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Carbonating water at home

KitchenQueen

By KitchenQueen
in Kitchen Consumer

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KennethT

KennethT

Posted
Posted
26 minutes ago, wibago said:

Based on a few of the posts on this forum I finally decided to build my own carbonation system. It uses the Big Mac Carbonator inside of a Mini Fridge for a continuous supply of cold carbonated water to my faucet. This works great but I wanted to reduce the pressure before serving from the faucet. From browsing these forums I found that I could either run lots of line or buy a pressure reducer. I ended up getting the "In-Line Flow Control Compensator" and while it does reduce the pressure, it also creates lots of sputtering while pouring from the faucet (which I assume is because it introduces air into the line). Would love if anyone has advice on how to fix this. Is my only option to instead run more line to reduce pressure? Thanks! To Summarize my setup: Cold RO System Water -> Big Mac -> Flow Compensator -> Faucet CO2 at 100 psi -> Big Mac On a side note, my main water line somehow got carbonated from this setup. It happened on a night below freezing but I don't know why this would have caused and (AFAIK) the Big Mac has a one way pressure valve. Really not sure what happened there...

I'm not familiar with the Big Mac, but personally, I'd put the pressure reducer after your RO system and before the Big Mac.  You could also put a check valve before the RO system to keep anything from getting back to your cold water supply.

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AlaMoi

AlaMoi

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Posted (edited)

carbonated "liquid" also aka "water" - only holds the gas - aka CO2 - under pressure and at low temp.

any system with a volume of liquid/water 'in the pipe' is going to suffer burps and belches - because all the fluid past the "carbonation" point will give up the CO2.  the liquid warms, the pressure decreases, the CO2 comes out of solution.

 

keeping the carbonated liquid cold and under pressure up to the dispensing point is . . . a challenge in a residential and/or DIY environment.

minimal pipe volume from carbonation "chamber" to tap will certainly help - but you may have to accept burps and belches as the warmed, low pressure fluid is 'flushed'' out of the system.

Edited by AlaMoi (log)
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Joe Blowe

Joe Blowe

Posted
Posted

I also have a jerry-rigged carbonator at home. Yes it's bulky and ugly, but if you keep enough cold water on hand you will never run out of seltzer.

 

My first tank of CO2 lasted 6.5 years, and when I visited my local fire extinguisher shop to exchange the tank, it only cost 33 bucks (they do still have my refundable deposit).

 

If you have a tank and regulator, there are parts available that will recharge your SodaStream cylinders...

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So we finish the eighteenth and he's gonna stiff me. And I say, "Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know." And he says, "Oh, uh, there won't be any money. But when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness."

So I got that goin' for me, which is nice.

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lemniscate

lemniscate

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I have this charming round bottle that's been discontinued for a few years.  I only use carbonated water as a float on some cocktails, so low usage.   I use bottled water with a bit of acid phosphate.  We were able to keep this running because there are still iSi replacement parts for the head somewhat available.   The metal fittings in the head seem to corrode after a few years.  I don't think the thing has another rebuild left in it.   I like it though, it's art deco-ish Thin Man movie style.   

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Deephaven

Deephaven

Posted
Posted
On 8/18/2023 at 11:25 AM, wibago said:

Based on a few of the posts on this forum I finally decided to build my own carbonation system. It uses the Big Mac Carbonator inside of a Mini Fridge for a continuous supply of cold carbonated water to my faucet. This works great but I wanted to reduce the pressure before serving from the faucet. From browsing these forums I found that I could either run lots of line or buy a pressure reducer. I ended up getting the "In-Line Flow Control Compensator" and while it does reduce the pressure, it also creates lots of sputtering while pouring from the faucet (which I assume is because it introduces air into the line). Would love if anyone has advice on how to fix this. Is my only option to instead run more line to reduce pressure? Thanks! To Summarize my setup: Cold RO System Water -> Big Mac -> Flow Compensator -> Faucet CO2 at 100 psi -> Big Mac On a side note, my main water line somehow got carbonated from this setup. It happened on a night below freezing but I don't know why this would have caused and (AFAIK) the Big Mac has a one way pressure valve. Really not sure what happened there...

What is the purpose of reducing the pressure?  Are you using a faucet that is meant for the higher pressure?

On 8/18/2023 at 11:55 AM, KennethT said:

I'm not familiar with the Big Mac, but personally, I'd put the pressure reducer after your RO system and before the Big Mac.  You could also put a check valve before the RO system to keep anything from getting back to your cold water supply.

The Big Mac takes line pressure and kicks it up so that 100psi of CO2 doesn't push it backwards.  I would imagine it is easier on the carbonator if you have a higher line pressure.  If running RO this would mean running a boost pump in the RO (which is good for efficiency anyways).  The other thing I would highly recommend is a remineralization filter after the RO to make it less caustic to metal up stream from it.

 

As for why it carbonated up line, sounds like a check valve that got stuck or the like?

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paulraphael

paulraphael

Posted
Posted
On 8/16/2023 at 4:32 PM, btbyrd said:

For people who aren't already hip to this kind of thing, Dave Arnold has a good, very lengthy overview of his home seltzer tap rig. Let's all agree to forgive him for that COVID19 mustache.

 

Interestingly, in Dave's cocktail book he gives instructions for building a home carbonator that's much more like Deephaven's setup in the first post. Uses the same fitting for a 2-liter bottle.

Notes from the underbelly

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