kb0nly
02-19-2013, 05:59 PM
The latest project to end all projects... Well not really but it sounded cool... So soda prices are getting out of hand here for some reason, $1.50 for a 20oz bottle, $5.29 for a six pack of 24oz bottles... Insane...
So i started doing the math and playing around with making my own. The Syrup isn't that hard to get and there is plenty of generic forms of the popular ones, such as Cola and Mt Dew. The price break on using generic syrup is pretty big, a 5 gal BIB (bag in box) of Mt Beverage by Fox's Beverages runs $36.99, you can get it cheaper if you buy multiple boxes, but that box will make 160 20oz servings, 160x1.50=$240 in equivalent store bought bottled products. The syrup is 5-1 ratio, so for a gallon of syrup you make five gallons hence a box makes 25 gallons. That usually takes about 5lbs of CO2 to run the carbonator and the syrup pumps. A refill is about $20 on that tank, add that to the syrup cost and you have $56.99 invested to make the same amount of soda, thats $183.01 in savings and at my average of two glasses per day with meals or to grab a quick drink i can stretch it out to last me at least two months per box.
So this left me thinking.... How can i build this? I got a SodaStream for Christmas, i love it but their syrups are less than desireable flavor wise and they are expensive when you do the math. It was around $.60 a bottle to make them using the SodaStream, while cheaper than the store its a lot of work to save a little money, not to mention that they RAPE you on the CO2 exchange. The little bottles for the SodaStream cost $15 per exchange, i can exchange a 5lb tank for $20!!
So while i was saving some money using my SodaStream and i bought BIB syrup and spigots to dispense from them to mix my own to maximize flavor and savings i started the hunt. I finally came across a complete system on eBay, well complete except in pieces because someone cut all the hoses up to remove the system, but it was still a good deal, came with bags of fittings and spare parts, maintenance and testing tools, you name it. I just needed to install it all.
Here is what i started with, a pile of parts.
163289163290163291163292163293
After scrubbing all the parts, tearing everything apart, cleaning, sanitizing, i got to the point where i could install it all. I bought all new tubing, new Oetiker clamps, the tool was included with the system so that was a bonus, and i started to plan its install. I added a shelf in my kitchen for the dispenser, drilled a hole in the floor, and got all the tubing and wiring done. It has a 24v low voltage power supply to run the solenoid valves in the dispenser. I also had to add an outlet protected by a GFCI breaker to plug in the power supply and the carbonator pump, and i had to add a water supply line to feed the system as well. In this batch of pictures you can see the equipment shelf which houses the carbonator, power supply, syrup pumps, regulators for water and co2 to the pumps, and then below that shelf is the boxes of syrup and the CO2 regulator for the tank which wasn't hooked up yet in this shot.
163294163295163296163297
I learned a lot about setting these up, adjusting the mixture or testing the brix as they call it, and making adjustments. The dispenser heads needed to be torn down and cleaned and new o-rings installed to seal up some weeping leaks. It was actually a lot of fun learning everything and figuring it out as i went. The whole system is installed in the basement with a 20 foot run of lines up to the kitchen. Here is a shot of the testing kit, and an adapter hose i made for running the pumps off compressed air. I found some forums with info on these systems and many of the posts mentioned how much CO2 your system will go through just purging the lines as the pumps are gas powered and run off the CO2. Well the manufacturers specs on the pumps say they can be used with CO2, compressed air, oxygen, nitrogen. I have an air compressor with an accurate regulator so i made an adapter to power each pump one at a time to purge the lines, sanitize them, then purge again with syrup, that would have taken a lot of extra CO2 to have those pumps just slowly chugging away at reduced pressure as shown in the startup instructions, you purge at 20psi to get a low pump speed, then go up to 55psi for normal operation. Now i can change to air and sanitize and purge the system with no additional cost whenever needed.
163298163299
So i got the whole setup into operation, i did discover my water regulators gauge was stuck, i picked up a replacement at the local Menards. And my carbonators impeller pump has a 2-3 drip per hour weep hole leak, the seal is starting to weep on it. But i found a company right here in MN that remanufactures the Procon pump housings, and they are cheap and come with a one year warranty on parts and labor. I bought a reman pump from them and i plan on shipping my old pump to them to be remanufactured as a spare, these pumps are expensive new.
All together i don't have much invested into the system, and the investment will pay itself back after just two boxes of syrup and the savings they will generate.
So i started doing the math and playing around with making my own. The Syrup isn't that hard to get and there is plenty of generic forms of the popular ones, such as Cola and Mt Dew. The price break on using generic syrup is pretty big, a 5 gal BIB (bag in box) of Mt Beverage by Fox's Beverages runs $36.99, you can get it cheaper if you buy multiple boxes, but that box will make 160 20oz servings, 160x1.50=$240 in equivalent store bought bottled products. The syrup is 5-1 ratio, so for a gallon of syrup you make five gallons hence a box makes 25 gallons. That usually takes about 5lbs of CO2 to run the carbonator and the syrup pumps. A refill is about $20 on that tank, add that to the syrup cost and you have $56.99 invested to make the same amount of soda, thats $183.01 in savings and at my average of two glasses per day with meals or to grab a quick drink i can stretch it out to last me at least two months per box.
So this left me thinking.... How can i build this? I got a SodaStream for Christmas, i love it but their syrups are less than desireable flavor wise and they are expensive when you do the math. It was around $.60 a bottle to make them using the SodaStream, while cheaper than the store its a lot of work to save a little money, not to mention that they RAPE you on the CO2 exchange. The little bottles for the SodaStream cost $15 per exchange, i can exchange a 5lb tank for $20!!
So while i was saving some money using my SodaStream and i bought BIB syrup and spigots to dispense from them to mix my own to maximize flavor and savings i started the hunt. I finally came across a complete system on eBay, well complete except in pieces because someone cut all the hoses up to remove the system, but it was still a good deal, came with bags of fittings and spare parts, maintenance and testing tools, you name it. I just needed to install it all.
Here is what i started with, a pile of parts.
163289163290163291163292163293
After scrubbing all the parts, tearing everything apart, cleaning, sanitizing, i got to the point where i could install it all. I bought all new tubing, new Oetiker clamps, the tool was included with the system so that was a bonus, and i started to plan its install. I added a shelf in my kitchen for the dispenser, drilled a hole in the floor, and got all the tubing and wiring done. It has a 24v low voltage power supply to run the solenoid valves in the dispenser. I also had to add an outlet protected by a GFCI breaker to plug in the power supply and the carbonator pump, and i had to add a water supply line to feed the system as well. In this batch of pictures you can see the equipment shelf which houses the carbonator, power supply, syrup pumps, regulators for water and co2 to the pumps, and then below that shelf is the boxes of syrup and the CO2 regulator for the tank which wasn't hooked up yet in this shot.
163294163295163296163297
I learned a lot about setting these up, adjusting the mixture or testing the brix as they call it, and making adjustments. The dispenser heads needed to be torn down and cleaned and new o-rings installed to seal up some weeping leaks. It was actually a lot of fun learning everything and figuring it out as i went. The whole system is installed in the basement with a 20 foot run of lines up to the kitchen. Here is a shot of the testing kit, and an adapter hose i made for running the pumps off compressed air. I found some forums with info on these systems and many of the posts mentioned how much CO2 your system will go through just purging the lines as the pumps are gas powered and run off the CO2. Well the manufacturers specs on the pumps say they can be used with CO2, compressed air, oxygen, nitrogen. I have an air compressor with an accurate regulator so i made an adapter to power each pump one at a time to purge the lines, sanitize them, then purge again with syrup, that would have taken a lot of extra CO2 to have those pumps just slowly chugging away at reduced pressure as shown in the startup instructions, you purge at 20psi to get a low pump speed, then go up to 55psi for normal operation. Now i can change to air and sanitize and purge the system with no additional cost whenever needed.
163298163299
So i got the whole setup into operation, i did discover my water regulators gauge was stuck, i picked up a replacement at the local Menards. And my carbonators impeller pump has a 2-3 drip per hour weep hole leak, the seal is starting to weep on it. But i found a company right here in MN that remanufactures the Procon pump housings, and they are cheap and come with a one year warranty on parts and labor. I bought a reman pump from them and i plan on shipping my old pump to them to be remanufactured as a spare, these pumps are expensive new.
All together i don't have much invested into the system, and the investment will pay itself back after just two boxes of syrup and the savings they will generate.