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The author mentions the soda stream carbonation doesn't really produce the desired effect. A tangentially related question: How does commercial carbonation work

by zaius 13y ago

The author mentions the soda stream carbonation doesn't really produce the desired effect. A tangentially related question: How does commercial carbonation work? Is it just keeping the liquid under pressure for a while with CO2 present? Is it done on a per bottle / can basis, or is it done in big vats and then sealed quickly afterwards?

Ironlink 13y ago
This YouTube video I came across earlier today briefly explains the matter of achieving good carbonation (though not in a commercial or mass-production setting): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2V7ykGolWjg#t=3m45s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2V7ykGolWjg#t=3m45s In short, it says that you need to remove the air inside the bottle before carbonating, and then carbonate over multiple passes while letting excess gas out of the bottle between the passes. I have not researched the matter any further and can not make any claims regarding the quality of the information.
yoster 13y ago
If you have ever been to a bar or restaurant, they use boxes of syrup for the soda. It is pretty much mixed with water along with C02 from a tank. They use plastic lines that run together and form at a water spout with different buttons for different drinks. The best tasting sodas are the owners who use a stronger concentration of syrup and CO2.
lobster_johnson 13y ago
Commercial carbonation is simply done by pressurizing water together with CO2. It's done in big vats, and the bottles are filled and immediately sealed. For a while we had our cola on tap in the office (and we'll probably do it again). We used the same carbonator system we use for the beer tap, which is basically a CO2 tank hooked up to the source liquid, like this [1], and which injects the CO2 into the water on demand. It's the same principle used in soda fountains. It doesn't scale to real bottling operations, though. As for the article, I disagree that "the soda stream carbonation doesn't really produce the desired effect". I have an off-the-shelf carbonation system that's similar to SodaStream, and it works really well. But these units vary a lot in carbonation quality, so it may be that the author of the article did not have a good enough carbonator. The important factor is the size of the bubbles; smaller bubbles means they last longer and provide a "fuller" effervescence. [1] http://www.popsci.com/diy/article/2012-06/how-make-your-own-home-carbonation-system http://www.popsci.com/diy/article/2012-06/how-make-your-own-...
ars 13y ago
A commercial place uses very cold water, this keeps the CO2 in solution while they bottle it. With room temperature water all the CO2 would escape before they managed to get the cap on. They fill a large tank with cold water and pressurized CO2, and mix. Then fill bottles and cap. It's a continuous process, so they pump water under pressure into the tank, and CO2 as well to make up for what they fill.
ars 13y ago
> The author mentions the soda stream carbonation doesn't really produce the desired effect. I built this: http://imgur.com/YLraTl8 http://imgur.com/YLraTl8 Part list: http://www.beveragefactory.com/draftbeer/tanks/co2/C20.shtml http://www.beveragefactory.com/draftbeer/tanks/co2/C20.shtml http://www.beveragefactory.com/draftbeer/regulator/double/bf_T742HP_primary_double_gauge_co2_regulator.shtml http://www.beveragefactory.com/draftbeer/regulator/double/bf... http://www.beveragefactory.com/draftbeer/home_brew/kegs/lbc0100_carbonater.html http://www.beveragefactory.com/draftbeer/home_brew/kegs/lbc0... http://www.beveragefactory.com/draftbeer/couplers/homebrew/BLGI-MFLB.shtml http://www.beveragefactory.com/draftbeer/couplers/homebrew/B... You'll also need some 5/16 ID hose, you can use un-reinforced vinyl from a hardware store. And 2 hose clamps. You can fill the tank for about $20, and it's good for 1,000 liters of seltzer. It also works great for apple juice, iced tea, lemonade. Anything you like.

by zaius 13y ago

Ironlink 13y ago

This YouTube video I came across earlier today briefly explains the matter of achieving good carbonation (though not in a commercial or mass-production setting): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2V7ykGolWjg#t=3m45s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2V7ykGolWjg#t=3m45s In short, it says that you need to remove the air inside the bottle before carbonating, and then carbonate over multiple passes while letting excess gas out of the bottle between the passes. I have not researched the matter any further and can not make any claims regarding the quality of the information.

yoster 13y ago

If you have ever been to a bar or restaurant, they use boxes of syrup for the soda. It is pretty much mixed with water along with C02 from a tank. They use plastic lines that run together and form at a water spout with different buttons for different drinks. The best tasting sodas are the owners who use a stronger concentration of syrup and CO2.

lobster_johnson 13y ago

Commercial carbonation is simply done by pressurizing water together with CO2. It's done in big vats, and the bottles are filled and immediately sealed. For a while we had our cola on tap in the office (and we'll probably do it again). We used the same carbonator system we use for the beer tap, which is basically a CO2 tank hooked up to the source liquid, like this [1], and which injects the CO2 into the water on demand. It's the same principle used in soda fountains. It doesn't scale to real bottling operations, though. As for the article, I disagree that "the soda stream carbonation doesn't really produce the desired effect". I have an off-the-shelf carbonation system that's similar to SodaStream, and it works really well. But these units vary a lot in carbonation quality, so it may be that the author of the article did not have a good enough carbonator. The important factor is the size of the bubbles; smaller bubbles means they last longer and provide a "fuller" effervescence. [1] http://www.popsci.com/diy/article/2012-06/how-make-your-own-home-carbonation-system http://www.popsci.com/diy/article/2012-06/how-make-your-own-...

ars 13y ago

A commercial place uses very cold water, this keeps the CO2 in solution while they bottle it. With room temperature water all the CO2 would escape before they managed to get the cap on. They fill a large tank with cold water and pressurized CO2, and mix. Then fill bottles and cap. It's a continuous process, so they pump water under pressure into the tank, and CO2 as well to make up for what they fill.

ars 13y ago

> The author mentions the soda stream carbonation doesn't really produce the desired effect. I built this: http://imgur.com/YLraTl8 http://imgur.com/YLraTl8 Part list: http://www.beveragefactory.com/draftbeer/tanks/co2/C20.shtml http://www.beveragefactory.com/draftbeer/tanks/co2/C20.shtml http://www.beveragefactory.com/draftbeer/regulator/double/bf_T742HP_primary_double_gauge_co2_regulator.shtml http://www.beveragefactory.com/draftbeer/regulator/double/bf... http://www.beveragefactory.com/draftbeer/home_brew/kegs/lbc0100_carbonater.html http://www.beveragefactory.com/draftbeer/home_brew/kegs/lbc0... http://www.beveragefactory.com/draftbeer/couplers/homebrew/BLGI-MFLB.shtml http://www.beveragefactory.com/draftbeer/couplers/homebrew/B... You'll also need some 5/16 ID hose, you can use un-reinforced vinyl from a hardware store. And 2 hose clamps. You can fill the tank for about $20, and it's good for 1,000 liters of seltzer. It also works great for apple juice, iced tea, lemonade. Anything you like.