A while back, I converted my kegerator to work with either homebrew-style ball lock connectors or commercial-style Sanke connectors. Since I now have a direct line going from my CO2 bottle to a quick disconnect, obviously the next step is to make a Co2inator that will connect to my kegerator!
"I'm not regular fruit. I'm cool fruit" -these bowls, probably
Building this was actually really simple, but hunting around for the right parts was anything but. Similar to the original post, I wanted to use one of the home water filter housings--they're large enough to hold fruit, pressure rated for well over what you'll be using, and have a large opening to make cleaning easy. There are a bunch available at any hardware store. You'll also need a plug for the output line on the housing.
The input is where I had the most trouble. It turns out that the ball lock connectors use what's called "beer thread", which is typically 19/32"-18 IPT thread. You're welcome to research what that means, but the short answer is: it's not going to connect to the water filter housing, which uses both a different size (3/4") and a different thread type (NPT). Fortunately, I was able to find this adaptor, which converts the beer thread to a 1/4" NPT connection. Get that and a 1/4" to 3/4" adaptor, and you should be set!
Here's the full parts list that I used:
Using the Co2inator
Once everything is built, it's time to get fancy. Toss your fruit into the housing and close it up, connect it to your Co2 line, purge it like you're purging a keg (fill it, release the pressure, repeat a couple of times), and then pressurize it. I like to crank up the pressure as much as my regulator will allow (around 45 PSI), and then put the Co2inator in the fridge. After an hour or so, you should have some weird fruit!
Like the original author, I've found that making the fruit cold will make this work better. I've also found that you want fruit with a skin around a lot of water (like grapes or oranges)--fruit like apples and watermelon will have a lot of foam on them as soon as you open the Co2inator, and then won't have much left by the time you eat them. It's still worth trying though!
"I'm not regular fruit. I'm cool fruit" -these bowls, probably
Building this was actually really simple, but hunting around for the right parts was anything but. Similar to the original post, I wanted to use one of the home water filter housings--they're large enough to hold fruit, pressure rated for well over what you'll be using, and have a large opening to make cleaning easy. There are a bunch available at any hardware store. You'll also need a plug for the output line on the housing.
The input is where I had the most trouble. It turns out that the ball lock connectors use what's called "beer thread", which is typically 19/32"-18 IPT thread. You're welcome to research what that means, but the short answer is: it's not going to connect to the water filter housing, which uses both a different size (3/4") and a different thread type (NPT). Fortunately, I was able to find this adaptor, which converts the beer thread to a 1/4" NPT connection. Get that and a 1/4" to 3/4" adaptor, and you should be set!
Here's the full parts list that I used:
- A water filter housing
- A plug for the housing's output
- A 1/4" - 3/4" NPT adaptor
- This NPT <-> IPT adaptor
- A ball lock keg connector
Using the Co2inator
Once everything is built, it's time to get fancy. Toss your fruit into the housing and close it up, connect it to your Co2 line, purge it like you're purging a keg (fill it, release the pressure, repeat a couple of times), and then pressurize it. I like to crank up the pressure as much as my regulator will allow (around 45 PSI), and then put the Co2inator in the fridge. After an hour or so, you should have some weird fruit!
Like the original author, I've found that making the fruit cold will make this work better. I've also found that you want fruit with a skin around a lot of water (like grapes or oranges)--fruit like apples and watermelon will have a lot of foam on them as soon as you open the Co2inator, and then won't have much left by the time you eat them. It's still worth trying though!
