Lancer Beverage Brix Adjustment Instructions
When you go through a drive-thru or walk into a fast food chain, the first thing you do is take a long draw from your soft drink. That first swallow tells you a lot about your upcoming culinary experience and the level of service and maintenance paid to the food and beverage equipment it comes from.
First impressions are everything in an industry saturated with fierce competition. So to give your customers superior quality with consistent results, follow our Lancer beverage Brix adjustment instructions for the perfect syrup-to-water ratio on your IBD series 4500, Ice Cooled Drop-Ins, Flavor Select 22 and Bevariety ACIB ice beverage dispensers.
How Often Should You Brix a Soda Machine?
As a general rule of thumb, it’s a good idea to check the brix on your soda machine at least once a month and every time after you change the syrup. That goes without saying if you notice the soda flavor starts leaning too sweet or tasting watered down, it’s a good indication that a brix adjustment is in store.
How to Adjust the Water Flow on Lancer Beverage Dispenser
Before tweaking the syrup-to-water ratios on your Lancer IBD Series 4500 and Flavor Select 22, ensure the water temperature is no warmer than 40℉, the lines are cold, and there is ice on the cold plate. Now that that’s settled, you can follow these Lancer beverage brix adjustment instructions:
- Step 1. Access the water flow adjustment screw – The first thing on the agenda is to gain access to the components you’ll be working on. To do this, you’ll need to remove the valve cover, the splash plate (located behind the valves) and the merchandiser (located above the valves).
- Note: On the FlavorSelect 22, you might have to unfasten the latch pins to remove the light and switch panels.
- Note: On the Ice Cooled Drop In models, turn the knob clockwise on your CO2 regulator until it reads 65 PSI.
- Step 2. Close the syrup shut-off valve – To prevent the water-to-syrup ratio test from making a mess of your countertops, you’ll want to shut off the syrup line before installing the syrup separator.
- Step 3. Test the water flow rate – For this step, you’ll need a Lancer ratio cup to ensure the flow rate is up to speed. Place the cup under the dispenser for 4 seconds. Measure how many ounces are in your cup and divide this number by 4 to get the flow rate. Lancer recommends repeating this test 3 times to verify the results.
- Note: Lancer IBD Series 4500 should dispense 5 ounces every 4 seconds.
- Note: For Lancer FlavorSelect 22, the water flow rate can rest between 3.25 oz/sec and 4.5oz/sec.
- Note: For Lancer Bevariety model 100, you can adjust the flow rate between 0.24-0.5 oz/sec. For model 145, you can adjust it between 0.5-0.9 oz/sec.
- Step 4. Adjust the flow rate if needed – If it turns out that your flow rate is over or under the recommended volume, you’ll need a Phillips screwdriver to adjust the flow rate. As you’ll remember, we had you remove the valve cover in Step 1, revealing two screws underneath. Turn the left screw clockwise to increase the flow rate and counterclockwise to decrease. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until the flow rate is within your unit's specified range.
How to Adjust the Syrup Amount on a Lancer Beverage Dispenser
If you’ve had to adjust the water flow rate, chances are you’ll also need to tweak the syrup output, too. Even if you didn’t, you should still check it while your commercial soda dispenser is dismantled and your tools are at hand. Follow these Lancer beverage brix adjustment instructions for the best soft drink results:
- Step 5. Remove the nozzle and diffuser – You’ll need to remove the nozzle to install the syrup separator. To do this, turn the nozzle counterclockwise. This should reveal the diffuser. From there, pull down to remove.
- Step 6. Install the syrup separator – Installing the syrup separator will help you see the current syrup-to-water ratio. For this reason, you’ll want to lock it in the place of the nozzle by turning it clockwise.
- Step 7. Open the syrup shut-off valve – If you'll remember in Step 2, you turned off the syrup shut-off valve. Go ahead and turn it back on.
- Step 8. Dispense soda mix – Press the dispenser button until water and syrup are ejected as a steady stream.
- Step 9. Test the syrup-to-water ratio – Using the Lancer ratio cup, measure the water and syrup ratio. Be sure to capture the soda fountain syrup in the section labeled as such in the ratio cup. The water and syrup should be level with one another.
- Step 10. Adjust syrup flow rate if needed – If the soda dispenser syrup level is higher or lower than the water level, you’ll need a Phillips screwdriver to turn the right screw clockwise to increase the syrup flow rate and counterclockwise to decrease it. Repeat the test 3 times to ensure the results are accurate.
- Step 11. Reinstall nozzle and valve cover – Once you’ve finished making brix adjustments, remove the fountain drink syrup separator and reinstall the nozzle and valve cover.
- Step 12. Repeat steps 1-11 for each valve – If you decided to embark on a Brix adjustment because one of your soda mixtures wasn’t tasting right, it’s a good idea to double-check the others. Repeat steps 1-12 for all your soda flavors.
- Step 13. Reassemble your beverage dispenser – Last but not least, reinstall the lightbox, splash plate, and top cover so your beverage dispenser looks as great as the soda tastes. And that’s how you adjust the syrup-to-water ratio on your Lancer soda machine!
Need more information on how to clean a Lancer beverage dispenser or what those pesky error codes mean? Check out all our resources, manuals, diagrams and more on our main website!