Apparatus including means for controlling the formation of an ice bank in a carbonator tank

Apparatus for mixing fresh water with CO.sub.2 gas to produce carbonated water, comprising:

• a water storage tank for holding cooled water;
• a set of cooling coils located around an upper portion of said storage tank for cooling the water in said storage tank and for forming an ice bank on an inner wall surface thereof;
• a circulating pump located inside the storage tank for mixing CO.sub.2 gas with water in the storage tank and forming carbonated water thereby;
• and,
• means located adjacent a lowermost coil of said set of cooling coils on the inner wall surface of the storage tank for forming a discrete relatively small crystallization space inside the storage tank which impedes the flow of water therein to initiate crystallization of the water at said crystallization space whereupon the crystallization will then spread upward so as to form said ice bank over the upper portion of said inner wall surface of the storage tank as a result of a cooling effect provided by said set of cooling coils.