Carb caps

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Metalheadfrommars

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Do I need a hose in bottle.? Also do I really need to shake it. Ps my first beer batch wasn't good at all lol
 
Ty I did not like shaking it I thought any second it would explode. I'll just make it a few days before drinkng
 
You don't need the hose, especially if you shake the bottle. I always shake it, for maybe 20-30 seconds each. I also use carb caps to make my own carbonated water and homemade soda. PET bottles are rated for much higher pressure than my regulator can allow, so I squeeze out all the empty space at the top, put the cap on, then fill with CO2. Gets them nice and fizzy. Also, cold liquid will hold more CO2, so make sure you chill it first.
 
Im a dummy I'm still confused I've read should hit it with the co2 2 or 3 times. But when I try to hit it a second time no more bubble come out of tube. Am I supposed to take the carb cap off between shots. If very video I've watched as different info
 
If you simply stand the bottle upright, hit it with your CO2, then leave it still, not much is going to happen in the short term.
Otoh, if you shake the beejeezus out of the bottle with the CO2 line attached it'll absorb CO2 quite rapidly until it reaches equilibrium, which you can predict using our favorite carbonation table and applying the temperature of the beer and the CO2 pressure used to see the expected volumes of CO2 or "carbonation level", where ~2.5 is the middle of the ball park for most ales.

So...because it's actually quite difficult to predict "time to carbonation equilibrium" regardless of method (but particularly, the "shake 'n' bake" carbonation method) the practical solution is to set your CO2 regulator PER THE TABLE ABOVE, then shake until you don't see/hear any more CO2 entering the bottle, at which point it will be very close to the desire carbonation level, and after settling could be enjoyed :)

That same method is the only truly reliable way to "fast carbonate" a keg as there is no chance of overshooting - like the notoriously unfaithful "burst carbonation" method ;)

Cheers!
 
Cool I did not understand that chart above till now before I was reading the number in the boxes as what to set the reglater to
 
I don't have any carb caps yet but I'm itching to buy one and this is my plan based on info I saw somewhere on youtube, hope its not too aggressive.

Fill and chill to 30 degrees, connect it to 30PSI and shake the s#!t out of it for 30 seconds, then rest it for 30 minutes before opening.

If it works out, it would be easy to remember: 30/30/30/30
 
Many variables involved (how full, how cold, FG, etc) and lord help you if you overshoot that 30° and end up shaking a beersicle :D

Cheers! (and Vaya con Dios, in advance ;))
 
Cool ty everyone I'm liking this better then my soda stream. The soda stream is scary them bottles are like 700 psi and I don't see a regulated
 
If you like it super fizzy:

1. Set your regulator to its highest PSI setting (mine's around 3.5 bar or 50 psi)
2. Leave some space at the top of the bottle (the more space, the more CO2 will fit in the bottle
3. Place the carb cap on the bottle, tightening it about halfway
4. Squeeze the bottle until beer/soda/water starts to come out
5. Tighten the cap (overtightening will cause the washer to get pushed into the bottle, so don't overdo it)
6. Attach the CO2 fitting
7. Shake for 30 seconds while the CO2 is connected.
8. Refrigerate for 15-30 minutes or more, depending on whether it's beer, soda, water, etc.

Hopefully I haven't left anything out.
 
Metalheadfrommars said:
Cool ty everyone I'm liking this better then my soda stream. The soda stream is scary them bottles are like 700 psi and I don't see a regulated
Click to expand...
Don't worry about your SodaStream, they are regulated down to a safe 15psi. Heck, SodaStream also sells really nice glass bottles for use with their machines. It only seems violent because the vessel is clear and you are holding it in your hand.

I have an old aluminum soda siphon from the 70's that I like to use for making egg creams (with Fox's U-Bet, of course!) and when I first started using it I was afraid to shake it under pressure but its fine, and probably operates on a similar 15 psi. I also have an old "Sparklets" glass seltzer bottle, and even as heavy as it is I would be afraid to use it because of its age.
 
Jayjay1976 said:
I don't think the volume of the vessel matters, but I'm assuming the burst charge volume is determined by pressure differential like a standard regulator and keg.
Click to expand...
I think it matters a lot. In German recipes, for example, they measure carbonation volume in grams of CO2 per liter. If you change the 1 liter to 500 milliliters, and keep the CO2 mass the same, you're going to have a much fizzier drink.

Or are you saying the pressure of a sodastream canister is 15 psi? That doesn't seem to make sense either, though.
 
ebbelwoi said:
I think it matters a lot. In German recipes, for example, they measure carbonation volume in grams of CO2 per liter. If you change the 1 liter to 500 milliliters, and keep the CO2 mass the same, you're going to have a much fizzier drink.

Or are you saying the pressure of a sodastream canister is 15 psi? That doesn't seem to make sense either, though.
Click to expand...
Have you ever used a SodaStream? You keep pressing the button more than once until the relief valve makes an angry farting sound. According to the interwebs, this valve is calibrated to 15psi, regardless of the volume of the carbonating vessel. Its just like force carbing a keg at 15psi; once that setpoint is reached the gas stops flowing. The difference is that when the pressure in the keg reaches the set point, a $60 regulator shuts off the gas flow while the $5 relief valve in a SodaStream simply vents excess pressure to the atmosphere.

Also, the pressure in a SodaStream cylinder is exactly the same as the pressure in a 20 pound CO2 cylinder (or any size cylinder, for that matter) because they both have liquid CO2 that evaporates as it is consumed up until all of the liquid is gone, then the pressure starts to fall as it is essentially empty.
 
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Is it normal when I take the gray adapter thing off the carb cap there is a litle liquid in the Grey thing
 
I may have this mixed up with a current thread on reddit, in which the OP was asking about using a sodastream as a CO2 source, but using PET bottles and carb caps, rather than all of the sodastream setup. Apologies for the confusion!
 
Metalheadfrommars said:
Is it normal when I take the gray adapter thing off the carb cap there is a litle liquid in the Grey thing
Click to expand...

Yeah, a bit of beer can get into the gas disconnect when you're shaking up a bottle of beer with the gas line attached. Even backflow-preventers (aka "check valves") can't stop that small volume from backing up.

btw, that's a reason why adding a "dip tube" to the carb cap isn't a great idea. With the end submerged in beer, if one were to make the mistake of lowering the gas pressure (or lord forbid, popping the regulator PRV) a whole lot of beer could back up if no check-valve was in the system...

Cheers!
 
Cool I was worried because it's my new fav toy. I've been making all kinds of soda. I use that sugar free water flavoring pouches
 
The grey thing... you mean a little liquid gets in the hose? I find that if I keep the hose connection pointed upward as I shake the bottle, I rarely get any liquid flowing into the hose.
 
Yes, that's what I meant. I just didn't imagine liquid being in the disconnect itself. Or is there no hose involved here?
 
Yeah that thing I was going to order a one but I think I'll just order a few mor carb caps so I can drink a bottles while makeing one. I'm sad I bought th soda stream I like this way better
 
day_trippr said:
fwiw, if I have a quart or so beer that won't fit in a keg I use a 1 or 2 liter soda bottle for the excess and will shake it at up to 30 psi to almost instantly carb it as a post packaging reward :D

Cheers!
Click to expand...
Brilliant! I usually just drink that little bit uncarbed and think about how good the future will look
 
ebbelwoi said:
Yes, that's what I meant. I just didn't imagine liquid being in the disconnect itself. Or is there no hose involved here?
Click to expand...

Well, usually there's the cap, CO2 disconnect, and pressurized hose. But there's also the squeezable bottle, and fluid inertia, both of which can contribute to the tiny bit of back-flow occurring at the lowest gas flow rate that would take to be noticed.

Tip: In my handy bin of racking, kegging and cleaning accessories, I keep a gas post and a beer post, with 1/4" MPT post adapters. I can stuff that threaded end into a length of hose connected to my slop sink faucet to flush out lines - and disconnects - after use, and easily drain both afterwards (the post keeps the disconnect open, no need to jam a finger in there :))

Cheers!
 
I pressurize to the desired PSI with the bottle up right, then remove the disconnect before shaking. It reduce the chances of liquid getting the some. You can feel the bottle soften or not giving a clues to how close you are getting.

I bought some of the stainless steel ball lock thru jumpers from brew hardware initially to help cleaning beer lines. Going thru all the lines actually slowed down the task so was only used once for that. They do work great for holding open ball lock disconnects for cleaning. Have used them to weigh down hop bags for dry hopping too.
 
I have bought 8 carb caps and they all came with the seal. It's a black rubber washer inside the cap. Is yours missing somehow?

You could try searching on aliexpress, but I don't recall ever seeing them there.
 
Metalheadfrommars said:
It has one but I'm trying to be prepared for when it fails
Click to expand...
I wouldn't worry about it. Mine have never failed. Sometimes they pop out if I overtighten the cap, but I just pull it out of the bottle and put it back in the cap. The little ring around the top has broken a few times, and I've had to replace those. Those are easy to find.
 

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