Balance Kegging System

[ImperialDrHops]

I purchased a new dual tap keggerator in January and hooked up a commercial keg and a corny keg and all was good. I set pressure at 12 psi and it was a bit foamy so I reduced to 8-10 and was much better. I finished both kegs with no problems.

I got another commercial keg and it's fine. I hooked up the other line to a corny and carbonated at 10 psi for 5 days. Unfortunately the beer is 90% foam and after settling, it tastes flat. I tried lowering the pressure but same thing happens. I noticed that the line itself is all foam so it appears the CO2 is being released while traveling through the line.

I started reading about balancing a kegging system and my fridge is 38 degrees. Strangely, my beer is 43 degrees. I tested using a cup of water in various positions in the fridge which all said 38 degrees. I placed a glass in the fridge and let come to temp and poured a beer and it was 43. Not sure what's going on there... My faucets are about 2.5-3 ft above center of keg, 5 ft of 3/16 diameter line. If I want 2.6 volumes of CO2, I should have 4 ft of line. I read on various threads here and elsewhere people always saying keggerators need 10 feet of line, but the calculations say otherwise.

Is this another case of just needing more line? I'm ordering tomorrow just to test it out since they are cheap.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

So Are you saying the commercial kegs are working fine and the corny is foam?
What are you ordering tomorrow?
Could be an obstruction in the one line causing turbulence and breakout

You could switch the corny and sanke lines and see if the issue follows the line or not.
Why not just get another sanke and call it a day?
I switched to sanke kegs and never looked back. I'm convinced the design of the sanke makes for hassle free pours as they are made for beer not soda.

Also there is only one line calculator that people trust....someone will post it

 

[day_trippr]

My pleasure
http://www.mikesoltys.com/2012/09/17/determining-proper-hose-length-for-your-kegerator/

Or, just use 1 foot of 3/16" ID line per CO2 psi and you'll be in good shape.

Also, refer to our favorite carbonation table to make sure you're setting your pressure appropriately to begin with. Find your beer temperature on the Y-axis, scan across that row to the Volumes Of CO2 value you desire (hint: 2.4-2.5 is fairly typical for pale ales) and run up that column to find the right pressure to use.

Then tune your beer line length accordingly.

You can expect the beer in your glass to be at least a handful of degrees warmer than what's in the keg, due to thermal effects induced by faucets at the minimum, and beer lines if they're not at the same temperature as the beer.

To that end, a small DC powered fan running 24/7 set to stir up the air inside the cabinet will help keep everything therein at the same temperature...

Cheers!

 

[TWAL]

10 psi for 5 days (@ 38-43 º) is too low,too short a time.
You'll need a 3-4 weeks at those settings to get to where you want to be.
At 10-12 psi it takes me roughly 3 weeks to get a keg to proper levels w/ my kegerator set to 34-35º.
The gas isn't dissolving,that's why you're pushing foamy flat beer,nothing to do w/ the lines.
Get the fridge temp down to 35 to get the co2 dissolved quicker.

You also may want to have the gas set higher for the 1st 48 hrs if you're looking to carb the keg in a shorter period of time,25-35 psi then drop it down to 10 +/- for a couple weeks,don't rush it,it will be much better.

You're also going to need to pull the commercial keg off the gas when you up the psi,without 2 regulators you can't run them both at the same time above serving pressure otherwise you will over carb the commercial keg.

 

[day_trippr]

fwiw, I follow the green line - I have an extra fridge for conditioning and holding kegs - and for a full corny my experience tracks perfectly...

Cheers!

 

[ImperialDrHops]

Wow, thanks for all this! I haven't ordered the line yet so I'll just lower the temp and up the pressure and wait. Probably invest in a fan to circulate as the temp inside the fridge does tend to fluctuate especially from back to front. Very interesting about how much warmer it gets simply from keg to glass.

 

[ImperialDrHops]

UPDATE:
It's been three weeks and I am still experiencing the same problem. I initially cranked up the psi to 30 and rolled the keg on my lap for a few minutes and after 24 hours dropped it down to 12. I left it there for two weeks and took a pour. Same thing. 1 more week and same thing.

So now after 4 weeks in the keg the beer is barely carbed (the little amount of beer I can get actually has a few bubbles but it still tastes mostly flat) and pours with almost 95% foam.

I tried lengthening the line to 10 feet and same issue, except now in the line there is a ton of air. But the main issue remains, the beer coming out of the keg is all foam.

Any clues??

 

[GilSwillBasementBrews]

Check the o-rings on the diptube? Damaged or missing ones can allow co2 from the headspace to leak into the beer line which would present with large air bubbles in the serving line. Just a guess at something to check.