The carbonator cap

I used one of these for the first time today. I had a gallon of beer I made for a starter that turned out well and I wanted to save it. I siphoned into the liter bottle(The beer was cold about 40F) and tried to get as much air out as possible. I poped 20psi of co2 and shook around a little for about a minute.
I put the pressurized bottle in the icebox and I am at work now. I wont be home for about 12hrs. Has anyone had luck with these. I am probably not going to drink it in the morning but I probably need to drop the pressure to 7psi in the morning? Any thoughts?

They work great. You don't need to bleed off any pressure. Enjoy.

So just leave 20psi on it until I am ready for it?

They are awesome. I have two of them that I got long ago (back when they were $20).

Definitely don't need to bleed it, it bleeds plenty when you take the cap off! I leave mine at 25 psi until drinking because I have some headspace due to how I fill it. For filling it, I have the cap and a towel ready and just fill to about two inches from the top then squeeze the bottle until the beer is just spilling and screw the cap on. Never a worry about getting all of the air out. I shake just like you do for a minute or so.

What kind of 1 liter bottle did you use? I find that some kinds of 1 liter bottles (a few brands of water) have different threads than most 16oz, 20oz, and 2 liter bottles (closer together I think) so I stopped using them.

I used the Sams choice bottle. I soaked it in PBW over night hoping if there was any soda smell it would get it out. Then I rinsed it with hot water, Then I used Idophor for about 10 minutes. After I put 20psi on it I submerged it in a water bath to make sure it was not leaking. No Leaks.....I read somewhere if you overtighten them they may leak but not sure.
I was under the impression that if I left 20psi on the bottle it would be nothing but foam coming out when I got ready to drink it. Its in the icebox now.

Dark_Ale said:

I was under the impression that if I left 20psi on the bottle it would be nothing but foam coming out when I got ready to drink it. Its in the icebox now.

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Depends how much head space you have. If your bottle is very full and your beer was very cold when it went in the bottle and you shook vigorously for a full minute with the gas connected at 20 psi, then it might be a bit overcarbonated, but I don't think it would foam excessively. Like I said, I leave about 2 inches of headspace and that seems to work for me. Never had a gusher.

I use a DIY version of one of these, and I make small batches of soda all the time. It works really well! Mostly, I just carbonate some Crystal Light - makes for an excellent, refreshing soft drink!

Ok, I'll take the bait... How did you make a D.I.Y. version?

Almost exactly what is described here:

http://www.truetex.com/carbonation.htm

cdburg said:

Ok, I'll take the bait... How did you make a D.I.Y. version?

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He did a bunch of complicated things that us humans wouldn't understand. That is, if it's like any of his other projects.

pfranco81 said:

He did a bunch of complicated things that us humans wouldn't understand. That is, if it's like any of his other projects.

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Nah, it's explained pretty well if you follow the link above.

Thanks for the link. I may have to try to make one myself after I work through the "backlog" of other projects.

I love these. Mine saved me a trip to the store during a party. I forgot the club soda for Mojitos so I just got some cold water from my fridge and hit it with co2. I was serving mojitos in 5 mins!

Just an FYI, it's really easy to get all the air out using one of these. Once the cap is screwed on, just depress the poppet valve with your fingernail or a paperclip or something, and squeeze the bottle until liquid bleeds out and then release the valve. That way you don't get any oxygenation when you put it on the gas and shake!

I noticed this morning some of my pressure was gone from the 2 liter bottle. So I bumped it back up to 20psi and checked for leaks I could not find any leaks. I guess it got a little colder in the icebox causing the pressure to drop? Otherwise I have to have a leak. I submerged the end of the bottle in the water bath and could not see any leaks? Any ideas

Just an update, For a couple of days I had to bump the pressure back up to 20psi I guess it was absorbing in the beer, or the temp drop lowered the pressure, any way the 2 liter bottle is almost gone, and it taste great, its a little young, but I just could'nt wait anymore. I may try 25psi next time, its just a little light on the carbonation. Thanks to all for the help, I used the yeast cake off of this brew for my english barley wine...1.12......Hopefully in a couple of years its as good as this brew.

Has anybody tried using this with white wine to make Champagne? I just thought about it while carbing up some OJ and figured it could work.

I've carbonated wine. I've also done mimosas by carbonating the wine and OJ together

Holy zombie thread dig up batman! 3 years old.

zac said:

Holy zombie thread dig up batman! 3 years old.

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Haha, yeah I did a search for Carbonator Cap and this came up.

Mimosa sounds like a really neat idea, I may have to try that on New Years Eve.

I'm going to buy one of these. Soda, beer and champagne, oh my!!

Bump... So my wife just got one of these and it appears to be a nice find. I've yet to use but am looking forward to doing mini batches of beer and maybe some soda recipes. So is this the general check list...

1. Fill sanitized 2L bottle with beer about 3" from top.
2. Squeeze bottle to where beer just seeps out and put on cap.
3. Have CO2 tank on about 25psi and connect to cap.
4. 2L Bottle should pop and then shake bottle for 1 minute.
5. Remove gas connect and put bottle in fridge for minimum of an hour.
6. After an hour (or whenever you want to drink) it should be ready.

As long as I have the PSI under 30, I shouldn't have to worry about anything really exploding, right?

I might have to get another one though so I can do at least a gallon batch of beer. I don't think brewing a 2L batch is worth time alone. Any recommendations on a good 1g fermenter?

natefrog255 said:

Bump... So my wife just got one of these and it appears to be a nice find. I've yet to use but am looking forward to doing mini batches of beer and maybe some soda recipes. So is this the general check list...

1. Fill sanitized 2L bottle with beer about 3" from top.
2. Squeeze bottle to where beer just seeps out and put on cap.
3. Have CO2 tank on about 25psi and connect to cap.
4. 2L Bottle should pop and then shake bottle for 1 minute.
5. Remove gas connect and put bottle in fridge for minimum of an hour.
6. After an hour (or whenever you want to drink) it should be ready.

As long as I have the PSI under 30, I shouldn't have to worry about anything really exploding, right?

I might have to get another one though so I can do at least a gallon batch of beer. I don't think brewing a 2L batch is worth time alone. Any recommendations on a good 1g fermenter?

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Couple corrections: in step two, leave gap, then put cap on tightly, then depress valve while squeezing until liquid seeps out of cap.
I use this almost exclusively for sparkling water, but I haven't been satisfied except when it's set to 40 psi. Trial and error for you though...

Thanks for the information!