Force carbonate diet soda

[psuarmy]

I make diet root beer with splenda. It tastes great and is good for my diabetic friends. I have been using nottingham yeast, but want to keg the cola. I know that cola with sugar needs higher pressure to carbonate. Does splenda need the same higher pressure?

Right now the longest hose length I have is 20' of 3/16th line. I already ruined one batch of root beer, but I feel that I rushed it. I have heard everything from carbonating from the "out" port and rocking for 20 minutes at 20 PSI to 35-40 PSI and rocking the keg to 12 PSI and letting the keg sit for a week and outing at 5 PSI.

I know that everyone has their own method to getting a good pour. Please someone give me some good advice to get a good pour with splenda. I have 3, 10 and 20 foot 3/16th line to work with.

 

[Yooper]

Soda is higher carbed than beer- 30 psi at fridge temps. It takes about 10 days or so to carb up fully. Some people rush it by blasting it worth a higher pressure or shaking the keg, but that has always resulted in a foamy mess for me.

To serve, one foot of 3/16 line per psi is a good role of thumb but I managed to get by with 25' of line for the last soda I made.

 

[psuarmy]

Soda is higher carbed than beer- 30 psi at fridge temps. It takes about 10 days or so to carb up fully. Some people rush it by blasting it worth a higher pressure or shaking the keg, but that has always resulted in a foamy mess for me.

To serve, one foot of 3/16 line per psi is a good role of thumb but I managed to get by with 25' of line for the last soda I made.

Is it possible to carb at 30PSI then after the 10 days lower the pressure down to 10,15, or 20 PSI to pour? I have heard that you can do this and I have heard that you can't. I have been told to do this with beer as well. Carbonate at 9 PSI then pour at 2-4 PSI. But I have also been told that if I carbonate at 30 PSI then lower the pressure to 15 the cola will just un-carbonate itself in the keg. I am so confused. haha

 

[Yooper]

Is it possible to carb at 30PSI then after the 10 days lower the pressure down to 10,15, or 20 PSI to pour? I have heard that you can do this and I have heard that you can't. I have been told to do this with beer as well. Carbonate at 9 PSI then pour at 2-4 PSI. But I have also been told that if I carbonate at 30 PSI then lower the pressure to 15 the cola will just un-carbonate itself in the keg. I am so confused. haha

No, you really can't. I mean, you of course physically could do it- but the c02 coming out of solution due to trying to equalize will be a foamy mess. And then, you have to turn it back up so it doesn't lose carbonation.

I know folks who don't have a balanced system will do this at least for a while, but think of having to jack the pressure up and down every single time you want to pour a glass of soda or beer, and the headaches of attempting to keep it carbed up. Lowering the pressure to pour is attempting to defeat the laws of physics, and generally, science wins.

 

[psuarmy]

No, you really can't. I mean, you of course physically could do it- but the c02 coming out of solution due to trying to equalize will be a foamy mess. And then, you have to turn it back up so it doesn't lose carbonation.

I know folks who don't have a balanced system will do this at least for a while, but think of having to jack the pressure up and down every single time you want to pour a glass of soda or beer, and the headaches of attempting to keep it carbed up. Lowering the pressure to pour is attempting to defeat the laws of physics, and generally, science wins.

Damn science, such a poor loser. Always has to win. Ok next question: given this information I want to carbonate at 20 psi and use a 20 foot 3/16th line. Can I set pressure at 20 psi and rock it to ensure it carbonates and speed it up? Will that keep me from over carbonating? Does anyone have insight into co2 absorption with Splenda?

 

[Yooper]

Damn science, such a poor loser. Always has to win. Ok next question: given this information I want to carbonate at 20 psi and use a 20 foot 3/16th line. Can I set pressure at 20 psi and rock it to ensure it carbonates and speed it up? Will that keep me from over carbonating? Does anyone have insight into co2 absorption with Splenda?

It will be a bit undercarbed at 20 psi, assuming normal fridge temperatures. You can rock it, but it won't get more than 20 psi regardless if that is what your regulator is set at.

Splenda doesn't matter- it's the liquid that carbs up. Water, soda, beer, wine, etc- the liquid is what absorbs the co2.

 

[psuarmy]

It will be a bit undercarbed at 20 psi, assuming normal fridge temperatures. You can rock it, but it won't get more than 20 psi regardless if that is what your regulator is set at.

Splenda doesn't matter- it's the liquid that carbs up. Water, soda, beer, wine, etc- the liquid is what absorbs the co2.

I was under the assumption that you needed a higher pressure because the sugar made it harder for the liquid to absorb the co2. That is why cola is under a higher pressure. I have read that most beers can carbonate under 10psi. Is that wrong? I am wondering if the Splenda works more like sugar or artificial sweeteners.

 

[Yooper]

I was under the assumption that you needed a higher pressure because the sugar made it harder for the liquid to absorb the co2. That is why cola is under a higher pressure. I have read that most beers can carbonate under 10psi. Is that wrong? I am wondering if the Splenda works more like sugar or artificial sweeteners.

No. Beers have a lower carb level than soda. It hasn't anything to do with sugar or artificial sugars- you can carb water (soda water).

 

[MrFoodScientist]

I was under the assumption that you needed a higher pressure because the sugar made it harder for the liquid to absorb the co2. That is why cola is under a higher pressure. I have read that most beers can carbonate under 10psi. Is that wrong? I am wondering if the Splenda works more like sugar or artificial sweeteners.

Sugar doesn't necessarily make it harder to carbonate, but it does lose carbonation more quickly at higher sugar levels.

Cola is under higher pressure because it's more highly carbonated than beer. If you consider a diet cola, it is under the same pressure as the regular cola, because it is carbonated to the same level. But, because it doesn't have as much dissolved solids as the regular cola, it holds that carbonation longer when the pressure is released.

To answer your immediate question, splenda will behave more like other artificial sweeteners (because that's what it is), though if you're using the stuff from the baking aisle that's meant to be a cup for cup equivalent for sugar, keep in mind that mostly what you're adding is maltodextrin, not enough to really be an issue, but it does boost the dissolved solids content over a typical diet soda.

I have a 5 ft serving line, so I do turn down the pressure when serving a keg and it works well, HOWEVER, I usually only do that for parties where I know the keg is going to get mostly consumed in a short period of time. If I had it setup in an everyday use kegerator, I'd make sure to get a balanced system precisely for the reason that Yooper has cited. You don't want to keep messing with pressure every time you want to pour a glass.

In short: Getting a good pour with splenda will be the same as getting a good pour with anything else.