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Author Topic: Maintaining & Cleaning Pepsi Soda Fountain John Hegel Expert Film Handler Posts: 166 From: Lake Mills, Iowa Registered: Sep 2000 posted 09-11-2003 12:37 AM                        Does anyone else wash, rinse, and sanitize the nozzles every night?  |  IP: Logged Zach Zagar Film Handler Posts: 45 From: Jefferson City, MO Registered: Mar 2000 posted 09-11-2003 10:04 AM                        We soak ours' over night in bubbly carbon water and toothbrush them out in the morning. The Pepsi brixing kit, at least the ones I've seen, come with the following: Manual, How-To-Video, brush, thermomometer, screwdriver, brixing cup, two nozzles and I believe thats it. It is a really nice blue case, and is a great help with the towers. If all you get is a cup... then that's generic... you want the kit, with all the goodies. Zach  |  IP: Logged Manny Knowles "What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???" Posts: 4247 From: Bloomington, IN, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 09-11-2003 04:22 PM                     Thanks for the insight, Zach. I'll see if I can score a full kit at ShowEast. But, come to think of it, I know for sure that Coke had a large presence at ShowEast last year but I don't recall seeing Pepsi...Does anyone know?  |  IP: Logged Daryl C. W. O'Shea Film God Posts: 3977 From: Midland Ontario Canada (where Panavision & IMAX lenses come from) Registered: Jun 2002 posted 09-11-2003 07:16 PM                        Out of curiosity Manny... where are your BIBs (or more specifically the syrup in them) manufactured? I know that the bottled and post-mix Pepsi in most of the Caribbean islands tastes flat and nothing at all like American or Canadian bottled or post-mix product.  |  IP: Logged Manny Knowles "What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???" Posts: 4247 From: Bloomington, IN, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 09-11-2003 11:56 PM                     Not 100% sure Daryl but I think the syrup might be mixed in The Bahamas. I know for a fact that there's a Coca-Cola bottling plant there and you're right about all the soda tasting flat. I'm in Fort Lauderdale right now and I'm thinking of picking up a BIB of Pepsi and bringing it back with me for a quick-and-dirty taste test. My brother told me from the start that he suspected the syrup but my aim is to at least make it taste better than it currently does. That's the least I'd like to accomplish. If I can prove that something is wrong with the syrup then maybe we can get that changed but it's probably a longshot.  |  IP: Logged Manny Knowles "What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???" Posts: 4247 From: Bloomington, IN, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 09-14-2003 11:10 PM                     Two things: 1. Got an email from my brother today saying that my brix cup was delivered. Can't wait to get my little hands on it. 2. Ordered a glass of fountain Pepsi here in Fort Lauderdale and guess what? It tastes the same as it does back home. What the fuck do I do now? Seems to be out of my hands. I can't recall why but I asked some time ago and was told flat-out that Coke wouldn't be an option. Hmmm. Maybe it's time to ask again.  |  IP: Logged Jack Ondracek Film God Posts: 2348 From: Port Orchard, WA, USA Registered: Oct 2002 posted 09-15-2003 04:54 AM                        Manny, try a small glass full of Pepsi syrup... then one of Coke. You'll probably find that they're both pretty flat! I still think you have a localized problem over there. You can carbonate just about anything, if you really wanted to. The syrup has very little to do with it, though too rich a mix might take away some of the "bite". Anyhow, you picked a lousy place to do a taste-test. Everybody knows that Washingtonians know the most about fountain drinks, and Floridians know the least. Come up here next time!  |  IP: Logged Manny Knowles "What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???" Posts: 4247 From: Bloomington, IN, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 09-15-2003 08:34 AM                     Okay, Jack...Let's see if I can get a "research grant."  |  IP: Logged Manny Knowles "What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???" Posts: 4247 From: Bloomington, IN, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 09-17-2003 04:08 PM                     Okay, I've gone and done some fact-finding... Depending on which dispenser is being measured, water temperature (carbonated water only) is at or below 40ºF. Ratio was a little light on syrup but not by a whole lot. I was able to tweak it and get it right on the money. You can see that there is ample carbonation in the beverage. Brix on the refractometer is 10% -- but that's without adjusting to compensate for the fact that the beverage was refrigerated. Before tweaking the mix, it was something like 9.5%. (Does anyone here know if that's considered a "big" difference?) So...at least I know that it's not one of those factors. At least, not anymore. I know now that part of the problem was my initial expectation. I was expecting a flavor similarity between Pepsi and Coca-Cola which -- based on quite a bit of taste-testing in Florida -- is not something one ought to expect. Pepsi and Coke taste very different from one another. But that's not to say that the problem was completely imagined... I was able to detect a faint "odor" to the water from one of these towers here today. It's not coming through the syrup line, mind you. It's the water. And it's not the water supply because it doesn't affect both towers. This suggests that the water supply line to the affected tower needs attention. I'll be giving Pepsi a call in the morning to arrange an inspection of the tubing for the water and we'll get it cleaned or replaced, if needed. Thanks to all who helped. The other tower is working great now that it's been tweaked. I saved a cup before the tweaking and let my brother do a quick-and-dirty tasting and he was happier with the "after" mix. FWIW, so was I.  |  IP: Logged Jack Ondracek Film God Posts: 2348 From: Port Orchard, WA, USA Registered: Oct 2002 posted 09-17-2003 08:15 PM                        Sounds like you've covered a lot of it, Manny. That water issue sure could be a problem. I've tasted fountain Coke in cities that chlorinate the crap out of their water... yuck! Did you check the CO2 pressure?  |  IP: Logged Manny Knowles "What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???" Posts: 4247 From: Bloomington, IN, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 09-17-2003 09:56 PM                     Yeah the CO2 was practically new and the pressure was being regulated at 80 -- would that be PSI or something else?  |  IP: Logged Dennis Udovich Film Handler Posts: 71 From: Sheboygan, WI, USA Registered: Dec 2001 posted 09-18-2003 12:14 AM                        I personally prefer to drink Coke. But I have and prefer Pepsi at my cinema. Why? Pepsi gives me the best service. Never got that from Coke in the past. We have four separate soda towers with six or eight flavors. Each has its own lines and carbonaters. We have bulk CO2. We wash, rinse, and sanitize the nozzles every night. Now I must admit we had a "funny" taste problem for over a year. It would come and go. I felt our Pepsi was always flat tasting. Pepsi service would come over anytime I called and tried everything to correct the problem. We switch different carbonaters, washed out the lines, changed feed lines, added water filters, even replaced a complete soda unit. It seemed good for a while, then it would come back. A few weeks ago it was back again, worst than ever! I made an appointment for Pepsi, my filter suppliers, and my plumber to meet at the same time to figure out the taste problem. The filter guy brought a water test kit. The four of us looked over all equipment and discussed the on-going problem. Well, guess what? My plumber noticed bad back-flow valves on the carbonaters. They were leaking and corroded. He said this could be the problem and suggested replacing them. The next day the plumber made the changes and Pepsi has never tasted so good. It now has zing and fizz! Hopefully the taste problem won't come back. Being a Coke drinker, I must admit Pepsi sure tastes good here.  |  IP: Logged Jack Ondracek Film God Posts: 2348 From: Port Orchard, WA, USA Registered: Oct 2002 posted 09-18-2003 12:47 AM                        quote: ...the CO2 was practically new and the pressure was being regulated at 80 -- would that be PSI or something else? It's psi. Run it up to 100psi & you should have more carbonation. If your syrup pumps are running off the CO2, your sugared drinks will also run off this regulator. Your diet drink pumps should have a second regulator that's set lower. I'll have to check what ours is set to, but it wouldn't have any effect on your carbonation, in any case.  |  IP: Logged William Bunch Film Handler Posts: 87 From: Misawa, Japan Registered: Nov 2001 posted 09-24-2003 08:13 AM                        The separated brix cup is the fastest way to go. But you need the one that mates properly to whatever post-mix head you are using. There are different shapes and sizes of separators. Temperature is very important, for the syrups and C02 water. Never higher than 45F and ideally 42F. Some of my systems can pull things down to 38F but those are the big Multiplex circulators. Burger King is fond of these. Dispenser cold plates work just fine as long as they never run out of ice. Even overnight. Fill it before closing. The timer will turn the auger at intervals and keep the cold plate covered in ice until you open again. The ice you use should be cubed and not "dry". Dry ice is defined as ice that has recently come from a freezer where its surface temperature is lower than 33 degrees F. Super cold ice will immediately "cut" the C02 gas right out of the water. Try it at home to test this theory. Coca-Cola USA also warns against using ice with sharp edges for the same reasons. Those rounded "chicklet" cubes that come off a Scotsman cuber are best and settle nicely in the cup. This is good for maintaining carbonation and also increases your profit margin. A properly installed and used BIB (bag in the box) system should not require frequent cleaning of syrup lines as long as they remain pressurized. Consider them like the municipal water supply. As long as they remain pressurized nothing from the outside can get inside. Proper procedures need to be taken when changing bags to prevent introducing contamination. The Procon pump on your carbonator may be damaged and can't keep up with demand. Damage occurs with these pumps when they are allowed to run dry for even a short period of time. The pump must be able to "slam" the incoming water against the "wall" inside the carbonator with enough force to cause the gas to go into solution. If the vanes in the pump are damaged this won't happen at a fast enough rate. This Procon pump also has an intregal filter strainer which may be clogged causing low flow. It takes a wrench to remove it. Take a clean plastic cup, no ice and fill it with only your cold Co2 water. Set it on the table and watch the bubbles rise. Then pick the cup up about an inch and let it fall. Profuse bubbles should rise. If you can do this three times in a row then your Co2 mix is about right. This won't work if your water is above 45 degrees F. One thing that has not been mentioned here is proper storage and dating of the boxed syrups. Extreme heat while in storage will alter the taste of most syrup flavors. Extreme cold will also cause some flavors to separate into their individual components. Rotate your stock and don't order more than you need. Syrups are perishables. We are located overseas and our supply pipeline is from the USA so I speak from experience. In the past we have had to trash whole pallets of syrups because someone loaded them on a freezer van by mistake or stored them in a hot warehouse in summer. Bill Bunch Misawa, Japan Theaters, Burger King, Taco Bell, Popeyes Chicken to name a few. We do it all.  |  IP: Logged

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