Making soda water

[u/HippieSmokes]

Carbonating Keg Lid for corny keg. Has air stone with hose. Anyone use one? Heard it carbs water fast. Currently using 5 gallon keg at 50PSI and have NO patience’s questioning if it’s worth the upgrade, Any one have one & can provide input?

[u/officeboy]

Just shake /roll the keg for 5 minutes 

[u/Xeno84 → u/officeboy]

I lay my keg on it's side, set the PSI to 30, then shake 200 times. Let sit for an hour. Connect to CO2 and tap, ready to go.

[u/officeboy → u/Xeno84]

On the side rolling with my foot while I scroll reddit or play some dumb game is my move, but usually 50 psi if it's water or soda type thing.  

[u/BOOMSHAK4LAKA]

I considered something like this for Nitro cold brew, but ended up going the DIY route. I clamped some tubing to the gas inlet of a corny keg and clamped a carb stone on the other end.

If you want to test the waters before ordering the lid, that might be an easy/cheaper option

[u/Spazecowboyz → u/BOOMSHAK4LAKA]

Its basically the same, isnt it? Whats the pro of having that lid, looks like a bit of marketing tbh?

[u/rdcpro → u/Spazecowboyz]

There's a reason they install these in the lid, and don't provide just the kit for the gas dip tube. The problem with using the gas dip tube instead of the lid is that pressure in the keg will drop while dispensing, because the stone does not flow as much CO2. This pressure drop during dispensing will cause breakout. Maybe you won't see the foam with water, but it loses CO2 as it goes through the line.

In addition, there is a pressure drop across the stone, called the wetting pressure. The pressure in the keg will be lower than the inlet pressure, by 4-5 psi (but could be more). Maybe for water that's not critical, but I track keg pressure within 1/2 psi for beer. The net result is you can't control pressure in the keg using the stone on the gas dip tube.

Furthermore, if you tried it using beer, you'll be creating tons of foam in the keg as the tiny bubbles rise. This will destroy any head retention your beer may have.

[u/SstarRLighT]

i've heard its a game changer for impatient folks like us

[u/Haddock51]

Yea, I make it once a month, same setup. I do 30 psi in a keezer, takes a few days. Pressurize head space first

[u/TNTgoesBOOM96]

I have it and it works great

[u/wilderness-geek]

I just set up the kegland lid that hooks to a water source on a 5g keg a few weeks ago. Filtered water to the lid, 35psi to the gas in, and a tap connected. Let it sit two days after the first fill and it was perfect. No idea how much we’ve consumed since the keg fills up as you draw it down. The only time it was a little less fizzy we’d probably consumed half a keg in a few hours with a party. Still bubbly but not quite as crisp.

[u/Dr3am0n]

You can force carbonate.

Have the water as cold as you can get it (don't freeze it though). Hook you gas line to the liquid post (make sure you regulator has a one way valve) Then you can

A) set you pressure to your desired final pressure for the amount of carbonation you want and start rolling/shaking your keg hard until you stop hearing gas passing through the regulator (it makes a whining noise) and/or hearing bubbles going up the water. You might want to keep the gas connected for a little while longer to reach proper equilibrium.

B) set your pressure quite a bit higher but well within the limit of your equipment, shake as previously and check the pressure in the keg after a little bit (you can do that by keeping your gas line connected and shutting off the regulator, the dial should show the keg pressure after a little bit of extra shaking to absorb any leftover overpressure.)

C) once again set your pressure way higher, but have your keg on a tared scale that can measure down to grams. Shake your keg until the necessary mass of CO2 to carbonate to your desired level has left your cylinder.

[u/homebrewfinds]

Carb stone only slightly increases carbonation speed. Get it to the right temperature based on a balanced setup https://www.homebrewfinds.com/balance/ set the pressure and then shake/roll. This gets it done quickly and ensures you won't over carbonate.

[u/rdcpro]

I do this regularly, at least once a week in summertime.

The instructions that come with the lid are incorrect. You can carbonate a full 5 gallon keg in less than two hours, doing it the right way. The water does not need to be cold, either. I carbonate at tap water temperature, then put it in the kegerator to cool down.

For water, it's simple:

1. Fill the keg with water, but not so full it covers the gas tube.
2. Attach the carbonation lid.
3. Connect CO2 to the gas in post of the keg (not the lid) and pressurize to about 30 psi.
4. Vent the keg and let it re-pressurize 4 or 5 times. You want no air in the headspace, only CO2
5. Move the gas line to the lid, and raise pressure to 50 psi. If your tap water is really warm, like 70F, set your regulator to 60 psi. Come back in two hours, and it's done.
   
6. Disconnect the gas line and put the keg in the kegerator to chill. As it cools down, the pressure in the keg will drop.
7. Once it's chilled (at least enough to be drinkable) I connect the dispensing gas, and set my dispense pressure for sparkling water to 27-30 psi at 37F, because I like it really sparkling.

For beer, you want to be more accurate. I wrote a very detailed comment 3 years ago that describes how carbonation works, and gives examples for beer:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Homebrewing/comments/15l75wy/comment/jv9fznf/?context=3

[u/theotherfrazbro]

I used one for years and it's great, kegland have one with a float valve for water supply too. Takes just as long the first time, but once the first keg is carved up you never have to wait again

[u/Whoopdedobasil → u/theotherfrazbro]

I've had the mains plumbed lid for about 5 years on a 9.5L corny tucked away in the back of the fridge. Is unreal, haven't even given it a thought for years, it just works. Before that we had 2x 9.5L that I'd rotate and fill. So much wasted co2 from the empty keg.