Dispensing Soda question:

[Nightbiker]

In about a month and a half I'll be throwing a birthday party for my wife, and rolling out the big porta-kegger with a few varieties of beer for the adults, and would like to have a (soda)keg of Coke for the kiddies -and would like to be able to dispense it from the kegergator as well (for logistical reasons, it would be nice to have all the drinks on tap, in one convenient location). I figured on taking one of my kegs and filling it with cocacola from 2 liter bottles, using CO2 to keep it carbed, and pushing it through one of my spare beer faucets.
Will this work? Or will I end up with a foamy mess?
After the party, I'll scour everything the soda touched (and rebuild the keg -which is due to be rebuit anyway).
Any advice would be nice.
It would be cool to have this arrangement when our family has its' annual gatherings -which involves mostly Adults, but a fair amount of kids as well.

 

[marzsit]

yes, it will work. you will need higher c02 pressure for the soda, and a longer dispensing line (or epoxy mixers in the dip tube) to keep the soda carbonated properly and to avoid a foamy mess while serving..

 

[Nightbiker]

very cool, thanks! I'll try it with about 6' of low-foam (3/16) beer line. I have an extra regulator and co2 tank I could dedicate to the soda for the party. Also it will give me a good reason to build a spunding valve to measure the amount of pressure required to keep the soda carbed.... I have one of those gas connectors that is built into a screw-cap for keeping 2L bottles of beer carbed, so if I screw it on a regular 2L bottle of soda, plug my valve in with the relief valve tight, I should get a reading on the guage...
after a bit more reading, looks like my target is going to be around 40psi (?!) -I'm going to need a lot more than 6' of hose... Well, when I do it, I'll post results and specs after the party -should be within a month and a half to two months...
Thanks for the info!

 

[zaxsan]

I am installing a soda keg in my keezer as well. I have a second regulator for the carbination psi of 30(ish). Why would you keep it at 30 to serve? I force carbonate beer at 40 and then drop to 8psi to serve. How is water any different. Carbonate at 30 and then drop to serving psi. I understand that leaving the psi at 8 for a long time can lower the carbonation level, but so much that you need to get 25' of line?

Am I missing something? Is it just for the ease of setting the psi to 30 an never touching it?

 

[Turlian]

Correct, it's so you can leave the regulator at 30 PSI and not worry about having to remember to crank it back up after serving.

 

[zaxsan]

@Tula - Still not totally sure I get it. If I carbonate at 30psi for 1 week and the water/soda is carbonated properly and then turn the psi down to 8 it would take a long time for the water to lose its carbonation level. Does lowering the psi to 8 or 10 really have that quick of an effect on the liquid?

I carbonate my beer at 12 and server at 5. I go through 5 gal and never even see a carbonation change from start to finish.

I do understand that it is easier to leave it at 30 all the time, but you could always push it back to 30 for a day or two after 1/2 the keg is gone just to make sure the carbonation level remains high enough.

I guess I will find out when I get my water carbonation system going.

 

[Nightbiker]

Good point Zaxsan, I'll just lower it for the party so I don't have to blow a fortune on a very long line. I have no intention of keeping soda on tap in my kegerator (that thing is for BEER, periold -though I do like to keep some deli-thin slices of salt-cured pork in it to enjoy with a very hoppy beer (if I kept it in the fridge, it would disappear too quickly, and due to my heart, I'm not allowed to have high-salt foods -and this stuff is definitely HIGH SALT -but I only have a very small amount at a time -still, keeps the wife from getting upset).
Anyway, I can understand the ridiculous regulator settings for the soda because from what I've read, soda has quite a bit more dissolved CO2 in it compared to beer. But a brief decrease for the length of a party isn't going to hurt anything. All I'm doing is emptying about 4 2L bottles into a keg, just for this gathering, then I'll clean and refurbish the keg. I mean 8 liters is a lot of soda but it only comes to what, 2.11 gallons? Plenty for the non-beer drinkers (and if it really became an issue, it would be a cinch to just push another bottles' worth into the keg). The wife and her friends tend to stick to diet coke. Us boys are going to stick with homebrew.