Using a post mix fountain dispenser

I recently bought an old 4 valve post mix fountain dispenser (Lancer 500).
Has anyone used one of these units for pre mix?
Has anyone tried to use one of these units for dispensing beer?
I plan on using 5 gal cornelius kegs & I do not have a carbonator.
Thanks

I have an old corny keg system I am trying to set up for cider,I believe it might be slightly simpler than yours though- c02 tank, guage,corny kegs and this ice chest style dispenser that uses ice to cool the lines. good luck!

Old_Brewer said:

I recently bought an old 4 valve post mix fountain dispenser (Lancer 500).
Has anyone used one of these units for pre mix?
Has anyone tried to use one of these units for dispensing beer?
I plan on using 5 gal cornelius kegs & I do not have a carbonator.
Thanks

Click to expand...

i've never heard of anyone trying to do that with a post-mix dispenser... most post-mix valves run 100psi on the carbonated water line and 40psi on the syrup lines, 5-parts water to 1 part syrup. you might be able to serve pre-mix through the carbonated water side of the valves, but that means re-plumbing the entire machine..... disconnecting the syrup solenoids would be a good idea too.

pre-mix soda is usually served at 40psi, but if you tried to serve it through the syrup side of the valves it might take a few minutes to fill a cup, even with the brix adjustment screws cranked all the way out.....

imho, with what you'd like to do, you'd be much better off selling or trading your unit for a true pre-mix dispenser. most soda fanatics want a post-mix unit so they can have name-brand soda on-tap (coke, pepsi, etc..) and a 4-head unit is usually in high demand, being relatively small compared to most commercial units. and, a pre-mix dispenser can not only serve soda, but it can also serve beer, something a post-mix unit could never do.

I'd just put a tower next to the Post Mix Unit...

Get a chill plate that would run 7 + products... One for carbonated water, one each for your flavor syrups, one each for two kinds of beer...

The soda water and syrups would go to your Lancer machine...the other two up into the tower to two separate tap handles.

I think this would be much more favorable than trying to dispense beer through the Lancer.

You'd need to gang three regulators together.. 0-160psi, 0-60psi, 0-30psi...would be a good choice. Set the 0-160 to around 105 psi (or as recommended by the manufacturer of your carbonator unit) The 0-60 psi to around 40-50 psi to power your syrup pumps (flojet or similar) and the 0-30 psi for your Corny Kegs of Beer.