Homemade carbonator cap

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJD0bv9kLAQ]YouTube - How to Make A Carbonation Cap[/ame]

Air Chuck -- $2 (Lowes #3626 / 104ZN-RET)
1/4" x 1/4" Flare-to-Male Pipe Half Union (Lowes: #WATTS PB48)
Barbed Swivel Nut 5/16" barb to 1/4" FFL -- $3.25 (LHBS)
Tire Stem Valve -- $1 (Belle Tire)
2-Liter Soda Bottles & Caps

I also used a stainless T between my regulator and air chuck, so i don't have to constantly disconnect a gas QD to use it.

For the cost of The Carbonator, you can setup your CO2 and make 3-4 caps

Very cool. May have to make a bunch of these. Could also put some cool valve caps on top...

Nice! Now when you fill this thing up with beer and you wanna start carbing it do you use the same pressure as when carbing a keg? Same basic priciple as force carbing a keg and shaking it right?

I fill them with precarbed beer using BM's Beergun, then just drop 15psi on them to keep them carbed. No sense if using these to carb beer if you already have a kegorator. You can use these to carb up some homemade soda.

Arkador said:

No sense if using these to carb beer if you already have a kegorator. You can use these to carb up some homemade soda.

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I must disagree on that reply I say this is a great idea when bringing a couple samples over to a party or friends house for the evening, simple small and cheap. The only expense is the valve stem price if a bottle was left behind or lost. So easy to take 3 or 4 different 2 litre brews along vs transporting 5 gallon corny's. I'm not rich enough and crazy to pay the price for2 or 3 gallon corny's. Nice to have yes but not the asking price of them.

I've made several, super quick and cheap. They work better than the commercial (expensive) type in that they seal more easily to the bottle. I have to take a wrench with me to use those. These are so cheap that losing a couple doesn't cause heartburn.

Brilliant dude.
Next on my list to do.

Arkador said:

I fill them with precarbed beer using BM's Beergun, then just drop 15psi on them to keep them carbed. No sense if using these to carb beer if you already have a kegorator. You can use these to carb up some homemade soda.

Click to expand...

BrewBeemer said:

I must disagree on that reply I say this is a great idea when bringing a couple samples over to a party or friends house for the evening, simple small and cheap. The only expense is the valve stem price if a bottle was left behind or lost. So easy to take 3 or 4 different 2 litre brews along vs transporting 5 gallon corny's. I'm not rich enough and crazy to pay the price for2 or 3 gallon corny's. Nice to have yes but not the asking price of them.

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Dude, reread Arkadors post all he is saying is if you already have a kegorator then you dont need to force carb the beer in the bottle just transfer and then top off using 15 psi with the cap to keep it carbed .

I am going to build some of these this weekend amongst the 100 other things on the list...ohh crazy me with four 3 gallon corny's

Arkador said:

No sense if using these to carb beer if you already have a kegorator. You can use these to carb up some homemade soda.

Click to expand...

BrewBeemer said:

I must disagree on that reply I say this is a great idea when bringing a couple samples over to a party or friends house for the evening, simple small and cheap. The only expense is the valve stem price if a bottle was left behind or lost. .

Click to expand...

springer said:

Dude, reread Arkadors post all he is saying is if you already have a kegorator then you dont need to force carb the beer in the bottle just transfer and then top off using 15 psi with the cap to keep it carbed .

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These are good if you make a little more than 5 gallons per batch and then carb a few bottles without the wait for the priming sugar. It's also a good way to get a preview of the beer you just kegged.

Just wondering what kind of material the valve stems were made out of, should it be made out of stainless steel valve stems, or will brass be ok with the beer, or aluminum or chrome plated? or will any of them work? must protect the beer!

thanks!

It would be nice to find stainless ones but all I've come across are brass. I still use them though because the beer doesn't sit on it. If I'm taking beer to a club meeting, I fill it off the keg faucet, squeeze the bottle to remove headspace, then hit it with 20psi of CO2. If I've got a beer that's aging somewhere and I want to see how it would be cold and carbed, I fill a 1 liter bottle half way, purge the air, hit it with 25 psi and shake, pressure, shake, pressure shake maybe 5 times.

springer said:

Dude, reread Arkadors post all he is saying is if you already have a kegorator then you dont need to force carb the beer in the bottle just transfer and then top off using 15 psi with the cap to keep it carbed .

I am going to build some of these this weekend amongst the 100 other things on the list...ohh crazy me with four 3 gallon corny's

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Nothing crazy about having 3 gallon corny's, they are out of my price range my pockets are not as deep as your. Yes I would like to own at least two of them but my budget prevents this.

I hope your reply wasn't a negative one pointed at me as I believe this is a great idea to pack a cooler full of them and go to a party with a traveling variety pack to sample off. I have traveled with up to five 5 gallon corny's to the mountains on the annual camping party as it too way too much space and trouble vs plastic 2 litre bottles. Yes we always came home with empty corny's. That's a good sign about the homebrews and they were already ready to tap and fully carbonated.
For the short time the bier is exposed to the brass valve stems is nothing as far as time and damage to the bier.

BrewBeemer said:

Nothing crazy about having 3 gallon corny's, they are out of my price range my pockets are not as deep as your. Yes I would like to own at least two of them but my budget prevents this.

I hope your reply wasn't a negative one pointed at me as I believe this is a great idea to pack a cooler full of them and go to a party with a traveling variety pack to sample off. I have traveled with up to five 5 gallon corny's to the mountains on the annual camping party as it too way too much space and trouble vs plastic 2 litre bottles. Yes we always came home with empty corny's. That's a good sign about the homebrews and they were already ready to tap and fully carbonated.
For the short time the bier is exposed to the brass valve stems is nothing as far as time and damage to the bier.

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no negativity at all. I just got the impression that you were thinking Arkador was talking the cap down all he said was there is no need to use this to force carb when you have a kegerator but works great to transport small quantities at pressure.

I refused to buy them for a long time also but when Morebeer had refurbished 3 gallon corny's for 50 bucks I bought 4

Bobby_M said:

It would be nice to find stainless ones but all I've come across are brass. I still use them though because the beer doesn't sit on it. If I'm taking beer to a club meeting, I fill it off the keg faucet, squeeze the bottle to remove headspace, then hit it with 20psi of CO2. If I've got a beer that's aging somewhere and I want to see how it would be cold and carbed, I fill a 1 liter bottle half way, purge the air, hit it with 25 psi and shake, pressure, shake, pressure shake maybe 5 times.

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cause i found these in stainless @ $6.25 each shipped

or in polished aluminum here @ $4.00 each shipped

hmm which to choose either way beats $15-$20 bucks on a carbonator cap, i'll probably get the stainless just because stainless is awesome

springer said:

no negativity at all. I just got the impression that you were thinking Arkador was talking the cap down all he said was there is no need to use this to force carb when you have a kegerator but works great to transport small quantities at pressure.

I refused to buy them for a long time also but when Morebeer had refurbished 3 gallon corny's for 50 bucks I bought 4

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Damn, congrats as that was ag great price vs $80 to $125 i've seen at my LHBS stores. I would of snagged four myself.
Na no worries springer, i'm thick skinned (also thick headed at times) and stubborn, the German in me.

I've been told 5 gallon, 2 and 3 have made our shores from China from one supplier of equipment to the LHBS stores. Was told that these new
Corny's can match the used Corny's going prices in the near future when the old Corny supply dries up". Time will tell. Two 3 gallon USA corny's would be great for that "extra wort" from a brewing session to finish off the boil kettle vs using another 5 gallon. I saw one that was only 1 1/2 gallon a couple years ago at the LHBS in is display area but not for sale at any price.
Factory sample or demo model? It sure was a short chit looking thing with the rubber ends abolut as long as the stainless body.

So I have a question. I'm sure it's possible the specs for the tire valve has changed since you started this thread but can I get a little clarification on attaching the stem to the cap? When I place the large (upper) rubber piece onto the stem which is running up through the bottom of the cap I can't get it pushed down enough to thread the nut on, even without the chrome washer piece.

It's as if the holes diameter needs to be the size of the outer diameter of the large (upper) rubber. I suppose the other idea is to trim that upper rubber down 1/16" or 1/8". Suggestions?

Ok...I got to looking at your video a little more closely and it appears as though the upper larger rubber from the valve I purchased is taller than yours. When I put it all together without the cap, the first couple of threads on the stem can barely be seen. I'm thinking I might have to trim down the larger rubber sleeve to make it work.

Alright....so it took my x-acto knife to the larger rubber piece, then ran it over some 220 and 600 wet/dry sandpaper to smooth it out. Slapped it on and was finally able to thread the nut onto the stem following the chrome washer. In all I probably took off about 1/4"-3/8" and it looks much more like the stem pictured in the video. Thank you so much.

We found a fitting meant for a sprayer in store at Princess Auto (in Ontario, Canada) for $5 that worked perfectly without any modifications (also available online). It included a shut-off valve as well as a fitting that could be unscrewed from the bottle without the bottle losing pressure (so you can put it in the fridge right after and get longer lasting carbonation).

http://www.princessauto.com/pal/en/Sprayer-Accessories/4-pc-Single-Outlet-Valve-Kit/8041228.p

I've had good success with using 2l soda bottles with a valve stem, I drill a 1/2 hole in the cap push a valve stem in from the back. I bought a cheap air chuck and a barbed fitting to connect to my co2. Works like a champ and cost about $8.

Man this works awesome and easily made... makes 1 gallon batches easy to carb up and a 2 piece adaptor from 1/4 to 1/8" pipe thread makes it easy to disconnect from screw thread to corny connector fast and easy to the air chuck!
Thanks for the great DIY!

So I built this last night using 3/18 then 1/2 as he states in the video can be used, once I put the cap on the bottle I can still squeeze out air. Is there a leak I read that it wont seal until you put pressure on it is that true?

Also How does the guy keep a hold of the cap while drilling mine was spinning all over the place and I couldn't keep a good grip on it.

One other thing the inner disc at the top of the cap (his is light blue) fell out, is this necessary to maintain a seal?

Yes the blue gasket seals the cap to the bottle.

I built one some time ago into a cap from Costco apple juice bottle (1 gallon). The French style bicycle valve stem is stainless. It holds pressure well if threads of bottle wrapped in Teflon!.pic
.
Here's my question/problem.... it never carbs up the beer! Is it due to smallish head space or what? shake, rattle rolls 35lbs(tends to warp bottle, look bottle on right)... nothing.
.
Please HELP... I want to prew small variations from same wort. Then carbonate. Pain in A$$ in big cornies. HELP

In order to carbonate in a vessel you need a few things.

Cold liquid and a head of pressure. The smaller the headspace the longer it will take to carbonate, in a vessel like a soda bottle. In a keg the CO2 pressure can stay on full time so the headspace becomes irrelevant.

My steps to carbonate a 1-2 liter bottle. Squeeze the air out and put on the carbonator top. Add CO2 through valve and put in fridge. Once cold put another hit of O2 on top of the head, repeat often. I use at least 20 PSI and hit the bottle a couple times a day with CO2. Alternatively you can (once the bottle and liquid is cold) add CO2 and shake, repeat. After shaking you will feel the bottle get soft when the 02 goes into solution. Within a few minutes of this you will have some carbonation in the liquid. I will then CO2 up the bottle and leave it. It can take 3 or more days to carbonate a bottle depending on headspace and how often you pressurize the container.

One more note. In the video the guy adds a rubber grommet on the inside and outside. I have been making these caps for a few years and have never added the external grommet and never had a leak.

First thing is that an apple juice jug is not really made to hold pressure. You should be using something like a 1 or 2 liter soda bottle. When you drill the cap of the soda bottle, you also have to drill thru the inside seal and that has to stay in place because that's what seals the cap to the bottle. After squeezing out the air and chilling the beer down to fridge temps, set your regulator to 40 psi, pressurize the bottle then shake the heck out of it. The bottle will get soft. Hit it with 40 psi again and shake it again. Put it back in the fridge for an hour and you're ready to sample. This works well if there's about 10-20% headspace to 90-90% beer.

i really have a hard time finding those parts online where they don't cost my soul, and i really don't know what the parts is called in my native language, anyone that have some links to ebay or something like that? (must ship to Europe)

I know this is a dead thread but I found it while googling. Went from sitting on my butt to sparkling wine in less than an hour. Local auto part store in BFE had everything I needed. Bump, this is the solution you’ve been looking for.

MizzouFermentationScience said:

I know this is a dead thread but I found it while googling. Went from sitting on my butt to sparkling wine in less than an hour. Local auto part store in BFE had everything I needed. Bump, this is the solution you’ve been looking for.

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I made a bunch of these back in the day. You can get stainless steel, caps with ball lock adapters pretty cheap these days.