Why the h*ck do I need a check valve tee: Nitro Coffee Edition

So, we advise installing a check valve tee on a CO2 supply line if it is also supplying a carbonator. We’ve seen the check valves on the carbonator fail, then fluid backs into the line and contaminates the Trumix® blender. In the years of recommending this, we never really thought about the Nitrogen gas supply having any issues where it could back into the line.  However, our draught beverage industry is always evolving, and with the increasing popularity of Nitrogen-dispensed beverages, like coffee, wine, or tea, the use of a check valve on the entire gas supply line is becoming more necessary. (We have a nitro coffee system in our conference room, which I ACTIVELY avoid, or I will drink too much. I will drink so much that I become a passenger in my body while it is steered by what I can only imagine as a worse over-caffeinated Mariah.)

We had a technical call last week with a great customer of ours who told about a system he had set up and had to troubleshoot because of an interesting issue. This account offers nitro coffee, but during a corny keg switch of the nitro coffee, the gas supply and product outlet lines were switched. Since these kegs are filled around 45 psi, the coffee inside the corny keg shot out into the “outlet” line, going all the way through the blender and almost to the secondary regulators. Because the blender was filled with nitro coffee, pouring problems were noticed almost immediately. No nitrogen supply = no mixed gas (plus a blender filled with coffee!)

Had this system utilized a check valve tee on the nitrogen supply, the coffee contamination would’ve been contained to a minimal area of the nitrogen supply line.

For more information on check valve tees, check these webpages or contact orders@mcdantim.com to learn more.