SodaFountain

  Was it worth it? So far, even with all the hardships and extra expenditures, I would say yes. It’s more than the money I will save in the long run - the Cool Factor counts for a lot. My Mini-bar has been transformed into a movie theater concession stand and my living room is my private theater. After a year - I am on to my second box of Coke syrup. Only to discover the nozzles need to be cleaned, pretty much daily. A black thick mold grows in the tiny pores of the diffuser and in and around the fountainhead. I ordered a specialty set of brushes & and some cleaning solution, but the cleaning is still time consuming. Not to mention I am grossed out by having consumed gallons of liquid that poured through it, all gummed up and moldy. I have pretty much stopped using the whole system now. In addition I no longer order fountain drinks unless I can see the cleaning schedule on the machines. (My son worked at the local theater and one of his jobs was cleaning the spouts. He is also ...

  After just two days, I checked my new 5 gallon tank of CO2 and discovered it was empty - which means I must have a leak. I hook up my newly filled and recertified 4.5 gallon tank and just turn it off after each use. I will have to refill my 5 gallon tank, but need to give it a few days, so the guys at the welding shop don’t suspect me of huffing. Now there is a pump that randomly pumps syrup out on its own, and the water leak is worse. So I have turned everything off - when I have the time, I will disconnect everything and reroute it to make it easier to find and fix the problems which will pop up. I tightend down - refitted a few connections and have eliminated all but the carbonation leak. I suspect the fitting connecting to the bottle - I am hand tightening - So I continue to turn it off when not in use.

  I continue to test and tune Sprite, Dr. Pepper, and Rootbeer.  Everytime I think it is right, my kids show up and bitch, moan and complain about all the flavors. When one kid thinks it is finally right, no one else does. I plan on tuning it until I like it - and that will just be the way it is. I have FANTA Orange hooked up, but the carbonator pump for that flavor is not running - so I will have to fish those lines to a different pump. I turn off the carbonation, and wait for the pressure to leak out. Then I disconnect the Fanta Orange line - only to have the pump, using the stored CO2 in the carbonation tank - pump out about 2 cups of orange syrup. All over the pumps and the tangled lines inside the cabinet. I clean up as best I can - Reattach to a different pump and manage to get the orange working - according to my kids, the best flavor so far. I purchased Fuse Raspberry Iced tea syrup to hook up to the non-carbonated line - but because the Corona Virus has locked down ...

  It’s now March, and I am growing despondent - I have now invested a few thousand dollars and still can’t get a palatable drink from my machine. So, I Brix it again and discover that the Brix has two options - a 5:1 option and a 5.5 to 1 option. So I switch Coke to 5.5 to 1 and it is closer. Next I run through a large number of taste tests. I take a drink - compare to a canned coke, make a quarter turn adjustment on the machine, cycle some before tasting it again. I find that I have almost run out of CO2. I have no idea how full my little tank was when I started this process, so I do not know if this is indicative of the life span on my machine. Just in case, I order a 5 gallon tank as a backup ( $80 from Amazon, this size fits under the sink ). I take my 4.5 gallon tank and the new tank in to be filled ( eventually found a welding supply shop that fills CO2. ) They fill the new tank, but the old tank is out of date - before they will fill it it needs to be inspected ( like a scub...

                 After 24 hours                                              - I pour my first Coke -                                                                                                and it is very WRONG. The carbonation is not right - the bubbles are very tiny and the flavor is vile. I decide to use the Brix kit - and find that my machine is set to pump 5 parts syrup to one part water, which is backwards. A search on the internet shows me how to adjust my dispenser and I achieve the 5 to one water to syrup ra...

It is LOUD. It is like having your home air conditioner inside. I was unprepared for that as well. However, after 4-6 hours it stops and drops back into a semi-soft refrigerator hum. Only kicking into loud mode once a day for about 15-20 minutes. Next I address the new leaks that have sprung up - tightening and stopping all I can find. I order Ikea bags to put my cardboard syrup bags into - after learning that they can leak and make a huge mess. I ordered a 5 gallon rasberry ice tea box online for $140, but it arrived leaking, the box disintegrating around a VERY LARGE BAG of unwield sticky syrup. I returned that for my money back - but learned the lesson. And Ikea shopping bags fit the bill.

  I started to hook up my soda syrups only to discover that my machine came with three different types of connections. I have 2 PEPSI only connectors which are a little bigger and GREEN. I have 2 Generic blade type connectors which look like giant oversized corkscrews and seem to fit nothing I can buy - not even the generic stuff. Then  I have 4 Coke connectors which are smaller, red, and seem to fit everything. I have been unable to find Pepsi syrup anywhere, and the company that promised to help source all my syrups before they got my money has been very quiet after depositing my check. I trace the line from the machine and plug it into a pump attached to the line to the syrup I need for that dispenser. Then I route all the lines, trying to get them out of the way as much as possible. This takes a lot of finagling, but finally I am almost ready. I ordered 2 Pepsi to Coke adapters from Amazon ($15 each), as well as 2 Coke connectors ($6 each).  

I add water to the chiller. I start with 5 gallons of distilled water ( water is very hard in my area - I want to be safe so, Distilled water, $1 a gallon ). No one tells me how big the tank is, So I have to keep checking to be sure that water isn’t pouring out somewhere hard to see. The instruction printed beside a hole drilled into the top of the machine is to “fill until it flows from the overflow tube into the tray”. I add another 5 gallons, then another. At the 20 gallon mark I begin to grow concerned - I just added FIVE - 5 gallon jugs of water - the machine doesn’t seem big enough to hold it all, I must be creating a flood someplace.  Now I am also a bit concerned that I am destroying my machine by pouring water all over the delicate components inside because someone forgot to remove the fill sticker when the machine was refurbished. I begin to add water a gallon at a time. At 22 gallons I reach the overflow point. Whew! Then I calculate the weight to be an additional 250 po...

  I bought a water filter at Lowes for $100. None of the lines match up to what I have on the machine. I return the filter and talk to the specialist. The size of the lines my machine requires are ⅜ and the standard home line is ½. I ask about a converter of some sort. Which they make. However I need it in stainless steel which they do not. It takes another week for me to locate and order a water filter that runs a 3/8th inch line for only $30. My house has all pex fittings, so I end up buying a Pex tool ($60) and the appropriate clamps ( $15 a package of 10 - I needed a few packages of a few different sizes ) to allow me to add a water shut off ($10), under the sink - my inline filter, and the splitters ($6 each I used three.) to send two water lines to the carbonator as well as one uncarbonated line to the machine - for a non carbonated drink. I have to use all stainless steel fittings as the carbonated water and the syrups do not mix well with copper. This is incredibly hard to ...

  What no one mentions, and I failed to account for, is the weight of the machine! I figure about 300 pounds. My bar top starts to sag after a few days. I remove the machine and build a much more robust support platform ( about $50 in lumber, paint and hardware ) - leaving room beneath it for all the soda lines and the drain line from the tray.  I purchased a hole saw the diameter of the lines, and waited for it to arrive. I cut the hole in my bar to run the lines into the cabinets under the sink and through to the syrups under the counter. The hole is too small for the lines to fit and make the bend. Of course I had to buy a larger hole saw. I gave up on the grommet ring, for another $50. Now, because a hole is already there - It is MUCH harder to cut it larger - I end up tearing up the surface of the bar - will have to replace the whole top if I ever remove this machine!

  Then I wait. Thanksgiving goes by. I think maybe over Christmas break. When Christmas is over I try contacting the company - all the email links I have are no longer in service. Convinced I have been scammed I contact my bank and  notify them I may have been a victim of fraud. They place a stop payment on my purchase. A week later I get a call from A company with shipping information - a company I have never heard of, ( with no presence on the internet ) schedules a delivery, sort of .     I do NOT call my bank, I let the fraud investigation continue. Near the end of January, I receive a delivery at home - an unmarked white truck drops a pallet in my driveway with a large box on it. I called the bank and canceled the investigation. I find my soda machine well attached to the pallet and a large box of supporting material. Through the use of several dollies and carts  I manage to move the pieces off of the pallet and into my house. With the help of anothe...

  Don’t ask me how it happened, I blame the internet! But it did happen, and here is how it played out.      I was just surfing the web, when I ended up looking at soda dispensers - - like the model to the right. The site I was on, had a used refurbished machine on SALE! For only $1600! I have a mini-bar I never use, and after taking measurements, I had filled out all the information and was ready to buy. BUT, the internet has burned me before, so I checked on the company - seemed legit. Priced machines elsewhere, a new 2 flavor generic dispenser runs about $2000. So, this WAS a GOOD DEAL. Still, it is a lot of money, I chicken out at the end and back away. Besides, I couldn’t think of 8 flavors of soda I actually liked. I was looking for just a few flavors, four at most! A week later, a representative from the company contacted me, noticed I had been looking and wondered if I had any questions. Which I did. I wondered if I could run half of the flavors - w...