Abstract: A soft drink dispenser is provided with a soda generator and cooling tank which employs the consumable ice from an ice bin as a source for cooling the soda while being maintained apart from the ice. Both the ice bin and soda tank are maintained upon a common cooling plate having serpentine passages for prechilling water before introduction into the soda tank. The ice within the bin serves as an energy source for the cooling plate which acts as a heat sink to provide a thermally conductive path for assuring that the soda within the tank is kept at a desirably low level.

Abstract: A soft drink dispenser is provided with a first electrical probe within the syrup dispensing line, and a second electrical probe a fixed distance below the dispensing head. Upon actuation of the syrup dispensing valve, the two probes determine the amount of time required for syrup to pass the distance from the dispensing head to the second probe. This time is a function of flow rate of the syrup and, accordingly, of the brix of the resulting drink. This flow rate can then be adjusted by adjusting the time period that syrup is dispensed, or the pressure head under which the dispensing is achieved, or a restriction within the dispensing line. Such adjustment brings the brix of the soft drink to the desired level.