Always foaming at high psi

[mc1719]

Hi, I got a kegerator with two taps on top. One line is dedicated to a pils at about 11 psi while the other to a weizen at about 21 psi. Temp is set at 37 °F.
Pils hose is 9' long 5/16 od and I never had foam problems. The other line, same diameter, but long 25' is always foaming. Weizen appears flat and warmer than pils. All the line is inside the refrigerator so its length shouldn't affect the temp. The problem is not related to this single keg but to all beer carbonated at 20 psi. All kegs carbonated with set and forget method. Switching the faucet doesn't solve the problem. Am I hopeless??!!!!

 

[P-J]

IMHO 25' of line is really long (about right for the carb level - but) and allows for some foaming during the initial part of the pour. Then as you pour more through the foam it creates more foam.

An easy way to fix this is outlined in this thread:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/cure-your-short-hose-troubles-100151/

It works very well for me and allows me to use shorter beverage lines on the taps.

 

[shortyjacobs]

What's the ID of your line?

 

[mc1719]

4 mm

 

[mc1719]

So it seems it is impossible to balance a 20 psi line just using the correct amount of hose. It is correct? Are the mixer nozzles the only solution? Are they available in europe? Thanks in advance!

 

[Yooper]

So it seems it is impossible to balance a 20 psi line just using the correct amount of hose. It is correct? Are the mixer nozzles the only solution? Are they available in europe? Thanks in advance!

You can do it, as I have served soda at 30 psi at 40 degrees with 30' of line and no foaming.

 

[shortyjacobs]

You can do it, as I have served soda at 30 psi at 40 degrees with 30' of line and no foaming.

Ditto. For me, the # is 1 foot per PSI. Doesn't agree with the calculators, but works for me.

 

[berkeleyjack]

An easy way to fix this is outlined in this thread:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/cure-your-short-hose-troubles-100151/

It works very well for me and allows me to use shorter beverage lines on the taps.

OMG!

How have I never seen that before?!?
I usually keep a keg of soda @ 30psi for the kiddies, but always have problems with foaming even with a really long line. Can't wait to try this out! Thanks!

 

[mc1719]

Ditto. For me, the # is 1 foot per PSI. Doesn't agree with the calculators, but works for me.

Is it possible that foam is due to a line too long ?

 

[Redman1340]

Is it possible that foam is due to a line too long ?

Very new to this so I was wondering if the ID of the hose has anything to do with it. I have 3/16 right now. Do I lengthen the hose and move up to 5/16 hose?

 

[day_trippr]

The ID of the hose has everything to do with balancing keg pressure with serving pressure at the faucet.

fwiw, the "1 foot per psi" rule is for standard vinyl 3/16" ID hose - but even then it's actually closer to .9 psi per foot for that, and it gets even lower for high-end 3/16" ID hose (like the fancy lined Bev-lex stuff that was the subject of the group buy recently).

A 21psi brew would usually need something like 20-25 feet of standard vinyl to avoid the dreaded foam, but the OP's 4mm ID is like 5/32" ID - smaller than the 3/16" most folks use. I don't know what the pressure drop per foot for that would be, but I'd expect it to be quite a bit higher than .9-1 psi.

Wondering whether there's a faucet issue, or perhaps the Out poppet on the foamy keg isn't opening all the way. I'd at least try switching the faucets, then QDs, then Out posts, to see if the problem can be moved, and go from there...

Cheers!