Soda machine nozzles

[Mike Blakesley]

Is there any kind of goop that can be put on soda machine diffuser nozzles that makes them easier to remove? We have a Cornelius machine (around 20 years old) and it's like pulling teeth out of an elephant to get those damn things off. They are removed twice a week for cleaning and my concession people are constantly saying they're near impossible to pull off. I can't disagree...it's a major pain in the butt to separate them from the machine.

Any thoughts?

[Tony Bandiera Jr]

There is a food grade silicone grease that is used on other machines that would work well. You'd just need a light smear on the nozzles o-rings and they'll quit sticking. We had it when I worked at the Laemmle Grande decades ago, and I used it on my soda machine at home. I don;t recall a brand but I'm sure a web search or talking to your concessions suppler will source some.

[Barry Floyd]

There is a food grade silicone grease

Petrol Gel. It's a clear, Vaseline looking stuff that comes in a tube. We use it for the O-rings on the slushy machine.

We clean our nozzles on both machines every night. They'll get funky and gooey if you don't. Never thought of using it on the fountain machine nozzles, but it makes since.

[Frank Angel]

I silicone grease on my modified SodaStream at home on the connectors. I found a guy who makes and adaptor for the SodaStream unit that allows a standard 5lb C02 tank to be used with the unit instead of their wimpy 6L tank that they've outfitted with their proprietary connectors, forcing you to only use their tank at an exorbitant markup for each C02 refill. This adaptor attached to any standard tank saves a ton of money on refills. And to keep the connectors easy to unscrew, I use just a light schmear of CRC Food Grade Silicone Lubricant, 10 Oz -- $25 bucks at Amazon. But then I found that the Chinese company Temu sells their High-Performance Lubricant: Waterproof, Food Grade, 8.5Cm/3 tubes for $1.84 the pack -- gives you some idea of how much Amazon markets up the stuff the get from China, yet they'll make their line worker pee in a bottle to avoid breaks, or so I've heard (and they've got to bring their own bottle to boot)!

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

Most of the theaters I've serviced over the last 40 years always removed the nozzles at night, and soak them in something. Never asked what that something is.

[Mike Blakesley]

Most of the theaters I've serviced over the last 40 years always removed the nozzles at night, and soak them in something. Never asked what that something is.

We use the ProStar "Soda Nozzle Cleaner." It is a powder you mix with water. It works fine, although we only soak ours once or twice a week depending on how busy we've been.

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

We use the ProStar "Soda Nozzle Cleaner." It is a powder you mix with water. It works fine, although we only soak ours once or twice a week depending on how busy we've been.

Yea, to be honest, I don't know if everyone was just using water, or if they were using the same stuff, or similar to what you're using. I know it does work well.

[Mike Blakesley]

Okay, I got hold of a tube of the above mentioned Petrol Gel and put it on the O-rings....and the result is, now the nozzles are harder to get off than ever. Used to be, you could unscrew them and then sort of pull back and forth and down at the same time and they would pop off, with a certain amount of effort. Now, the only way to get them off is to take a screwdriver and pry on them.

Our procedure is, we take the nozzles off, soak them overnight in the cleaner solution, and the next day's crew puts on the grease and reassembles. Then a few days later they are stuck like glue. WHAT are we doing wrong here?

[Frank Cox]

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[Ryan Gallagher]

Okay, I got hold of a tube of the above mentioned Petrol Gel and put it on the O-rings....and the result is, now the nozzles are harder to get off than ever. Used to be, you could unscrew them and then sort of pull back and forth and down at the same time and they would pop off, with a certain amount of effort. Now, the only way to get them off is to take a screwdriver and pry on them.

Our procedure is, we take the nozzles off, soak them overnight in the cleaner solution, and the next day's crew puts on the grease and reassembles. Then a few days later they are stuck like glue. WHAT are we doing wrong here?

Maybe they need to come off after every shift? I know bar traps get gross with hard to remove stuff for to sugary sodas. There are even pucks you can put in them to reduce that and keep the drains flowing.

[Tony Bandiera Jr]

Okay, I got hold of a tube of the above mentioned Petrol Gel and put it on the O-rings....and the result is, now the nozzles are harder to get off than ever. Used to be, you could unscrew them and then sort of pull back and forth and down at the same time and they would pop off, with a certain amount of effort. Now, the only way to get them off is to take a screwdriver and pry on them.

Our procedure is, we take the nozzles off, soak them overnight in the cleaner solution, and the next day's crew puts on the grease and reassembles. Then a few days later they are stuck like glue. WHAT are we doing wrong here?

Mike, that is NOT the same as food grade silicone based grease. From the PetroGel site: (Bold emphasis mine)

Petrol-Gel is the purest of lubricants, made with an odorless, tasteless, high viscosity index paraffinic base oil. Petrol-Gel is compounded with appropriate food grade additives to meet the performance demands for all recommended applications.

Paraffin is a sticky substance, the exact opposite of what you need, and the grease I referred to was clear and labeled as food grade silicone grease, not oil. Paraffin is best used on things that constantly move, like the seals on soft serve machine beaters, etc. The site even specifically mentions "all bearings and MOVING parts" https://www.petrolgel.com/

THIS is what you need, and it's cheap: https://www.amazon.com/Waterproof-Si.../dp/B000DZFUPC

DANCO Waterproof Silicone Faucet Grease (This is just one of many brands that are the same composition)

You'll need to thoroughly clean all of the PetroGel off with alcohol or a suitable solvent (get it out of the inside surfaces of the fountain heads too) and apply the silicone grease sparingly on the o-rings.

Try the silicone based CLEAR grease and let us know if that works.

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

Concession supply companies should also stock food safe silicone grease. I have even seen it at Costco.

[Mike Blakesley]

OK, I have ordered the "correct" stuff above. I was curious how Barry was able to make the Petrol-Gel work, but then I see where he said 'slushy machine' which of course is a whole other animal from a soda machine.

[Tony Bandiera Jr]

OK, I have ordered the "correct" stuff above. I was curious how Barry was able to make the Petrol-Gel work, but then I see where he said 'slushy machine' which of course is a whole other animal from a soda machine.

Slushy machine nozzles have the handles to open them for dispensing, aka "moving parts" which is why his idea works (and is the right one for that application). They get exercised a LOT which keeps the paraffin from hardening.

This is a classic case of making sure you are aware of the differences in applications before recommending a solution.