeÂve already got the popcorn machine.) I would agree that itÂs more of a home theater/rec room/bar item, than an everyday kitchen appliance in my view. But, hey, to each their own and if it works for you and itÂs something youÂre excited about, go for it!

-Susan W.

This is a bad idea. Artificial sweeteners are not good for anyone and neither is high fructose corn sweeteners.

My hubby is a dentist so I couldn't have one unless it only dispensed Diet Mug rootbeer as that is the one okay pop - doesn't have whatever acid. At any rate, I drink DCoke and I think having a dispenser at home wouldn't be so bad if it was easy and portable. Having lines into the garage seems like too much expense...for what it is worth. Don't people with theater rooms have popcorn machines? I bet some of them have pop dispensers too. Maybe try the home decorator group if nothing turns up in kitches!

DH and kids would love it, but I'd rather spend the money on a Miele coffee bar. It is a cool idea for parties and such, but how does it really save money when you still have to buy the soda/ingredients for it?

This thread is HILARIOUS! Right up there with morgue drawers, but I digress.....

As a former employee of Coca-Cola (before I stopped to be a SAHM to my three cherubs), I thought I should weigh in on this one. Forget the health issues, you are an adult and you can make up your own mind about that. The bigger issue is one of quantity used. Diet Coke in a bag-in-a-box (if that is the brand you choose to purchase) is only "in code" (meaning it does not have that icky metallic taste that comes when the aspartame and saccharin "turn") for about 90 days from production date. So, depending on how much you drink of that and how quickly, you might have to throw out some of the syrup before you have used it all up.

Unlike other posters, I infinitely prefer the taste of fountain soda to can (too much metallic). Glass or 2L is okay, but it seems flatter to me than the fountain. So, I understand the desire. Plus, how cool to have a fountain dispenser at home, just for fun. I will also caution you that you need to flush the pipe with each drink "pulled" (an old soda jerk term) as it gets flat while it sits in the tubing. Hope all this technical mumbo jumbo makes sense. Good luck and let us know what you decide!

Thanks, Lvhwa! Useful info! And just think about all the dirty innuendo fun to be had from all the proper terminology!

I rarely drink soda, but I'm rather blown over by all the lecturing here. Where were the lectures for the deep fat fryer people?

Folks, it's already being consumed. We're merely debating the method of delivery. So Brosamj has a habit. She might as well have FUN with it, right? Go for it!

I have really enjoyed this entire thread. I didn't realize that it would get this 'interesting.' I have found it a bit surprising when people talk about how expensive it is. Yes, $2,000 is not chump change, but there are close to 15,000 threads on the forum that discuss the $7,000 ovens that people are purchasing all the time and yet few people have mocked those that spend their money that way.

To be honest, we still haven't decided what we are going to do. I think it will be fun and I love fountain drinks. In regards to the 4 drinks that will be on tap...it would be: 1 Diet Coke, 1 Coke Zero, 1 Diet Root Beer and 1 orange juice. If the kids want root beer, we will monitor it but they will only get the diet brand. Anyway, we want to do it, but we are not sure if we will pull the trigger either.

And fwiw, I am NOT offended at all by any of the comments. We have lots of older people and even some younger friends that have already given their negative and incredulous feedback. Its our 'fun' friends that think it is a great idea! :) :)

I actually registered just to be able to respond to this one! We don't drink much soda, but I/we are flavored seltzer FANATICS, and had trouble finding economical 2 liter bottles after we moved (and just why is seltzer so much more expensive than soda? It's just naked soda, after all!). That's when I discovered the joys of making our own. We got our carbonation machine from Soda Club (www.sodaclub.com), and they have flavors too, but we prefer Nature's Flavors 'cause, well, they're natural! Taste better too.

Should have done this years ago. DH no longer has to lug fizzy water around, and we never run out! And we can customize. Soooo, it's not as cool as your own fountain gun, but it's a lot cheaper and still pretty fun and extremely convenient!

Hey Brom
I wonder if they make these units for booze, I going to need few kegs of Guinness Draught by the time this house is finished!! LMAO

Cyn

Hi :-)

We bought our house 6 months ago and are in the final stages of our kitchen renovation We are DEFINATELY putting a soda gun in our new kitchen.

We lived in a rental home for 5 years that had a system with 2 guns -- 1 in the kitchen and another in the indoor pool area. We LOVED them and used the one in the kitchen all the time!!! Missed them terribly when we moved.

Healthy or not my family drinks a fair amount of soda and seltzer -- besides the gun being cool we think the savings in the long run will help offset the initial cost. A 1.5 litre of coke is about $1.30 plus tax and deposit and we go thru at least 2 a day of coke and 2 of Seltzer.

People who like to drink wine put a wine refrigerator in their kitchen. We drink soda so will put the soda system in ours.

This is hubby's project so he did all the research and I'm not sure which company he decided on. I will ask him if one of the companies he researched was the one mentioned by the OP.

Be well --
Liz

Liz...let me know which company he used and if he was pleased with them. Thanks.

Hey darkstar2000, we're seltzer fanatics too, in fact mr. sandyponder, our dd and I drink seltzer at lunch, dinner and between meals (yes, that's right, we don't drink cow's milk and we don't make our kid drink it either). We have a source for 2L bottles of plain seltzer I'd rather not have them taking up valuable space in my mudroom while waiting to be returned. Thanks for the rec on the website.

sandyponder

Almost 20 years ago I was in a house that the owner had put in a complete soda fountain. I thought it was one of the coolest things I had ever seen. Of course it had soda dispenser hook ups.

Back to the original question. The only real drawback I can see is the tendancy that your family might have to drink more soda than they normally would. Similar to beer drinkers with a keg on tap. It could be just too convenient but I do really like the idea.

OMG. I just decided to read this thread for the first time and I think it is interesting. (much more interesting than morgue drawers, lvhwa.)

If I had room (and money) I would put a soft-serve frozen yogurt machine in my house. Mmmmmmmmmmm.....frozen yogurt. Second choice - kegolator. Mmmmmmmmmm.....beer.

Back to the original post, I think it sounds like a fun idea. And I agree with the posters who say that there are much worse vises than soda pop.

Oh well, off to plant the grape vines in my yard. Mmmmmmmmm wine.

kelly, I say this as a the unfortunate noob that got the job of cleaning the soft serve machine at a fast food place while I was in HS- you do not want the soft serve machine- they are a PITA to keep clean and break often- like as much as they work.

But you may need a kegolator. My only objection is that I like variety, and I would get tired of drinking Oberon before I was done with a pony keg. So I think I'll need several.

Well -- let's reframe this. If the OP had asked whether we had installed or thought of installing a beer tap in the kitchen (or family room), I think the responses would have been much more on target to the original question.

It is certainly a novel idea, and if that is what your family would like and your life would be simplified by pulling on a soda tap, then go for it. You may not be able to recoup the cost whenever you re-sell years from now, but by that time you will have had so many years of enjoyment, it's unlikely that you'll care.

We can be so judgemental somtimes! :)

But beer *in Moderation!* is basicly good for you. Soda isn't. I notice many 300 pound people with 2 litre bottles of pepsi in hand...

"My goodness, many are reacting as if the original poster has solicited opinions on opening a crack den, not installing a relatively innocuous beverage dispenser."

susanandmarkw, I don't think it's been as bad as all that! Good grief!

It seems to me that back in the 70's it was very popular to have a seltzer tap in your home bar. And in Europe they drink A LOT of "bubbly water" or translated as "water with gas". I LOVE the idea of seltzer instead of soda. I do drink a lot of soda and not the diet type either. But 4 years ago I lost 40 pounds and have kept it off so I'm not about to change my ways now. But seltzer, well I'm all for that. So for it that although my kitchen is just about done, my basement isn't and DH and I were just talking about hanging onto our old barstools (too high for the new kitchen) in case we put a bar in down there. We will almost certainly be putting a seltzer tap in there! Another great GW idea!!! Thanks!

Robin

I think you should install one right next to the cotton candy bar ;-)

Fun, fun thread to read. Put me in mind of my childhood (which has been extended nearly 40 years).

Steven

Can you get the Mexican Coke syrup instead of the American tripe? It uses real sucrose and tastes muy bueno.

I think that's a great idea to have that in the kitchen kids will love it, I think you can lock it up when you want too so your kids don't go crazy. Anyway I live here in Utah and theres actually a company out here called Soda Tech Inc. their website is http://www.sodabuzz.com They offer a full line of home Soda Fountain Systems and I think the bar gun your talking about you can get up to a 100' remote system, so you would really only have one line running to the kitchen with how many ever flavors you'd want. I think they can install it for you but im not sure out of state. As far as the unhealthy part of it all, they have health and sport drinks you can buy in 5 or 3 gallon boxes, I think the latest I heard they offer is that rice drink, horchatta or something like that. Then if you drink alot of soda anyway this would be well worth it, I think it equalled out to be something like 6 to 18 cents per 12 ounces. A 5 gallon box makes about 30 gallons of soda so you do the math.