Cornelius Keg + CO2 maker + NEED HELP!!

[zh4k]

First off, I'll state that this question relates simply to creating carbonation device to carbonate water or any other liquid like those Sodastream machines.

I saw this product http://www.mypopsoda.com/Instructions_for_use_2-17-12.pdf that uses yeast and sugar to naturally create CO2 that can then be stored and used to carbonate liquids.

This got me thinking and I wanted to seek advice as to whether a Cornelius Keg could be used where one fills it with yeast and sugar as the reactor container to dispense CO2 directly into a water bottle to carbonate it. I thought to use a Cornelius Keg because of its wide opening (ease of adding ingredients and cleaning) and because being made of metal it could withstand high amounts of pressure allowing me to store large volumes of CO2 for extended periods of time while carbonating water off and on as needed.

Other than thinking it up, I have no clue whether this would be possible or even how to do this and I wanted to see if anyone with some experience could weigh in.

Thanks

 

[brewski08]

Your logic works, but there are some details to consider.

First off, Cornelius kegs can only hold about 130-170 PSI of pressure (at least mine can). That really isn't much.

Secondly, Cornelius kegs have long dip tubes that extend to the bottom of the keg. These dip tubes transport the liquid in the keg to the tap or liquid dispenser. If you were to create a yeast and sugar solution in the keg, they would be transported out. Not sure you'd want this yeasty/sugary mess in your beverage you'd like to carbonate.

So yes, a keg could store CO2 with the method you described, but it wouldn't be very practical IMO. For all the yeast and sugar you'd be purchasing, it may even be more costly than finding a cheap 5# CO2 tank on Craigslist.

My 2 cents.

 

[zh4k]

Thanks for your advice. I guess I was thinking a cornelius keg could handle higher PSI, but the emergency pressure release valve would activate either way correct?

Also, I did notice in some youtube videos the long dip tubes that you mentioned, but I wonder if I could simply take that out and thus be able to keep the sugary-yeast mixture at the bottom while I take the CO2 that has formed? If this would be possible, the question would be how to get the CO2 from the keg to the bottle, I like the fact that a regular CO2 tank like the one you mentioned has a twist valve to open up the flow of CO2, but how easy would it be to clean one or put sugar and yeast into?

Thanks

 

[brewski08]

Thanks for your advice. I guess I was thinking a cornelius keg could handle higher PSI, but the emergency pressure release valve would activate either way correct?

Also, I did notice in some youtube videos the long dip tubes that you mentioned, but I wonder if I could simply take that out and thus be able to keep the sugary-yeast mixture at the bottom while I take the CO2 that has formed? If this would be possible, the question would be how to get the CO2 from the keg to the bottle, I like the fact that a regular CO2 tank like the one you mentioned has a twist valve to open up the flow of CO2, but how easy would it be to clean one or put sugar and yeast into?

Thanks

now that i'm thinking more about this, the dip tube wouldn't be an issue if you simply attach your tap to the "gas in" valve. this "dip tube" doesn't extend to the bottom of the keg. this will allow you to bypass the sugary goop.

as for getting the CO2 to the beer, perhaps you can try this method:



however, instead of flowing beer into your bottle, perhaps you can fill your bottle with beer, and then inject CO2 from your keg into the bottle using the method shown.

...again, i don't see much practicality behind this, but hey, maybe you're on to something here.

 

[zh4k]

Hmmm, so are you saying to flip around the dispenser to where the gas flows into the keg on the videa, basically having the opposite set up but without a gas in since the keg would be generating its own CO2? Would that tap alone be enough to hold back CO2?