Plastic Taste From CO2/CO2 Lines?

[Sam Law]

Hello!

I've just started getting my kegging equipment together. I've got all the pieces, I've stuck the collar on my freezer and got some CO2. I drink a few litres of Sparkling water a week so I bought a carbonation cap to carb my own from now on.

I carbed up the first bottle yesterday, I got an old coke bottle, washed it with water, filled it up with water and chilled in the fridge for a couple days. I had a taste of the water uncarbed. There was a little coke aftertaste but I wasn't too worried.

I tipped maybe a third and squeezed the air out and hit it with 45PSI until the bubbles stopped. I vented it and had a taste, overly it was pretty good but something in the back of my head could taste what I thought may be some off-taste plasticy?

My setup

- CO2 bottle I bought off a fire extinguisher place, he recommended this is for brewing and is food grade CO2
- Regulater - regulates
- Food grade Vinyl CO2 lines from the hardware store
- Gas ball lock
- Plastic carbonation cap
- old soda bottle

I was so excited to try the setup I didn't wash anything after purchase. I've just bought some sodium percarbonate yesterday which I'm expecting to show up today. Could the taste be from the CO2/CO2 Lines? The bottle I used? My carbing technique?

I'm thinking about sodium percarbonating everything before my next test run but I'd like to get my sparkling water polished before I move to a batch of beer. It'd kill me to ruin it at carbing stage if I can prevent it.

All help is welcomed.

Cheers,

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

The CO2 is probably food grade, but not certified as food grade. I do same myself. Doubt this is the cause of the taste.

If I had to guess (in order I'd check things).

1. Due to not properly cleaning everything before use.

2. Due to Vinyl CO2 lines from hardware store.

3. Old soda bottle.

Remember things can't be sanitized unless they are properly cleaned first. Since you didn't clean things then they are not sanitized even if sanitizer was used.

 

[Sam Law]

The CO2 is probably food grade, but not certified as food grade. I do same myself. Doubt this is the cause of the taste.

If I had to guess (in order I'd check things).

1. Due to not properly cleaning everything before use.

2. Due to Vinyl CO2 lines from hardware store.

3. Old soda bottle.

Remember things can't be sanitized unless they are properly cleaned first. Since you didn't clean things then they are not sanitized even if sanitizer was used.

I'll give everything a clean out tonight, will co2 leach plastic taste out of the vinyl? I hear varying results from food grade vinyl for beer lines, I would have thought that only gas passing through would be more resilient to leaching that taste/plasticizers etc

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

I'll give everything a clean out tonight, will co2 leach plastic taste out of the vinyl? I hear varying results from food grade vinyl for beer lines, I would have thought that only gas passing through would be more resilient to leaching that taste/plasticizers etc

Absolutely. Sounds gross, but sniff new tubing.

Are the gas line tubing clear or, perhaps, red colored?

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

I'll give everything a clean out tonight, will co2 leach plastic taste out of the vinyl? I hear varying results from food grade vinyl for beer lines, I would have thought that only gas passing through would be more resilient to leaching that taste/plasticizers etc

I can still smell the vinyl seating smell from new car seats and it's been, what?, 48 years. Dang, I'm getting old.

 

[Sam Law]

Absolutely. Sounds gross, but sniff new tubing.

Are the gas line tubing clear or, perhaps, red colored?

clear tubing. I made some more water today after cleaning the tubes with sodium percarbonate and water. Seems to be reduced but I dunno I'll make some daily for a while to see how it changes. I'm yet to find evidence that plasticizers exist in food grade vinyl and whether the leach into gas lines. Still curious though as there was definitely some flavour leached.

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

The tubing may be food grade, but is it rated for constant liquid contact? If not, then, perhaps, it is the tubing.

Difficult believing a hardware store would have the proper tubing we need for our beer.

 

[HopSing]

I had the same problem with store-bought tubing. I switched my CO2 lines to 1/4" BevLex 200 and that fixed it. http://www.ritebrew.com/product-p/843542.htm


I use Bev-Seal Ultra for the liquid lines with John Guest adapters, but I'm about to change out the Bev-Seal Ultra for the 4mm EVA barrier so I can eliminate the huge coil of beer lines.

You could use the EVA Barrier for both gas and liquid. Strongly suggest using the John Guest or DuoTight adapters if you go this route.

~HopSing.

 

[Sam Law]

The tubing may be food grade, but is it rated for constant liquid contact? If not, then, perhaps, it is the tubing.

Difficult believing a hardware store would have the proper tubing we need for our beer.

Is there a rating for this? Also I'm not using the vinyl tubing for liquid contact its for the gas line.

 

[Sam Law]

I had the same problem with store-bought tubing. I switched my CO2 lines to 1/4" BevLex 200 and that fixed it. http://www.ritebrew.com/product-p/843542.htm


I use Bev-Seal Ultra for the liquid lines with John Guest adapters, but I'm about to change out the Bev-Seal Ultra for the 4mm EVA barrier so I can eliminate the huge coil of beer lines.

You could use the EVA Barrier for both gas and liquid. Strongly suggest using the John Guest or DuoTight adapters if you go this route.

~HopSing.

I think this may be the route I go. I'm waiting on the eva barrier from aliexpress at the moment (dubious if this will be any better) then I may just order another roll for safety if it is good. What the benefit of the adaptors?

 

[bracconiere]

plastic gets soda flavor easily, that's why people who keg beer have to replace the o-rings on their kegs....maybe try a 2 liter seltzer water bottle instead of coke....

 

[HopSing]

I think this may be the route I go. I'm waiting on the eva barrier from aliexpress at the moment (dubious if this will be any better) then I may just order another roll for safety if it is good. What the benefit of the adaptors?

The eva barrier and Bev-Seal ultra are far more rigid vs. vinyl tubing. It does not stretch very well either. Some have found success by warming up the tip of tubing in hot water to make it more pliable to fit over a barb connector, but it's far more work vs. using the push-in adapters that were made for this type of line.

Both John Guest and DuoTight push in adapters come in many different styles including a connector to fit on your tap shank as well as standard flare fitting for your CO2 and liquid disconnects for your kegs. I'd recommend sticking with CM Becker disconnects (watch out for cheap knock-off's of CMB products).

If you're ordering eva barrier, be sure to order the 4MM I.D. part. This will allow you to use much shorter beer lines for a balanced system. If you ordered the 5MM I.D. part you could use those for the Co2 side.

~HopSing.

 

[bracconiere]

I drink a few litres of Sparkling water a week so I bought a carbonation cap to carb my own from now on.

to the OP, am i wrong thinking you're not kegging, and using one of these?


https://www.amazon.com/Carbonation-Carbacap-Coupling-Carbonate-Fruit/dp/B01039C0Z0

 

[Sam Law]

The eva barrier and Bev-Seal ultra are far more rigid vs. vinyl tubing. It does not stretch very well either. Some have found success by warming up the tip of tubing in hot water to make it more pliable to fit over a barb connector, but it's far more work vs. using the push-in adapters that were made for this type of line.

Both John Guest and DuoTight push in adapters come in many different styles including a connector to fit on your tap shank as well as standard flare fitting for your CO2 and liquid disconnects for your kegs. I'd recommend sticking with CM Becker disconnects (watch out for cheap knock-off's of CMB products).

If you're ordering eva barrier, be sure to order the 4MM I.D. part. This will allow you to use much shorter beer lines for a balanced system. If you ordered the 5MM I.D. part you could use those for the Co2 side.

~HopSing.

damn ordered 5mm line. I'll probs buy some fittings from the LHBS. the benefit of ordering from china was the price for 40 foot was only 24 NZD (about $0.40 a foot). I'll try my luck first up as I've heard about 12 foot of 5mm should be enough to balance.

Cheers,

 

[Sam Law]

to the OP, am i wrong thinking you're not kegging, and using one of these?


https://www.amazon.com/Carbonation-Carbacap-Coupling-Carbonate-Fruit/dp/B01039C0Z0

Yea thats the one. I'ma pick up a seltzer bottle and carb up in that bottle as per your other comment. I've retasted the bottle I made today. I'm starting to think the flavour is actually just my tap water. I'm sure the first bottle had some sort of off taste, but I'll keep making some seltzer and noting results as they come.

Cheers,

 

[rbhang10]

The CO2 is probably food grade, but not certified as food grade. I do same myself. Doubt this is the cause of the taste.

If I had to guess (in order I'd check things).

1. Due to not properly cleaning everything before use.

2. Due to Vinyl CO2 lines from hardware store.

3. Old soda bottle.

Remember things can't be sanitized unless they are properly cleaned first. Since you didn't clean things then they are not sanitized even if sanitizer was used.

My first thought was what was your fermentation tempature second thought sanitation or water. I had a beer that had a poastic/band-aid taste nothing to do with the keggeing system.

 

[Sam Law]

My first thought was what was your fermentation tempature second thought sanitation or water. I had a beer that had a poastic/band-aid taste nothing to do with the keggeing system.

Cheers, I'm actually carbing water at the moment as I want to get my system going before I plastic taste a whole keg.