This is exactly what i was looking for. We picked up a vintage Pepsi soda fountain designed to work with premixed soda in corny kegs. Surprisingly you're the only video i found of putting soda in any kind of keg. Plenty of people making soda water but no actual soda. Will it keep it's carbonation at room temperature??
I have a kegarator that I wNt to do this as well. I have the co2 tank, just need to find mountain dew syrup and get a small beer keg (my kegarator size) and fill with water and syrup to what proportions? And this is the purchased soda syrup, right? keeping them separate means carbonation will not occur until co2 is introduced through the tap. Right?
Max, It works and works great. I am not really converting a soda machine to a beer keg so differences in the two taps are not an issue. I'm using the entire beer system or "kegerator" as a platform for dispensing soda. I'm just filling an empty beer keg with water and syrup. Since you have a regulator, you can control the pressure and thus foaming . . . and the pour rate as well. I think it's no different with beer. Too much pressure; too much foam. Too little pressure and it takes too long to fill a cup. The biggest disadvantage i would say is the two full days it takes to completely carbonate the keg . . . at 30-40 PSI. My regulator won't go any higher. But like emoneyblue suggested, putting double the pressure on the pop in the keg would probably reduce that time greatly.
Awesome vid, i built one based on your system at 40 psi from c02 tank to keg. Im getting alot of fizz when i dispense, what psi should i back it down too? And i just started with the syrup nozzle, kinda like a coffee or tea dispenser. Could that be the cause of the excess foam? Blend is at 34’f. Thanks
Hey Lee, I have been told that this would never work. I had the same idea a while back but when I asked around I was told don't waste your time trying. I was told the beer valve is totaly different to a soda valve and it would not work. Yours seems to work fine, have you had any problems with foaming or excessive pressure at the tap? My research has also shown that a very long product line between the tap and keg can help reduce excessive pressure. Thanks for the video and the help.
i have thought of restoring an older coke machine that used 6.5 oz bottles, could those bottles be refilled & capped using this method, those little bottles are about 42.00 for 24.
Thanks emoneyblue. Right. In the video, a text box (at 1:32) suggests Googling "Sams bib syrup" for more flavors. (I don't think I can put a link in the RUclips description area.) Good point about it needs to be cold for the carbonation. I usually test it in the morning and again in the evening to see how its doing. I wonder if taking some liquid out allows the whole top of the keg to gather a thin layer of CO2 and that helps too? I live in MN and it was about 20 below the day I made the vid. I should have wheeled it outdoors for a few hours and then checked to see how long it would take to reach normal carbonation.
You certainly can, but it would be kind of a waste of the best resource the keg has to offer, and that is the cost savings. If you can get a 5 gallon BIB of concentrate for ~$65, that works out to 1.6 cents per ounce. Buying it in 2-Liter bottles costs about 2.4¢ per ounce, so it's a pretty significant savings. It would take about 9.5 two-liter bottles to fill up a corny keg. Since it's already carbonated, you can dispense it at a normal pressure of about 5psi.
You need what is known as an compensator which is designed to adjust flow through a premix or beer tap. 3wire sells one, and I've purchased parts from them before. They're expensive but i trust them. You can also order parts from totalapex.com They also carry beer and soda parts and have amazing customer service. www.3wire.com/product/cornelius-compensator-in-line-151721001-1006305 Also just a tip. make sure all your metal parts are stainless, otherwise you'll poison yourself.
Question.. You can buy 2 liter bottles of already carbonated coke for $1 each, so to fill a 5 gallon Corny keg would take 9.5 liters, and cost $10. Could I just take a corny keg, fill it with 2 liter bottles, and charge it with co2 to keep it carbonated?? The boxes of syrup are $75, and the bottles of coke would be so easy to do.. Anything wrong with doing it this way? Will the coke keep its carbonation if the co2 pressure is turned down to 7psi after it is fully carbonated?
If you can find it for $1, you're at just about the break-even point. There's no reason you couldn't do it that way, but you lose the benefit of being able to 'tweak' the mix to match your personal taste. That also tells you that you should probably track down a food distributor and find a better price for the syrup. I was able to get mine from a friend who owns a restaurant for $65, and that included a little kickback to him to make it worth his hassle of ordering it. The carbonation will remain indefinitely at 7PSI. That's one of the best benefits, is you never have to worry about half-empty bottles of soda going flat, ever again! Woohoo! I'm also going to start using nitrogen and corny kegs to dispense non-carbonated drinks, like fruit juice and powerade. The powder for powerade is WAY cheaper than buying it in bottles, and being able to mix up 5 gallons of fruit juice from concentrate at a time, instead of doing it 1 pitcher at a time is gonna be pretty great! And no need to worry about sticky spills in the fridge!
This is my issue and what i do too, the pressure in the soda and the head will eventually equal themselves out. If the head pressure is low, then the soda will loose its pressure to the head space and therefore be less carbonated. I currently am using a 1 gallon keg as a trial and the issue i am running into is the foaming, can not get it to pour without foam. I want the carbonation pressure at 55 PSI, (wife love it really bubbly). I worry if I use a really long tube to get the resistance needed, then the carbonation will be gone and soda will be flat. With a short tube, the carbonation is gone when it comes out of the picnic spout and soda has zero carbonation. If there are any suggestions to make this work, i would love to hear
This is exactly what i was looking for. We picked up a vintage Pepsi soda fountain designed to work with premixed soda in corny kegs. Surprisingly you're the only video i found of putting soda in any kind of keg. Plenty of people making soda water but no actual soda. Will it keep it's carbonation at room temperature??
I have a kegarator that I wNt to do this as well. I have the co2 tank, just need to find mountain dew syrup and get a small beer keg (my kegarator size) and fill with water and syrup to what proportions? And this is the purchased soda syrup, right?
keeping them separate means carbonation will not occur until co2 is introduced through the tap. Right?
Thank's I'm learning I'm going to set up beer and coke for my big bar
You are so thorough. Thank you for sharing your wisdom!
Terrific video thanks for taking the time to upload!
Max,
It works and works great. I am not really converting a soda machine to a beer keg so differences in the two taps are not an issue. I'm using the entire beer system or "kegerator" as a platform for dispensing soda. I'm just filling an empty beer keg with water and syrup. Since you have a regulator, you can control the pressure and thus foaming . . . and the pour rate as well. I think it's no different with beer. Too much pressure; too much foam. Too little pressure and it takes too long to fill a cup. The biggest disadvantage i would say is the two full days it takes to completely carbonate the keg . . . at 30-40 PSI. My regulator won't go any higher. But like emoneyblue suggested, putting double the pressure on the pop in the keg would probably reduce that time greatly.
You need a C02 regular that can go to 80psi and it will be okay and it will not carbonate until the base is totally cold.. good job!
Thank you so much! This way I can have american soda at home in Denmark. :)
Very good video my friend😊
Awesome vid, i built one based on your system at 40 psi from c02 tank to keg. Im getting alot of fizz when i dispense, what psi should i back it down too? And i just started with the syrup nozzle, kinda like a coffee or tea dispenser. Could that be the cause of the excess foam? Blend is at 34’f.
Thanks
YOU ARE THE MAN
thank you sir
You still need a carbonator to get good fizz. This is the way they did it at the turn of the century
Hey Lee, I have been told that this would never work. I had the same idea a while back but when I asked around I was told don't waste your time trying. I was told the beer valve is totaly different to a soda valve and it would not work. Yours seems to work fine, have you had any problems with foaming or excessive pressure at the tap? My research has also shown that a very long product line between the tap and keg can help reduce excessive pressure. Thanks for the video and the help.
Is there a way to do this with the bib not putting it into the keg like a adapter to the bib
i mean how easy was that, all these youtube videos were a waste time, just needed this info. thanks
If you buy the right adapter (Coke and Pepsi, for two, are different, the adapter just screws in and opens the valve.
Does it makes difference if I use my home beer on a D , coupler and keg system , or I use my home beer on a A coupler and keg system?
What's the price of everything here? Minus the kegerator fridge of course.
i have thought of restoring an older coke machine that used 6.5 oz bottles, could those bottles be refilled & capped using this method, those little bottles are about 42.00 for 24.
Id like to make one in my garage when its done ill need ice maked
You can get more flavors online at Sam's
Thanks emoneyblue. Right. In the video, a text box (at 1:32) suggests Googling "Sams bib syrup" for more flavors. (I don't think I can put a link in the RUclips description area.) Good point about it needs to be cold for the carbonation. I usually test it in the morning and again in the evening to see how its doing. I wonder if taking some liquid out allows the whole top of the keg to gather a thin layer of CO2 and that helps too? I live in MN and it was about 20 below the day I made the vid. I should have wheeled it outdoors for a few hours and then checked to see how long it would take to reach normal carbonation.
I'd get me some Barq's Root Beer.
How to break the seal on boxed bag, so that it flows ?
You don't. You pull the cap off, and then thread in the BIB adapter. When the adapter is removed, it will seal the BIB back up.
does anyone know if you can fill a corny keg up with a couple 2 litters of coke (or really any soda) and set the regulator to dispense it ?
You certainly can, but it would be kind of a waste of the best resource the keg has to offer, and that is the cost savings.
If you can get a 5 gallon BIB of concentrate for ~$65, that works out to 1.6 cents per ounce. Buying it in 2-Liter bottles costs about 2.4¢ per ounce, so it's a pretty significant savings.
It would take about 9.5 two-liter bottles to fill up a corny keg.
Since it's already carbonated, you can dispense it at a normal pressure of about 5psi.
I cannot get mine to pour without out foaming up bad! tried high pressure low pressure ever a Perlick flowcontrol faucette.. Any suggestions?
use 1 foot of 3/16 beverage line per psi of pressure.
You need what is known as an compensator which is designed to adjust flow through a premix or beer tap. 3wire sells one, and I've purchased parts from them before. They're expensive but i trust them.
You can also order parts from totalapex.com
They also carry beer and soda parts and have amazing customer service.
www.3wire.com/product/cornelius-compensator-in-line-151721001-1006305
Also just a tip.
make sure all your metal parts are stainless, otherwise you'll poison yourself.
Question.. You can buy 2 liter bottles of already carbonated coke for $1 each, so to fill a 5 gallon Corny keg would take 9.5 liters, and cost $10. Could I just take a corny keg, fill it with 2 liter bottles, and charge it with co2 to keep it carbonated?? The boxes of syrup are $75, and the bottles of coke would be so easy to do.. Anything wrong with doing it this way? Will the coke keep its carbonation if the co2 pressure is turned down to 7psi after it is fully carbonated?
If you can find it for $1, you're at just about the break-even point. There's no reason you couldn't do it that way, but you lose the benefit of being able to 'tweak' the mix to match your personal taste. That also tells you that you should probably track down a food distributor and find a better price for the syrup. I was able to get mine from a friend who owns a restaurant for $65, and that included a little kickback to him to make it worth his hassle of ordering it.
The carbonation will remain indefinitely at 7PSI. That's one of the best benefits, is you never have to worry about half-empty bottles of soda going flat, ever again! Woohoo!
I'm also going to start using nitrogen and corny kegs to dispense non-carbonated drinks, like fruit juice and powerade. The powder for powerade is WAY cheaper than buying it in bottles, and being able to mix up 5 gallons of fruit juice from concentrate at a time, instead of doing it 1 pitcher at a time is gonna be pretty great! And no need to worry about sticky spills in the fridge!
This is my issue and what i do too, the pressure in the soda and the head will eventually equal themselves out. If the head pressure is low, then the soda will loose its pressure to the head space and therefore be less carbonated. I currently am using a 1 gallon keg as a trial and the issue i am running into is the foaming, can not get it to pour without foam. I want the carbonation pressure at 55 PSI, (wife love it really bubbly). I worry if I use a really long tube to get the resistance needed, then the carbonation will be gone and soda will be flat. With a short tube, the carbonation is gone when it comes out of the picnic spout and soda has zero carbonation. If there are any suggestions to make this work, i would love to hear
$93 per 5 gallons today, up from $66 it seems. Inflation sucks
Maybe $75 plus a $50 deposit on a beer keg that you won't be returning for a while.
Wouldn't a corny keg be easier?
just buy a carbonator