Setting up a post mix soda dispenser

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goodrevdoc

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hello everyone, I am currently engaged in installing an 8 flavor soda tower with corny kegs for syrup holders. I've poured over the lancer powerpoint, as well as read some stuff here. Still many questions. The dispenser in mind is a Cornelius ED-250, which has a built in carbonator. Will this suffice or do I need an external carbonator? What pressure should I run the cornys at? Also, if anyone has oil based recipes for syrups I'd love to see them. I have several flavors still in development, but only cola has been tested. Also, what about stevia? I've purchased some extract but can't find any solid info on how much to use. My main resources thus far have been cube-cola.org, opencola.org, and several books on soda and cocktails including but not limited to Liquid Intelligence, Fix the Pumps, homemade soda, and the cocktail lab. Any help is appreciated. If successful, I will share recipes that I make on here. Thanks for reading,
Justin
 
The manual seems to suggest min 40 psi for the pressure of the syrup (check, though, I just glanced through, and I've read 60psi for syrup as well elsewhere). You also adjust the mix at the faucet, so the pressure should probably just be set to recommended settings for the syrup and adjusted at the faucet after that.

http://www.manualslib.com/manual/31857/Cornelius-Enduro-Ed-250-Bcp.html

If it does have a built-in carbonator, I'm sure it will be big enough - especially since it's unlikely that more than one or two faucets will ever be used simultaneously. That type of system is made to be continuous use, after all.

Does your model have a built-in ice maker, or just an ice bin? You'll go through a lot of ice to keep it running if it doesn't have a built in ice-maker. It seems like most successful home systems (that aren't just expensive commercial setups installed in a kitchen) use some sort of refrigerated vessel (usually the carbonation tank itself) to cool the soda water before dispensing. This reduces the required pressure of co2 as a bonus (see this chart for why: http://www.zahmnagel.com/LinkClickf69c.pdf)

Read this entire page for a lot of great info: http://truetex.com/carbonation.htm

And this thread is also a great source of info: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=390573
 
Thanks! This is great info. I will read over it all and get back with my findings.
-justin
 
Also, it's an ice bin with a cold plate. I've a pretty good ice maker and plenty of cold packs to rotate in and out to keep the temp down, but a bag of ice every so often from the market may not be a bad idea...
 
Also, it's an ice bin with a cold plate. I've a pretty good ice maker and plenty of cold packs to rotate in and out to keep the temp down, but a bag of ice every so often from the market may not be a bad idea...

Makes sense. I'm sure it will work great with ice in the bin. I'm curious to hear how much ice you use and how the ice bin is to live with once you have it running for a while.

It sounds like you're going with a straightforward commercial setup, so you probably won't have any weird problems to solve.

Good luck!
 
Those kinds of fountains when you see them in stores usually have an automatic icemaker that sits on top and dumps directly into the bin, or else you see the employees dumping buckets of ice into the top (many moons ago I worked at a restaurant that used manual fill). There is no refrigeration system built in, and despite the bin being insulated, unfortunately the ice really won't last long. It'll probably melt 15-20 pounds a day easily just sitting there. If you'll be setting this up in close proximity to a freezer, you may want to install a glycol loop with a stainless steel coil in the bin to act as a rudimentary cooling system. That'll at least slow down the melt loss.
 
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