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Aarke Carbonator 3
#1 Overall manual Updated 15 August 2026

Aarke Carbonator 3

The design icon of soda makers — a stainless-steel lever machine that needs no batteries or power

THE undig SCORE — 4 SOURCES, UNTANGLED
89
Out of 100

Key characteristics

Carbonation
Manual lever
Cylinder
60L CO₂
Bottle
0.8–1 L
Body
Steel / plastic
Bottle type
PET / glass

Highlights

  • Full stainless-steel body — no visible plastic
  • Manual lever, no power or batteries needed
  • Uses standard 60L screw-in CO₂ cylinders
  • Push-to-connect PET bottle included

Our take

The Carbonator 3 is the soda maker you leave on the counter on purpose. Its all-steel body is a genuine kitchen object rather than a plastic appliance, and the lever gives fine control over fizz. You pay a design premium and it takes SodaStream-style screw-in cylinders rather than the newer quick-connect, but nothing else looks or feels this good.

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • + Beautifully built all-metal body
  • + Precise manual control over carbonation
  • + Works with widely available 60L cylinders
  • + No electronics to fail

Cons

  • Expensive for what it does
  • Only takes screw-in (not quick-connect) cylinders
  • One bottle in the box

Review sources

We aggregate scores from these sources. Each source is weighted by credibility tier.

G
Good Housekeeping Lab · Tier A

Best Design

90
C
CNN Underscored Lab · Tier A

Best splurge

88
T
Tom's Guide Expert · Tier B
88
T
Trusted Reviews Expert · Tier B
90
How we score

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