A better DIY Carbonator Cap

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

mdboulier

Active Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2011
Messages
41
Reaction score
8
Location
Wilmington
I tried to make a DIY carbonator cap. I used the push in rubber car tire valve stems. They stink. I soaked them in star san to try to remove the odor with no success. I was thinking about using these little guys instead...any thoughts? (Also McMaster part no.7757K43)

My thoughts were to drill through the 2 liter cap and then use JB Weld on the outside to seal the valve to the cap airtight. Should work for $3-4 each. Fill bottles using 1/4ID CO2 line, shake, and disconnect.

untitled.JPG
 
I went to an auto supply place and picked up metal tire stems. replaced the rubber with food safe o-rings.
 
No worries about brass reacting?

Not really in contact with anything to react to. Have one in a growler lid when I need to add sparkle.
Also used some connectors to mount one on corny inlet ball lock. When the cornies are otherwise unoccupied, I charge with compressed air for backwoods shower setup and have a mister connection I use at music festivals.
 
Not really in contact with anything to react to. Have one in a growler lid when I need to add sparkle.
Also used some connectors to mount one on corny inlet ball lock. When the cornies are otherwise unoccupied, I charge with compressed air for backwoods shower setup and have a mister connection I use at music festivals.

Can you post pictures?
 
2 liter pop bottle, drill a hole in the lid, install valve, pressurize with 30psi, win.
I use these, and have a 30 psi Co2 tire fill hose right at my fridge:

tirevalve_zps00ba57b5.jpg
 
Morebeer has an (out of stock) Kent soda bottle cap that is only $5 each, and $5 for the co2 side quick disconnect.

http://morebeer.com/view_product/20653/102238/Kent_Shut-Off_QD_Set_-_Soda_Bottle_Cap

Carbonated water and leaching brass I'm not willing to take the chance on when the alternative is so cheap. Haven't used the Kent cap but will when it is back in stock.

It's showing as $9.95 at that link.

I've been very happy with the Carbonator cap, but I do wish there was one that fit a growler. I realize that growlers are not intended to hold pressure, but topping it off with 7-10psi to keep an opened growler fresh would be nice to have, and would be below the threshold that the growler experiences with carbonated beer inside of it.
 
Replacing this:

carbonatorcomp.jpg



With this:

1023672_orig.jpg


For a cheaper way to carbonate

Got that it's a way to carbonate in a coke bottle. Was really wondered if anybody was using this method to fully replace bottle conditioning / kegging, or if it was "special use" only for maybe carbonating small batch cider etc. I say that because the first thing that came to mind for me was a batch of Ed Worts Apfelwein I have going now. I typically don't carbonate it, but would be neat to be able to carbonate a small portion. I could see this method working nicely for something like that......
 
Got that it's a way to carbonate in a coke bottle. Was really wondered if anybody was using this method to fully replace bottle conditioning / kegging, or if it was "special use" only for maybe carbonating small batch cider etc. I say that because the first thing that came to mind for me was a batch of Ed Worts Apfelwein I have going now. I typically don't carbonate it, but would be neat to be able to carbonate a small portion. I could see this method working nicely for something like that......

I use the Carobonator cap to put head pressure on a beer when I'm bringing it from my keg to someone's house (stays fresh and doesn't go flat), and to force carbonate samples of beer to get a better feel for how the beer is tasting. I almost always force carbonate some beer when transferring from the fermentor to the keg.
 
I use the Carobonator cap to put head pressure on a beer when I'm bringing it from my keg to someone's house (stays fresh and doesn't go flat), and to force carbonate samples of beer to get a better feel for how the beer is tasting. I almost always force carbonate some beer when transferring from the fermentor to the keg.

Good idea, that makes a lot of sense! Kind of like the idea of transporting in bulk rather than taking the time to bottle, only to open them 20 min later at a friends house.
 
I made a bunch of tire stem valves. Now that I finally got the caps to stop leaking (use 7/16th hole) I can't get the air chuck to seal completely on the valve to let me force carb it.
I've tried with both a clip and non-clip style and they work if you hold it in one exact position. Other than that beer sprays our of the chuck. Making it impossible to shake and force carb without spraying beer all over yourself and the floor.

Any other parts I could use instead of the chuck? Or any hints to clip it on to the tire stem valve to make it not leak?

I have a single regulator so I was trying to do it at keg serving pressure (10-12psi) if that makes a difference.

Disappointed I dropped $40 into making these and it probably won't work.
 
put cap on- push button and squeeze out air- Carb - remove chuck- shake - carb - shake -. the plastic bottle will get soft as it need more co2.
 
It's showing as $9.95 at that link.

I've been very happy with the Carbonator cap, but I do wish there was one that fit a growler. I realize that growlers are not intended to hold pressure, but topping it off with 7-10psi to keep an opened growler fresh would be nice to have, and would be below the threshold that the growler experiences with carbonated beer inside of it.

I have a set of these. I hate them more than my carbonator caps. Most of the caps won't seal against bottles, and the fitting tends to leak when engaged. Don't take that as a reflection of morebeer, more on kent's manufacturing quality.
 
2 liter pop bottle, drill a hole in the lid, install valve, pressurize with 30psi, win.
I use these, and have a 30 psi Co2 tire fill hose right at my fridge:

tirevalve_zps00ba57b5.jpg
I know this is an old thread but wondering where I could purchase this type of valve? I am looking to install two in the top of a 2L bottle cap so I would have gas in and liquid out to make a portable system in conjunction with a wunderbar gun. Thanks Jordan
 
What about this?

https://www.kegland.com.au/pco-1881-carbonation-cap-tee-piece.html

I could have sworn I saw this at William's Brewing or More Beer, but can't seem to find it. Nonetheless, I'm pretty sure on Kegland's YouTube video about this product, it's supposed to be released in the States this Spring.

I'm wanting one for the carb cap I have now so I can turn a 2L Coke bottle into a mini keg.
 
Thanks for this! I have been scratching my head trying to find something and a local guy here in Alberta sent me info about these not less than 5 minutes before you did. They are shipping some to see how they work. I think they will work perfectly. Would obviously prefer a stainless steel set up like for the mini keg growlers but beggars cant be choosers.

Going to look into these and hopefully it will solve my issue.

Thanks for the quick reply and help!
 
No problem. I can't seem to find them here. Maybe they just haven't made their way here yet. I'm buying a couple of them as soon as they get here.

Yeah, it would be nice if they were stainless, like my carb cap.
 
From the text: Note: This is for the tee piece only. You need to BYO soda bottle, carbonation caps and dip tube.
The image obviously shows a pair of their plastic carb caps.

upload_2020-4-23_18-3-6.png


Anyway, one could fit a pair of SS carb caps to this - and avoid issues that some plastic carb caps have due to the mold parting line typically running the length of the post on opposite sides.

Now, does anyone know if the bottle thread type they reference is the one that's being phased out in favor of a shorter threaded section and that's making the old style carb caps harder to seal tight?

Cheers!
 
The stainless carb caps with the barb fit both the gas and beverage connectors, I have several.
Also have a stainless that fits growlers and the stainless "standard" carbonator caps.
 
Cheers! I signed up so I could comment on this if anyone is still interested in sourcing these tees. The Kegland palstic tee is PCO 1881, also called "supershorty". PCO 1810 is the taller version, but both are 28mm wide with the same threads.

Williamsbrewing says it will be back in stock 01/28/2021.

I ordered the Kegland plastic tee from CanKeg and it should be here in a couple of weeks. $9 shipped
Carbonation Cap Tee Piece

There's this one in 304 stainless for $8 shipped. Might take a while to get to the states but it's certainly a great price. The weight of steel on top of a plastic bottle might be a little topheavy yet bulletproof.
Stainless Steel Carbonation Cap Tee Fit Soft Drink PET Bottles Homebrew Kegging

I intend to use it to fill PET bottles and also as an overflow vessel in between QD and spunding valve when filling cornies, in case my check valve doesn't work.
 
Cheers! I signed up so I could comment on this if anyone is still interested in sourcing these tees. The Kegland palstic tee is PCO 1881, also called "supershorty". PCO 1810 is the taller version, but both are 28mm wide with the same threads.

Williamsbrewing says it will be back in stock 01/28/2021.

I ordered the Kegland plastic tee from CanKeg and it should be here in a couple of weeks. $9 shipped
Carbonation Cap Tee Piece

There's this one in 304 stainless for $8 shipped. Might take a while to get to the states but it's certainly a great price. The weight of steel on top of a plastic bottle might be a little topheavy yet bulletproof.
Stainless Steel Carbonation Cap Tee Fit Soft Drink PET Bottles Homebrew Kegging

I intend to use it to fill PET bottles and also as an overflow vessel in between QD and spunding valve when filling cornies, in case my check valve doesn't work.
I grabbed one with the rest of the cankeg order I placed last week. Getting some nukataps and duotight fittings as well and Figured I would just throw this in for the odd time I need to move 2l or so to free up a keg but still want to keep the beer.
 
Back
Top