Flat seltzer from kegerator

[TreDN]

Hey all new member. Been learning a lot from all but I have a problem that I haven’t been able to solve. I have been making my own flavored seltzer water by making mineral water and flavoring and then putting in 2 liter bottles with carbonation caps. After a lot of testing we seem to like it carbed at about 40psi. Out of the bottle it’s great. So I decided it would be much better on tap. No matter what I have been able to try when pouring from the tap the seltzer comes out almost flat losing all of its fizz immediately. Thoughts here? Right now I’m carbing to 40 psi for a few days in a 2.5 gallon corny and I’ve adjusted the serving pressure and changed the liquid line to all kinds or lengths to no avail. Maybe 40 psi just isn’t feasible in this application or they will never be the same? I’m using 8mm evabarrier lines for both gas and liquid sides. Thanks for any help.

 

[mac_1103]

So many questions... what is the ID of your liquid line (4mm or 5)? what lengths are included in "all kinds"? are you keeping the keg at 40 PSI, or turning the pressure down after "a few days"? does "comes out almost flat" mean your seltzer has no bubbles, or that the bubbles come out of the seltzer as soon as you pour a glass leaving it flat? how exactly did you carbonate the soda bottles? was it just a single shot at 40 PSI or something more elaborate?

People can (and probably will) speculate on what you might be doing wrong, but knowing more about what you're actually doing would make that speculation better informed.

 

[TreDN]

@mac_1103 thanks for the reply. sorry for the lack of detail.

ID diameter of the liquid line is 4mm evabarrier. I've done both. I've kept the keg at 40psi thinking that carbonation would lower over time and I've reduced to a serving pressure of about 15psi with the same results. There are lots of bubbles on top of the seltzer when it hits the glass but it Is left almost flat after that initial effervescence. The temperature inside of the kegerator is ~37 degrees F.

When pouring beer my liquid lines are approximately 5.5ft long but that is at like 12psi. I Looked online and tried to find some calculators for 40psi and using a resistance of 2.8psi per foot for the 4mm evabarrier line put me in the 12-14 ft range. I tried this and the flow was slower, however, still seemed just as flat as before. I had about 24 feet laying around and put that on there just for giggles and the flow was really slow, however, still flat.

I also have access to a flow control ball lock that I have played around with the flow as well but it doesn't really seem to change much.

as for the soda bottles I would fill them, squeeze out all of the airspace and put a carbonation cap on them and hook up to 40psi, chill to 37 degrees and leave carbonating for at least 2 days for the liquid to absorb the CO2. afterwards even after opening several times and pouring and putting the cap back on, the seltzer stays well carbonated.

 

[mac_1103]

as for the soda bottles I would fill them, squeeze out all of the airspace and put a carbonation cap on them and hook up to 40psi, chill to 37 degrees and leave carbonating for at least 2 days for the liquid to absorb the CO2. afterwards even after opening several times and pouring and putting the cap back on, the seltzer stays well carbonated.

Somebody with more experience and/or better math skills than me might have a better idea, but I would check the PSI on a soda bottle after 2 days and then use that much pressure to "set and forget" carbonate the keg. Keep it at that pressure and calculate the correct line length to serve. This might not work for your set up depending on what else is in your kegerator and whether or not you have secondary regulators.

 

[TreDN]

thanks. I'll put a 2 liter on to start carbonating tonight and check it in a few days. I have more than 1 regulator as I was planning on running multiple pressures at the same time in this setup anyway. we'll see if anyone else has any ideas, but I'll report back later in the week. thanks again for the thought I didn't think to check the 2 liter pressure. I'll probably take a second reading after releasing the initial head pressure and letting the carbonation build back up from the liquid back into the bottle.

 

[Bobby_M]

You likely don't want your seltzer at 40psi because it's unlikely that you were achieving that much (actual) pressure in your soda bottle trials. Seltzer is plenty spicy at 30 as long as its around 36F. I can get it to pour perfectly through a 6ft 4mm ID EVA line. You need to determine if you're getting CO2 blowing past your diptube orings. That was initially my problem. Lay the keg on its side with the liquid post side down. If the pour improves, that's what your issue is.

 

[TreDN]

You likely don't want your seltzer at 40psi because it's unlikely that you were achieving that much (actual) pressure in your soda bottle trials. Seltzer is plenty spicy at 30 as long as its around 36F. I can get it to pour perfectly through a 6ft 4mm ID EVA line. You need to determine if you're getting CO2 blowing past your diptube orings. That was initially my problem. Lay the keg on its side with the liquid post side down. If the pour improves, that's what your issue is.

Sorry got really busy the last few weeks. It seems that what you are saying might be true. I need a fuller keg to be sure as the dip tube goes towards the middle of the keg and loses availability to liquid when on its side. How did you remedy your problem @Bobby_M ?

 

[Bobby_M]

There are a few reasons why CO2 can get injected into the liquid path. The oring under the diptube inside the liquid post can be damaged, too small, or the poppet spring in certain designs can get stuck between the diptube flare and the oring. Another one I've seen is where the diptube is jammed against the bottom of the keg such that it's not able to put downward pressure on the oring. If you reach inside the keg and you can't wiggle the tube side to side a bit, that is the problem. You either have to trim 1/4" off the bottom of the diptube or position it so it's over a purpose made divot in the bottom of the keg. Not all kegs have that divot so YMMV. Who knew there was a whole world of pitfalls with a simple tank?