XPost: alt.home.repair   
   From: bobnospam@gmail.com   
      
   On 12/12/2022 1:46 PM, gtr wrote:   
   > On 2022-12-12 18:18:35 +0000, Bob F said:   
   >   
   >> My guess would be that the pressures you are talking about using a   
   >> stone would blast the water out of the container.   
   >   
   > I'm not going to disagree where the advantage of the carbonating stone are   
   > the bubbles, but all the descriptions I've seen of using them takes time.   
   >   
   > I just realized though that I can attach the stone to a soda bottle cap,   
   > and then flip the soda bottle upside down so that the stone is under water.   
   >   
   > But if the stone takes time, that's the one thing I don't want to take, not   
   > that I can't just pressurize it at 20 psi and leave it there for hours, but   
   > if I do that, inevitable connection leaks will drain the CO2 tank.   
   >   
   >> You are probably trying to find a nozzle with 1 of the same .5 micron   
   >> holes as the stone has thousands.   
   >   
   > Well, the simple answer to that is for me to buy a sodastream for about   
   > $100 (which comes with a couple of bottles and CO2 canisters). :)   
   >   
   > You're right though that the perfect answer would be a nozzle with one tiny   
   > hole that I can mount in the cap of a one liter soda bottle.   
   >   
   > Then all I'd need is some kind of "trigger" where I already have quarter   
   > turn valves on my quick connect hoses but a button valve would be best.   
   >   
   > Do they sell one-press button valves for air pressure hose fittings?   
   >   
   >> I have been thinking about how to carbonate my corny kegs faster,   
   >> because I do not like to leave the CO2 turned on for large times   
   >> because of potential leaks.   
   >   
   > Yup. I lost a couple of tanks worth of gas over the years due to leaks.   
   > That's why I like my current five minute method, as if there are leaks,   
   > they can only leak for the duration of the carbonation process.   
   >   
   > With the sodastream that five minutes becomes fifteen seconds (if you shut   
   > off the 5# carbon dioxide tank after each refill, which most people do).   
   >   
   >> I might at some time try a system that pumps CO2 off the top of the   
   >> tank through the stone at the bottom continuously. My guess is that it   
   >> could charge a 5 gallon corny keg in 5-10 minutes or so of having the   
   >> gas on at 50 PSI, much better than shaking the keg madly.   
   >   
   > One of my friends suggested a "pressure cooker", which is designed to not   
   > only hold in pressure but to vent at a given weight-based pressure he said.   
   >   
   >> When I turn on the CO2 to carbonate a keg of fresh cold water with the   
   >> regulator set to 30-50 PSI, I hear the gas running into the tank for   
   >> several seconds, then tapering off.   
   >   
   > Thank you for your keg experience, which is what I do not have.   
   > Why is a keg carbonated anyway? Isn't the beer already carbonated?   
      
   I use them mostly for cider, which is fermented in glass carboys, then   
   transferred to the keg and carbonated. There is not much carbonation   
   that remains at atmospheric pressure. I also have 2 kegs in the cooler   
   with water for soda water. 2, so I use one while the other gets cooled   
   and then carbonated.   
      
   At one time, I used a chest freezer (off) with a small heater in it to   
   ferment a couple 5 gal. carboys. I bent over to reach something at the   
   bottom and choked on the CO2. I tried lowering a lit match into the top   
   of the cooler. It quickly went out as it passed the top of the cooler.   
      
   For either beer or cider, you can add sugar to a keg of the product and   
   it will carbonate. But, the kegs sometimes are not always totally sealed   
   until the pressure gets high enough, so even then, CO2 helps. Also, as   
   you drain the keg, you need to add CO2 or the carbonation and pressure   
   will drop.   
      
   >   
   > Even so, it's good to know you can hear the gas go inside the keg. For a   
   > soda bottle, I crush all the air out and the only thing I hear is the   
   > initial fill which is instantaneous almost, at 50psi.   
      
   Crushing the bottle will weaken it. you could just put the cap on   
   loosely and quickly flush it with a bit of CO2 before carbonating it.   
      
      
   > Then I don't hear anything for the five minutes it takes to get enough of   
   > the gas to dissolve in the cold water.   
   >   
   >>  I shake the top of the tank quickly back and forth I hear the gas   
   >> quickly start flowing again.   
   >   
   > Funny you mention that. When I shake the bottle, I see the pressure gauge   
   > drop from about 50 psi to about 45 or 46 psi, and as the five minutes get   
   > closer to ringing the bell, from about 50 psi to about 48 or 49 psi.   
   >   
   > What I'm seeing (and you hearing) is more gas dissolving into the cold   
   > liquid as we shake which exposes more surface area to the gas.   
   >   
   >> Stop shaking, and it again tapers off. That taper time indicates how   
   >> much the shaking increases the gas dissolving into the water, and I   
   >> expect the continuous tiny stone bubbles would be way better.   
   >   
   > My experience (with the gauge) is the same exactly as yours with the sound.   
   > I thought of putting flow gauge on the hose but I couldn't find a carbon   
   > dioxide flow gauge. Only oxygen flow gauges. And they were expensive.   
   >   
   > Plus it's another leak waiting to happen.   
   > It will be very interesting though to put a stone on the inside of the soda   
   > bottle cap, and then inverting the soda bottle so that the stone is under   
   > water. I will order one from Amazon because they're so inexpensive I may as   
   > well use them no matter what I end up doing.   
      
   Or, you can use plastic tubing to extend the stone to the bottom, which   
   is what I did with the stone in my kegs.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)