I worked in a restaurant that dealt exclusively with Coke products, so I'm rather experienced with their fountains. You will need some electrical work done, as the dispensers require it to run the metering/dispensing pumps.
Hmm, I have a 5 head in my kitchen (don't ask). The only electrical it needs is a 15amp service to run the compressor (the thing that freezes the block of ice that the syrup and carbonated water run through to chill it) and the solenoids for the heads. There's also the actual carbonator (pump and holding tank). This may need another 5 amps or so, depending on the size. The syrup pumps run off CO2.
The water doesn't need to be carbonated, that's where the CO2 tank comes in.
You'll also need the carbonator. It's a pretty pricey piece, but it's hard to get fizzy water without one. It can be done, but you need a stainless syrup tank (2-5 gallons) and a CO2 tank w/ regulator. Chill the tank and the water, pressurize it with the CO2 (I forget how many psi at the moment, but there is plenty of info on "forced carbonation" out there) shake it vigorously for about 5mins and put the whole thing in a cold fridge for about 24 hours.
As I said, you'll want a carbonator.
If you have a Sam's club near you, you can easily buy a BIB (Bag In Box) of syrup for ~$40, which should make ~10 gallons of Coke (possibly a bit more, ~2-4 gallons more).
Actually, the mix is 1:5, so a 5 gallon BIB should get you around 30 gallons of soda
Sam's has restrictions on who they can sell syrup to. They are imposed by the CocaCola people and supposedly it's only to business and there are forms to fill out. But it can't be worse than dealing with CocalCola themselves (who understandably aren't too concerned about selling to individuals)
If there's a restaurant near you and they serve Coke, you can probably easily get the manager to buy you a "Brix Kit" for Coke to properly meter the syrup/water ratio.
If you are on city water or some other reasonably regulated source of water pressure, a brixer usually isn't necessary. There are mix controls on the fountains for this.
But, what is
very necessary is a backflow preventer for the carbonated water if you are using copper pipes. Without one of these in place, the CO2 will have a nasty interaction with the copper causing you to become very familiar with the term "projectile vomiting"
You also want to make very sure that any and all components that come into contact with the carbonated liquids are made of FDA approved stainless steel or plastic.
Oh, and a filter that gets rid of chlorine and other nasty stuff is a good idea too, unless you like that flavor in your soda.
think you would need to use it alot on daily basis to make it worth while.Now that you've got the numbers, (~20 2 Liters) you can see what the cost breakdown is...in the end, I think the taste from a fountain is different enough (and better, IMO) that if you're looking for that taste, the money will be well spent.
Again, more like 60 2-litre bottles, and you need to factor in the constant running of the compressors, the investment in equipment, the cost and hassle of getting the syrup and the CO2, etc.... If anyone is considering doing this to save money, forget it. It's not going to happen, especially nowadays with 99cent 2-litre bottles of anything you like.
But you do have more control over the flavor of the soda and the amount of carbonation and that's enough to make it worthwhile to some. Just look at the ebay competition on this stuff sometimes
RandyT
*edit*
typos
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Topic: Build your own Coke machine?? (Read 6967 times)
