Soda dispenser for beer?

I cam across a hell of a deal today on CL. Got me 8 ball locks a regulator, disconnects, tubing, and this Pepsi dispenser. It is not a pre-mix dispensor he tells me, it's a direct tap.

Is there any way to use this bad boy for a keezer? Perhaps just the front panel and drip tray. I couldn't care less about the ice chest part. Plus taking it apart would be a blessing. This whole thing is heavier than piss.





If I can't use it, I'll use the tubing, disconnects, etc and scrap it since even without it, the kegs were a good price.

Pre mix and direct tap mean the same thing.
If he means it's not post mix, i.e. bag-in-box, then he would be correct.

It's basically just a cold plate attached to taps, so you should be able to use it. I believe the taps have compensating valves on them, so you may want to research exactly what model you have and determine how to adjuct the taps.

I suppose you could take it apart and use it for a keezer, you might also want to just look into what someone will buy it for, and then use that money for some perlicks.

Yeah i thought about that. Can't find examples of dispenser with these tap handles. So Idk what its worth

Stupid question, but did you look at the nameplate for the model #?

I'll bet if you contacted somewhere like CHI, they might have parts for it or maybe even be able to tell you the value of it.

Its the Cornelius model number 1530 C5. However, it's so old I can't find prices or even a pic online

Actually they are still sought after for vendors at fairs and such. I would put it on ebay and buy what you need.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cornelius-4...ultDomain_0&hash=item20ad5adb50#ht_500wt_1287

http://www.ebay.com/itm/IMI-Corneli...ltDomain_0&hash=item336e25090d#ht_6367wt_1037

it's like a combo between these two. There's no ice dispenser, but there is a bin on the top for scooping ice. Maybe it has a plate chiller too? I haven't taken it apart to inspect it.

edit: I emailed Cornelius about the machine to see if they'll give me some info. If I can sell this thing for 400 like the ebay ones are going for, I'm going to sh*t myself in joy

Found out its a cornelius breville pre mix. I asked them what it retailed for

Found out it retailed in 1998 for $2565. Im so stoked. Despite its age i should be able to get some dough for it. What?400?

I'll try selling it. It has a cold plate in it, so it could be used as a kegerator technically. But I'd rather have taps coming off my keezer, that way there are less things taking up space.

I have something similar. Picked up for steal off of Craigslist. Can't sell it to save my life.

I'd be concerned the faucets and lines would be permanently soda flavor "stained". Maybe a good PBW soak would eliminate that.

well i'm hopefully selling it to soda users so whatever. Or i could keep the tubing, it's the reinforced beverage tubing, which can be pricey. A good soak should do it.

hmmm. well no bites on CL yet. since it is premix, and has a cold plate, I could use it for beer, although I'd much rather have beer coming from the freezer all in one.

it does have a cold plate, but there's no plug on there. does the ice bin on top chill it down? Idk how soda machines work, obviously

It will work but you might end up taking the compensators out of the back of the taps to reduce foaming. The compensators are the white tapered inserts insid the back of the faucets.

what do the compensators do? it's premix, so there shouldn't be any water mixing valves.

I had a thread on this a while back. I was planning on using it to dispense beer but due to the location I wanted it at it wasn't feasible. Supposedly you can hook it up and leave the kegs at room temp to age while you dispense. Pretty cool idea, but I was going to keep it out at my back porch and the temperature fluctuates too much, so I brought it inside and it was too loud.if I can't sell it by the time I build my brew stand I'm gonna rip mine apart and see if I can make a prechiller out of it for my immersion chiller.

it's the Cornelius Deville, and it's not electrically powered so it shouldn't be loud. It just takes lines from the kegs, through a cold plate, and dispenses. I thought about making a collar for my keezer then having beer lines going in through holes, plugged with insulation afterwards. I wouldn't need to use the cold plate since the kegs would be chilled. If it doesn't work, I could just replace the collar piece. I could do the keezer build (forgot the user) who made a removable door for the taps. I'd just use it for the lines.

And if i ever did sell it, it'd be a quick fix to remove it. I'll just have to flush each line with Oxi and Star san several times

I'm communicating with a cornelius rep constantly. she states the lines in the cold plate are 1/4'" and she thinks it may lead to excess foaming.

Here is the discussion from the last time!!
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/thoughs-purchase-soda-dispensing-machine-279312/

interesting. So you poured all your beers at 30psi? is this because of the taps?

It was to keep the co2 from coming out of solution in the keg (equilibrium) or you would constantly do maintenance to your pressure to ensure your beer didn't go flat.. Also, mine wasn't a cold plate heat exchanger it was tubing..

why would beer go flat if it's constantly connected to the regulator? I'm not getting this part, or did you carb up extra high then store it without a co2 supply?

well, you asked why at 30psi.. that is kinda a balanced pressure for keeping room temperature beer at the right volume of co2.. the tap is a copmpensator for having such a high pressure.. i would carb my kegs to the right volume of co2 for the style. my wine, cider, lemon, belgians ect are high in co2 volume (3-4).. i served everything (5 kegs) at the same psi.. you could tell when sum of the higher co2 volume styles were going a little flat.. i didnt want a seperate regulator ($$$) for every keg so when the were getting a little flat i would just prime them back up a little.. hope that makes sense.

but if the kegs are refrgerated, then I wouldn't have to do that would i? just have the lines connected to the dispenser outside the freezer. then i could do the normal 10-12 psi right?

mendozer said:

but if the kegs are refrgerated, then I wouldn't have to do that would i? just have the lines connected to the dispenser outside the freezer. then i could do the normal 10-12 psi right?

Click to expand...

If your going to refrigerate why would you use the soda machine then? Just take the faucets and put them through the fridge door!! No need for long beer lines because the faucets have the compensator in them!!

hey OP.. use the front plate and drip tray like you said with a fridge and make this with your cold plate and a faucet for party's!!

mendozer said:

what do the compensator's do? it's premix, so there shouldn't be any water mixing valves.

Click to expand...

The compensator's are used to drop pressure at the back of the faucets so that when you open a faucet the soda does not spray out. They are needed because the soda has to stay at about 35 PSI to keep its carbonation.

But with beer the pressure drop is too much too soon and they will cause a foaming problem.

edmanster said:

If your going to refrigerate why would you use the soda machine then? Just take the faucets and put them through the fridge door!! No need for long beer lines because the faucets have the compensator in them!!

Click to expand...

oh gotcha. I'm trying to figure out how to take the faucet panel apart. I got the drip tray off, but no luck with the latter.

thargrav - can I take out a compensator?

edmanster - interesting video. Basically use that cold plate as a chiller and use one faucet, maybe a picnic faucet. I'd still need to carry a spare tank around, and regulator.

Yes, you remove the faucet from the front and pull it out then re-install the faucet.

So it's really no big deal with this faucet setup. Take it out and it's just like the beer faucets, except its plastic.

they tend to get sticky if not used often since they are rear sealing.

rear sealing is a big deal because of dripping? And I would be capping them, possibly hosing them before and after use

mendozer said:

rear sealing is a big deal because of dripping? And I would be capping them, possibly hosing them before and after use

Click to expand...

The issue is the same sticking issue that any other faucet has. It's just less so when these faucets are used for sodas because sodas leave less residue when you turn the faicets off.

ill mess with them on spring break. if i make no progress, i'll scrap em and get real faucets

If you decide to give up on the faucets, sell them. They are worth $12.00 each or more on eBay.

ooh interesting. Too bad i don't have feelers on the whole machine though. You'd think a small restaurant would instead of shelling out thousands for a new one

I have friends in the soda machine refurb business. Small restaurants aren't buying these machines because they want the newer post mix fountains. But a lot of machines are still installed that use these types of faucets and they aren't available new from Becker, so the service people are always scrambling for good used service parts.

hmm interesting. I'll have to figure out how to safely dismantle them. They're in their tight so I'll have to play with it for a while

A nut unscrews from the back of the shank just like a beer shank, but it's a plastic nut.