Kegerator - where to start for soda?

[KingPin]

So I just inherited a fridge from some friends that upgraded. nothing special with a top mount freezer.

My ultimate goal is to turn this thing into my soda dispenser in the garage. Only trouble is is that I've never done anything like this before. I figure a few things like 1) keep the gas outside of the fridge and 2) I'll need to put some sort of dispensing unit outside the fridge and 3) how do i actually mix my recipe in a keg to make it turn out (up until this point I would just do H2O and then add syrups to flavor.

Anything you wonderful people have for me would be greatly appreciated as both the fridge and my thirst are waiting!!

*KingPin*

 

[Smugly]

Hey KingPin,

To keep the missus happy I decided to dedicate one of my taps to soda. I picked up a few tips to make it work better.

There are a few things you need to know to do this right.

Your dispensing method might be something as simple as a picnic tap inside the fridge or progress to something like taps mounted to the fridge door. *check out the multitude of kegerator designs people have here.

You can theoretically mix any type of cordial or syrup and carbonate it. The problem with non alcoholic drinks is that it is easier for it to become infected without the presence of alcohol. Most cordials contain preservatives which will help (sodastream for example contains sodium benzoate). Avoid fresh fruit juices and or other fresh ingredients. Clean keg and dispensing gear with sanitizers recommended by your local homebrew store. To carbonate you have to achieve the adequate "volume of co2" in solution. For soda it is around 4-4.5 which means you have to carbonate at 30psi (in comparison to the 8-15psi required for beer) with the liquid at around 2C. Never dispense soda at a different pressure than the carbonating pressure or else you will get nothing but foam! *look up methods or carbonation for more info

A huge problem people have with serving soda from a keg is excessive foam. This is most often because of poor line balancing. Line balancing is a must especially with serving pressure as high as 30psi. I use something like 20ft of 3/16 id hosing. *look up line balancing calculators.

Hope that helps a little. Good luck and have fun :rockin:

 

[KingPin]

Smugly!! this is precisely what I was looking for. I'm probably just going to try my hand with the picnic tap in the fridge....dont want to make too many holes.

Also probably just start with water in the keg and syrups and see what we can make happen there. I got side tracked by SWMBO wanting me to build a "playhouse" for the kiddles. Might be a while before I get back to the kegerrator.

Thanks again for replying and helping my mind figure this one out.

-=KingPin=- :rockin:

Hey KingPin,

To keep the missus happy I decided to dedicate one of my taps to soda. I picked up a few tips to make it work better.

There are a few things you need to know to do this right.

Your dispensing method might be something as simple as a picnic tap inside the fridge or progress to something like taps mounted to the fridge door. *check out the multitude of kegerator designs people have here.

You can theoretically mix any type of cordial or syrup and carbonate it. The problem with non alcoholic drinks is that it is easier for it to become infected without the presence of alcohol. Most cordials contain preservatives which will help (sodastream for example contains sodium benzoate). Avoid fresh fruit juices and or other fresh ingredients. Clean keg and dispensing gear with sanitizers recommended by your local homebrew store. To carbonate you have to achieve the adequate "volume of co2" in solution. For soda it is around 4-4.5 which means you have to carbonate at 30psi (in comparison to the 8-15psi required for beer) with the liquid at around 2C. Never dispense soda at a different pressure than the carbonating pressure or else you will get nothing but foam! *look up methods or carbonation for more info

A huge problem people have with serving soda from a keg is excessive foam. This is most often because of poor line balancing. Line balancing is a must especially with serving pressure as high as 30psi. I use something like 20ft of 3/16 id hosing. *look up line balancing calculators.

Hope that helps a little. Good luck and have fun :rockin:

 

[ShaneJ]

How are you making the soda? Are you buying the soda mix and mixing it in the keg with water? How does this work? My fiancé would love to have a Dr. Pepper tap next to my beer tap.

 

[KingPin]

He ShaneJ! -- what i plan on doing is using my syrups from Prairie Moon
http://www.prairiemoon.biz/
and keeping water carbonated on tap in the keggerator. I'm also toying with trying to keep a rootbeer on tap too but I'd have to figure out how to properly mix and make that one. So far using water and syrups seems the easiest solution.

How are you making the soda? Are you buying the soda mix and mixing it in the keg with water? How does this work? My fiancé would love to have a Dr. Pepper tap next to my beer tap.

 

[roger55]

So I just inherited a fridge from some friends that upgraded. nothing special with a top mount freezer.
My ultimate goal is to turn this thing into my soda dispenser in the garage. Only trouble is is that I've never done anything like this before. I figure a few things like 1) keep the gas outside of the fridge and 2) I'll need to put some sort of dispensing unit outside the fridge and 3) how do i actually mix my recipe in a keg to make it turn out (up until this point I would just do H2O and then add syrups to flavor.
Anything you wonderful people have for me would be greatly appreciated as both the fridge and my thirst are waiting!!
*KingPin*

What you describe here sounds like it might be just like what I wanted and did build.
I documented the entire build with details:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=390573