Post : Force carbonating root beer with dry ice
URL : http://hackaday.com/2012/07/27/force-carbonating-root-beer-with-dry-ice/
Posted : July 27, 2012 at 6:01 am
Author : Mike Szczys
Tags : carbon dioxide, carbonation, co2, dry ice, pressure, psi, root beer, valve
Categories : beer hacks

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[Paul] is sick and tired of his homemade root beer being flat. He analyzed the problem with his carbonation techniques and ended up with a method of force carbonating beverages using dry ice (http://www.rickety.us/2012/07/extra-fizzy-homemade-carbonated-beverages/) .

He starts of by discussing the various methods that are used to carbonate beverages. There's the old yeast and sugar trick that takes place inside of a sealed bottle. But this takes time, and if you don't calculate the mixture correctly you could have over or under carbonated bottles (or exploding bottles in the case of glass beer bottling). [Paul] himself has tried the dry ice in a cooler full of root beer method. The problem is that the cooler isn't pressurized so the carbonation level is very low. You need to have cold temperatures, high pressure, and the presence of carbon dioxide all at the same time in order to achieve high levels of carbonation.

His solution is to use a 60 PSI safety valve. He drilled a hole in a plastic bottle cap to receive the valve. He then drops a few chunks of dry ice in and seals it up. The valve will automatically release the gas as the pressure builds past the 60 PSI mark. What he ends up with is a highly carbonated beverage in a matter of minutes.

If you don't mind spending some cash you can use an adjustable pressure regulator. This way you can carbonate just about anything (http://hackaday.com/2011/02/17/diy-fizzy-fruit/) .

[Thanks Steven]

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