BPal75
Well-Known Member
So I have a strange phenomenon going on right now in my new kegerator. I have a 3 tap tower setup with a 3 way gas manifold hooked into my regulator to run all 3 kegs. I have 2 kegs hooked up right now for the first time, and I noticed that one keg seems well carbonated and pours perfectly with a nice head level. The other keg comes out of the tap all foam even after pouring into 3 pint glasses. I have my regulator set to 9 PSI and my temps at 41F, which should get my to about 2.2 Volumes.
My understanding of the system and physics in general is that with the regulator set to 9 PSI, both kegs should equally pressurize the same, so I can't figure out why one keg would be producing so much more foam then the other. I took temperature readings in my keg and noticed a glass of water was 41F at the bottom, 43F sitting on top of my keg, and 45F coming out of the tap. Could a 4 degree differential be causing that much of a foaming issue? That still doesn't explain why my 2nd keg pours perfectly.
The only thought I had was that the keg that pours perfectly is hooked into the gas line on the manifold port furthest from the regulator, whereas the foamy keg is hooked into the gas line on the manifold port closest to the regulator. Could this be causing a problem? Doesn't seem like it should but I can't think of any other possibilities and it's driving me crazy since I basically can't drink from the one keg. (The foam is really that bad, literally no beer flows into a 16 oz pint glass.)
I have 5 foot lines, but according to the beer line length and pressure calculators I've seen, this should be plenty long enough for 41F at 9 PSI on my system. The calculators only say I need 39" at that temperature and pressure.
Any thoughts? I'm really at a dead end on this one.
My understanding of the system and physics in general is that with the regulator set to 9 PSI, both kegs should equally pressurize the same, so I can't figure out why one keg would be producing so much more foam then the other. I took temperature readings in my keg and noticed a glass of water was 41F at the bottom, 43F sitting on top of my keg, and 45F coming out of the tap. Could a 4 degree differential be causing that much of a foaming issue? That still doesn't explain why my 2nd keg pours perfectly.
The only thought I had was that the keg that pours perfectly is hooked into the gas line on the manifold port furthest from the regulator, whereas the foamy keg is hooked into the gas line on the manifold port closest to the regulator. Could this be causing a problem? Doesn't seem like it should but I can't think of any other possibilities and it's driving me crazy since I basically can't drink from the one keg. (The foam is really that bad, literally no beer flows into a 16 oz pint glass.)
I have 5 foot lines, but according to the beer line length and pressure calculators I've seen, this should be plenty long enough for 41F at 9 PSI on my system. The calculators only say I need 39" at that temperature and pressure.
Any thoughts? I'm really at a dead end on this one.
