Need Help Balancing Draft System

[splashmike]

I have a 3 tap kegerator hooked to a 5lbs Co2 tank. My beer is generally carbed at 11 psi and the kegerator is kept at about 34 degrees F. I have used various legnths of 5/16 in beer line (from 4 -8 feet) to try and remove excess foaming but regardless of legnth I get excessive foam. I understand the general rule of thumb about 3lbs of restrictions per foot, so at 11 psi 4 lbs should be sufficient; but its no where close to doing the job. So what else is the problem here?

Should I be shutting off the Co2 to the keg before pouring? I generally don't but I have tried that on occasion and it has little effect, unless I also purge the Co2 from the keg as well. That is about the only thing that seems to reduce the foam, but also seems to waste a lot of Co2 in the process.

Any thoughts would be most appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[billl]

5/16?? Standard line is 3/16". 5/16" provides only 0.5 psi resistance per foot. Even at 8 ft, that would only be 4psi.

And I'd take those calculations with a grain of salt. Most people seem to be happiest with about 10 ft of 3/16" line on a home scale.

 

[bknifefight]

As bill said, your like is an off size. Your first step should be replacing that for 10' section of 3/16" and see if that helps.

One thing to keep in mind is you beer will be all foam if any dry hops ended up in the keg and were sucked up into the post. I have this happen sometimes with hoppy beers and thought I would mention it just in case.

 

[splashmike]

My mistake, I meant 3/16ths. Interesting that you guys are going to 10 feet. I guess I could invest in a little more tubing and see if that works. Not sure why folks are still taking about 5 feet.

 

[bknifefight]

With a well balanced system 5 feet is long enough. A lot of people have issues and the simplest solution is to just extend the length of line. I use 6 foot lines in my system but I know a lot of people on here recommend 10.

If your 8 foot line is giving you all foam, 10 foot will probably do the same. Have you bled off pressure and taken apart the liquid post to make sure there isn't any hop particles in it? That's what I would recommend checking.

 

[splashmike]

Posts are clean. That's not the issue. Not sure what you mean by a well balanced system, though.

 

[day_trippr]

Can you provide more details about your dispensing system? All we know is you're using some length of 3/16" ID beer line and you carb at 11psi.

By any practical measure, the "3 psi per foot" thing is a myth - and the reason why pre-built dispensing systems come with 5 feet of line. It's rooted in a misinterpretation of tubing specs - but it became an industry standard for pre-built kegerators and kegerator kits. Between that and "burst carbonation" practices, this forum is ten times as deep in "Foamy Beer" threads as it would be otherwise.

And you should never have to shut off CO2 to your kegs, especially to solve a dispensing problem. The "well balanced" term is appropriate in that regard, though I'll disagree with the recommended length.

More details = Better help...

Cheers!

 

[mblanks2]

Subbed

 

[PastorofMuppets]

I use 4 feet and have perfect pours every time.
ive been told repeatedly here that im lucky and it doesnt work for everyone but I dont understand why.
I think it has more to do with the method of carbing the beer as in is it burst carbed by rolling on the floor or is it set and forget at 11-14 psi for 7-10 days and then reduced to about 9 psi for serving.

That is what I do. I hook up the gas and force carb over the 7-10 days and then reduce to 9-10 ish psi and serve. My beer comes out perfect. Its not the super fasted pour on earth but an extra second or two matters very little. I use 4 ft of the cheap clear 3/16th beer line and keep my fridge at 38 ish or standard refrigerator temps.
Take that for what its worth. Like I said many people told me I am the exception and it shouldnt work, but I didnt want five 10 foot bundles of line in my kegerator, that seemed so silly and completely overkill.

 

[JuanMoore]

I use 4 feet and have perfect pours every time.
ive been told repeatedly here that im lucky and it doesnt work for everyone but I dont understand why.
I think it has more to do with the method of carbing the beer as in is it burst carbed by rolling on the floor or is it set and forget at 11-14 psi for 7-10 days and then reduced to about 9 psi for serving.

That is what I do. I hook up the gas and force carb over the 7-10 days and then reduce to 9-10 ish psi and serve. My beer comes out perfect. Its not the super fasted pour on earth but an extra second or two matters very little. I use 4 ft of the cheap clear 3/16th beer line and keep my fridge at 38 ish or standard refrigerator temps.
Take that for what its worth. Like I said many people told me I am the exception and it shouldnt work, but I didnt want five 10 foot bundles of line in my kegerator, that seemed so silly and completely overkill.

It has little to do with the carb method, and everything to do with the serving temperature and carbonation level of your beer. Most homebrewers seem to prefer slightly warmer serving temps, around 40°. The warmer or more highly carbed a beer is, the slower and gentler the pour needs to be to prevent CO2 from coming out of solution and causing excessive foam. The most common way to accomplish this is longer lines.

Anyone who told you it shouldn't work or that you're just lucky has no clue what they're talking about. You're serving your beer cold and using a moderately low carb level, so you should have no issue even with 3' of 3/16" beer line. Up your temp a couple degrees, or shoot for a high carb level, and you'll find that you need 8'+ of 3/16" ID line for the same pour.

 

[PastorofMuppets]

im just glad I dont have 50' of coiled line in my kegerator.

 

[JuanMoore]

im just glad I dont have 50' of coiled line in my kegerator.

All a matter of perspective. My 70' of beer line takes up very little space once coiled up, and allows me to serve beer at a wide variety of serving temperatures and carb levels. :shrug:

 

[day_trippr]

im just glad I dont have 50' of coiled line in my kegerator.

Here's 72 feet of 3/16" ID Bevlex-200. Does this look like a problem?

Cheers!

 

[cdoebler]

Here's 72 feet of 3/16" ID Bevlex-200. Does this look like a problem?

Cheers!

Off topic question, but what did you use for your holes on the top of your keezer. I'm about to cut mine and not sure the best type of grommet to use to keep it sealed the best.

 

[day_trippr]

Do you mean on the top of the lid?

The tower has a neoprene gasket under its flange to seal it, and the drip tray is sealed to the top with a bead of silicone just inside its perimeter.

There are no grommets anywhere on the exterior. The tower and drip tray bolt through an inch thick piece of 12"x28" board epoxied to the inside of the lid, the gas feeds go through the back edge of the lid via 1/4" MFL bulkheads, I tapped the existing AC feed to the interior dome light to drive the controller at the front of the lid, and the DC and control circuits go through the back edge via a 4 pin DIN connector.

In the liner, there's a 2.5mm/5.5mm socket for power to the fans, and a 2.1mm/5.5mm socket for the temperature probe. The drain line for the drip tray just pokes through the liner on its way to the catch bottle. The only grommets anywhere in the system are in the lid liner where the gas lines poke through, and those probably weren't necessary, but they do make the holes look cleaner...

Cheers!