Why are carbonator caps so expensive?

bendavanza said:

I don't think the carbonator caps are durable or well made. It's easy for a 2L bottle, empty, with a cap on it to fall, because they are top heavy, and then the cap breaks. I have a cracked one. Another complaint I have is they tend to leak when attached to co2. In other words, they work fine for me to put pressure on a 2L but not to leave hooked up to my gas lines. I have 3 of these things, one is cracked and the other two I am paranoid about now. My local HBS told me they've gone through a few generations of the product due to breakage.

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Dunno, I've been using the same two for several years and have dropped the 2 liter bottles more than a few times without damaging them. A leaking carbonator cap is usually caused by a worn O-ring. Just like with a keg post, you need to replace the O-rings occasionally and lubing the O-rings really helps minimize the wear and tear.

http://www.brewcat.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=hbps2&Product_Code=Carbonator

This is a local store that sells them for $10.95. I don't know how they can do that when almost everyone else is at $20 but I've bought a few there.

its a nice little tool when you need it for $20. its not essential enough for me to take the time and effort to DIY one actually... my DIY schedule would be occupied by things of far more importance/necessity and where my potential cost savings would be far greater.

Have you tried the carbonation caps from crankandstein?


I've bought them but didn't have the chance to use them yet

We got a lot of input from people who know the manufacturing angle at least, so a good part about mold cost and direct running costs, if not the calculation of overhead and how that determines into things. I think the limited market really is the determining factor.
I expect to use it mostly for carbonating water and doing beer tests. I knew about building my own but just figured I'd buy one since it'd be easier. Why would I need more than that? I'll just be using it to carbonate water&soda and the occasional test beer.

Like it was earlier said, the only people who will use it are people who have a co2 tank and are likely kegging anyways and just get one for general use. Most other people will have gotten a seltzer bottle for carbonated water, which also isn't in high demand. Or a Sodastream which was designed for easy use for the public and is easily acquired at a local store, usually a bed bath & beyond.

Before getting into beer, I was considering getting one of the sodastreams as opposed to trying to get a co2 tank and build an adapter. The effort was going to be more of a pain to me than a preset machine. Even recently, I was trying to decide on it all, comparative pricing and appliance matching, and it was only the recent sales that made me decide to pick up a kegging kit and the cap. I still don't have any use for the kegs at the moment since I'd have to get something to chill them.

Anyways, disgression aside, demand would still likely be higher for a sodastream than the carbonator cap and keg kit.

remilard said:

http://www.brewcat.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=hbps2&Product_Code=Carbonator

This is a local store that sells them for $10.95. I don't know how they can do that when almost everyone else is at $20 but I've bought a few there.

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awesome... gonna order 2 more

Also, if you consider that most people who buy these will buy only one

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I think the price has a lot to do with that. If they were cheaper, I'd buy several, but for $20 I'll DIY. I completely agree with everyone who has commented on the cost to make a mold. And the market is small, but it doesn't have to be. How many brewers have kids and would be willing to make them soda, but do not want to mess up their kegs? Or get people to make a flat wine sparkling? People are buying those soda stream things, so what if you packaged it with one of the paintball kits and compete with them.

Weird thread for sure. People will go into a restaurant or bar and pay $4-$8 for a beer that they can brew at home for $.35 but they will complain about paying $20 for something they can use for the next 20 years.

I used to get people complaining about my prices when I had a retail/wholesale service business. I used to tell them to get lost and find someone who gave a #$)#$.

samc said:

Weird thread for sure. People will go into a restaurant or bar and pay $4-$8 for a beer that they can brew at home for $.35 but they will complain about paying $20 for something they can use for the next 20 years.

I used to get people complaining about my prices when I had a retail/wholesale service business. I used to tell them to get lost and find someone who gave a #$)#$.

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You will know you have priced an item correctly when the customer bitches about the high cost, but buys it anyway. If they don't complain, you aren't charging enough. If they don't buy it, you are charging too much.

Just noticing when I was tooling around on KegCowboy's site that he's selling the Carbonater Caps for only $14 a pop. I'm not in the market myself, but that's quite a bit cheaper than anyone else is selling them for.

So when does this patent expire? After that they should come down to the retail price of a 3-piece airlock and an auto-siphon $2-$10 and I will own 10-20 of them...

Since when did a Chinese manufacturer give a crap about patent laws?

clearwaterbrewer said:

So when does this patent expire? After that they should come down to the retail price of a 3-piece airlock and an auto-siphon $2-$10 and I will own 10-20 of them...

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Considering I bought one 17 years ago I'd say the patent has expired already. Whittle them out in your garage to your hearts content.

They've always been too expensive for me to buy one, but that doesn't mean I don't think they are appropriately priced.

I doubt Liquid Bread is taking much margin out of that product.

Bobby_M said:

Since when did a Chinese manufacturer give a crap about patent laws?

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I think the English word 'patent' translates into Chinese as 'business model'.

clearwaterbrewer said:

So when does this patent expire? After that they should come down to the retail price of a 3-piece airlock and an auto-siphon $2-$10 and I will own 10-20 of them...

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Its a niche item and the manufacturer and retailers are charging what the market will bear. Consumer cost has nothing to do with cost of production. The patent has probably long expired. That doesnt mean the price goes down unless another manufacturer tools up to make them and they undercut the other supplier and retailers go along.

Bottom line is don't hold your breath.

I purchased two red "Carbonators" that simply don't work properly. They leak C02, the valve is impossible to move, and the fit with the CO2 connector is poor. My friend has two blue "Carbonators" that worked perfectly with the bottles I had. Must be a defect. Anybody else run into this issue?

I asked LB about the differences.. He said it' only the color of the plastic used.

And, I guess, Crankenstein quit making them??? Don't see them on the product page. Possibly, I don't know how to search for them. That's not unusual

U can make a carbonator cap out of a pop bottle cap, gas keg post and a small fitting.

here is an example:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/diy-carbonator-cap-using-gas-post-272900/

wired247 said:

Its a niche item and the manufacturer and retailers are charging what the market will bear. Consumer cost has nothing to do with cost of production. The patent has probably long expired. That doesnt mean the price goes down unless another manufacturer tools up to make them and they undercut the other supplier and retailers go along.

Bottom line is don't hold your breath.

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http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-...50&s1=5396934.PN.&OS=PN/5396934&RS=PN/5396934

uhg..Long winded thread..looks like alot of people that are willing to leap over a dollar to save a dime.

FYI- There are now stainless carbonator caps for about the same price..
Looks like Amazon has them for $20.00
Not sure, but I think there is a vendor on HBT that sells them as well.

Edit: Yep..It's AHS that has them.-