Beer gun problems...

[WaltG]

Ok. So I have a beer gun. Problem I'm having is when I fill it just foams all over the ****ing place. I purged keg and set to less than 1 psi. I can't even fill the bottle because it just pours foam all over. Keg has been at 40f at 14psi so should be 2.6 vol.

I have about 6ft hose on the beer side. Do I just need to go to like 15ft. Wasted like 2 gallons of beer so far and I'm pretty pissed.

Help me before I drink too many homebrews.

 

[Staylow]

I have 10 ft of line on mine and have minimal issues.

 

[WaltG]

I have 10 ft of line on mine and have minimal issues.

Will have to try that. These people that say they fill at like 5psi I think are filthy liars.

 

[d3track]

Are the bottles warm?

 

[WaltG]

Are the bottles warm?

Room temp.

 

[d3track]

Room temp.

Try chilling them, that helps

 

[WaltG]

Try chilling them, that helps

Starsan work ok cold?

 

[d3track]

Yup, it’s recommended to mix with cool water

 

[day_trippr]

Pretty sure the Blichmann gun came with 10 feet of 3/16" ID beer line, I'd consider that the minimum.
Cold, wet bottles are least likely to cause issues. Fill a tub with cold water/Star San mix, sink the bottles therein, pull out a few at a time to fill.
Also, dropping the keg pressure precipitously is just inviting out-gassing - it's the pressure that held the CO2 in solution, after all.
Rather than dropping the keg pressure, use more beer line...

Cheers!

 

[aamcle]

If your going to use a beer gun, I hate mine, you need that horribly long tube and both the bottles and the beer must be COLD.

If you don't use the tube and/or your bottles and beer isn't cold then the foaming is inevitable.

Get the beer down to say 5°C, put the bottles in the freezer and take them out as you go.

I'm close to completing a proper counter pressure filler and stand.


Good Luck. aamcle

 

[radwizard]

I'm not having any issues with mine. I have a Blichmann, and use the same hose it came with (I think it is 8-10 ft). The last beer I bottled was a highly carbed Berliner. I always drop the keg close to 32F, and drop the pressure to less then 5. I soak the bottles in cold water before filling.

 

[aamcle]

As I said cold beer n cold bottles = good job.

aamcle

 

[WaltG]

Ok. I don't know what else to do. I went to a 15ft line, cold bottles, less than 1psi. Only thing I can think of is I have CO2 tank refrigerated and it's thrown my carbonation all to ****. As of now that keg is dead. I wasted all but about 1 gallon and said **** it and dumped the rest. Your thoughts please...

 

[AzOr]

Maybe something is wrong with your regulator. In the first couple of seconds of your video, the co2 coming out sounds like a lot more than 1 psi.
I set mine at 3 or 4 psi and it doesn’t make that much air noise.

 

[WaltG]

Maybe something is wrong with your regulator. In the first couple of seconds of your video, the co2 coming out sounds like a lot more than 1 psi.
I set mine at 3 or 4 psi and it doesn’t make that much air noise.

How to test it?

 

[AzOr]

Not sure. Wish I could be more help.
When I have my gun set at 3psi, it feels like it takes forever to fill the bottle with beer.
Is there another brewer in your area you could swap with?

 

[chickypad]

Maybe something is wrong with your regulator. In the first couple of seconds of your video, the co2 coming out sounds like a lot more than 1 psi.
I set mine at 3 or 4 psi and it doesn’t make that much air noise.

I think it has to be this. I have zero foam with cold bottles, 10 ft line, and 3-4 psi. There is a small hiss when purging the bottles (not forceful like yours) and then it takes maybe a good 10 secs to fill a 12 oz bottle.

 

[AzOr]

Keep us posted. I got the Blichmann gun for a present and I love the thing. I’m not sure I woulda bought it for myself. But now that I have it, I use it quite a bit.

 

[Blazinlow86]

I haven't used my alot or recently but it sure seemed to be coming out too fast

 

[bpgreen]

Are you purging the keg first?

 

[Nagorg]

+1 on good results with the Beer Gun. I use the length of tubing it came with and while I've never measured it, 10' seems right. I do bleed pressure off the keg and then set 5psi for running through the gun. I always use bottles at room temp and haven't had foaming problems.

I agree with others, looks (and sounds) like your using more than 5 psi. My bottles dont fill anywhere near that fast.. What kinda of regulator are you using?

 

[Minky]

I have never used the Beer Gun, but this method works for me. I use about 8" of 1/4" ID tubing that has an OD of about 3/8". It fits nicely in the spout of a picnic tap. My bottles have been flushed with Starsan and at room temperature. The keg is at about 35 degrees. I turn the regulator down to a couple pounds and purge the keg. Then I place the tube at the bottom of the bottle and fully depress the tap lever. I then make adjustments to the regulator pressure until it flows at the desired rate. When the bottle is reaching the level I want, I release the tap lever a little which tops it off with a little foam to cap on. Depending on how many bottles you are filling, the keg may build up enough head pressure to cause a little foaming, so the keg may need purged again.

I have never had foaming problems with this method.

Edit: Oh yeah, I forgot to say that my beer lines are about 12' long.

 

[STMF]

I see only 2 possibilities.

1. You didnt purge the keg.
2. You used 1 bar instead of 1 psi.

 

[jmcquesten]

Will have to try that. These people that say they fill at like 5psi I think are filthy liars.

I agree. I fill mine at between 10-15 psi depending on what I have the beer carbonated to.

 

[jmcquesten]

If your going to use a beer gun, I hate mine, you need that horribly long tube and both the bottles and the beer must be COLD.

If you don't use the tube and/or your bottles and beer isn't cold then the foaming is inevitable.

Get the beer down to say 5°C, put the bottles in the freezer and take them out as you go.

I'm close to completing a proper counter pressure filler and stand.


Good Luck. aamcle

I just finished my counter pressure filler. I haven't posted it for comments yet, but it works really well. I also came up with a better attachment solution. I haven't seen anything like it yet.

 

[jmcquesten]

I see only 2 possibilities.

1. You didnt purge the keg.
2. You used 1 bar instead of 1 psi.

Purging the keg CAUSES foam.

1 psi allows the dissolved co2 to rush out of the beer turning it into a foamy mess.

 

[WaltG]

Purging the keg CAUSES foam.

1 psi allows the dissolved co2 to rush out of the beer turning it into a foamy mess.

But there's no way in hell I can fill at 10psi...

 

[jmcquesten]

But there's no way in hell I can fill at 10psi...

With enough beer line, anything is possible. I settled on 20 ft and was able to bottle at my serving pressure (without purging keg). But I just abandoned my beergun for a proper counter pressure filler.

If you want to be extra safe, go with 25 ft.

 

[NGD]

Maybe something is wrong with your regulator. In the first couple of seconds of your video, the co2 coming out sounds like a lot more than 1 psi.
I set mine at 3 or 4 psi and it doesn’t make that much air noise.

How to test it?

I agree with AzOr. The pressure coming out sounds much higher than stated. You didn't happen to get the regulator from Midwest or Northern by any chance?

 

[WaltG]

I agree with AzOr. The pressure coming out sounds much higher than stated. You didn't happen to get the regulator from Midwest or Northern by any chance?

Def not NB, **** inbev!! But still cheap.

https://www.kegoutlet.com/hk7110-basic-homebrew-keg-kit-20oz-co2-ball-lock.html

 

[day_trippr]

That rig looks like it has a Chudnow regulator. I use a bunch of them, a couple are almost 15 years old now.
No issues, aside from having to use a screw driver to adjust them (I do like the knobs on my Taprite and Micro Matic regs)...

Cheers!

 

[NeoBrew]

I agree with the sound of your CO2 sounding much faster than 1psi.

I had a few struggles with my beer gun when I first got it, but nothing like what you are going through.

Purging the keg is essential IMHO. If it is cold and you purge it gently it will not foam in the keg.

I spray star San in the bottle with a spray bottle, then turn it upside down in a fast rack and put it in the deep freeze. I actually work on a cutting board over the top of my deep freeze right next to my kegerator. I pull out one bottle at a time so they stay cold. Some are frozen by the time I finish.

I also put all the beer line into the kegerator or deep freeze to keep that cold. The beer gun goes in a pitcher down in my freezer between bottles.

When I fill at 1-2 psi it takes significant time to fill a bottle. Maybe 15-20 seconds?

I sometimes get 1/2” to 1” of foam at the top of the bottle when I have things going well. I cap on that foam and seal it up right away.

 

[jmcquesten]

I agree with the sound of your CO2 sounding much faster than 1psi.

I had a few struggles with my beer gun when I first got it, but nothing like what you are going through.

Purging the keg is essential IMHO. If it is cold and you purge it gently it will not foam in the keg.

I spray star San in the bottle with a spray bottle, then turn it upside down in a fast rack and put it in the deep freeze. I actually work on a cutting board over the top of my deep freeze right next to my kegerator. I pull out one bottle at a time so they stay cold. Some are frozen by the time I finish.

I also put all the beer line into the kegerator or deep freeze to keep that cold. The beer gun goes in a pitcher down in my freezer between bottles.

When I fill at 1-2 psi it takes significant time to fill a bottle. Maybe 15-20 seconds?

I sometimes get 1/2” to 1” of foam at the top of the bottle when I have things going well. I cap on that foam and seal it up right away.

What does 1 psi sound like? And, how does the pressure of the purge co2 have anything to do with the foam? The co2 that is being sprayed into the bottle could be at any pressure, and doesn't necessarily equal whatever the keg pressure is set at. I used a separate (5 lb co2 tank) for the purge line on the beer gun while keeping the keg connected to my 20 lb main tank. The pressure that would matter would be the keg being bottled from, and by the looks of it, the flow rate seems pretty low as indicated by the foam (bubbles) you can clearly see moving through the line.

The purging of the keg, along with lowering the pressure is a good way to get a lot of foam and flat beer in a week or 3 when opening the bottles.

 

[NeoBrew]

1 psi sounds like a gentle blowing of breath? Hard to describe! lol. You are right though, the pressure that you purge with doesn't matter, it's what pressure the keg is at that is pushing the beer through the line.

It's really hard to tell the speed of the beer in the line. It looks very fast to me. Now that you mention it the beer is coming through the line already foamy. What ever is causing the foaming isn't in the bottle, it's upstream. Some ideas might include....

• Warm beer line
• a bad poppet in the keg
• Some other obstruction or bend somewhere that is causing turbulence and foaming
• A loose fitting on the line somewhere that is letting air in. (I've never understood how this can let air in. You would think it would spill beer out, right? I have this on my sanke keg adapter. If I don't get it just right it causes a lot of foaming in my beer lines.)
  
• Other?

 

[killian]

That beer is moving fast, I’d try releasing the head pressure. Pull your pressure release valve before you attach your gas to the keg.

 

[WaltG]

Update time (Yay)9

Didn't change anything on regulator but swapped gauge with one from local shop. Old gauge showed 10psi, new one 20psi. So if they should have read the same I carbed that blonde at 25psi or 3.6vol vs my 2.8 vol target.

 

[Nagorg]

FWIW, I haven't had any problems from bleeding keg pressure prior to setting 5 psi for use with the beer gun. Not even with the carb level for the beer I bottled with it.

I slowly release the pressure instead of doing it quickly. This has to help prevent a sudden release of CO2, pretty much like the difference in opening a 2L soda bottle slowly -vs- quickly.

And I've read many comments that suggest your beer wont be good for long when bottled via the beer gun. I think most concerns are from oxygen staling and/or CO2 loss as compared to supposed better results with a counter pressure filler. BUT... My results are different. I enjoyed a beer last night that was bottled ~8 months ago with my beer gun and it had great carbonation and tasted excellent. Made me want to brew that beer again. I also have a few Imperial Stouts left that I bottled in Q1 of 2016. The one I opened over Christmas was fantastic and that beer keeps getting better over time despite having been bottled with my beer gun.

Just wanted to throw that out there... I couldn't be happier with mine and I'm sure that WaltG will have a better experience once things get dialed in.

 

[WaltG]

Our long national nightmare is over. Thank you all for your help. Especially about it sounding like higher psi than it was. You guys are awesome!!

 

[James Delaney]

I've had similar issues (two brews worked fine, two froth up badly). How did you fix yours WaltG? Was it just a new regulator and actually carbing at 10 psi (rather than the 20 it seemed to be with the new regulator)? What technique did you use? I'm trying to work out what I'm doing wrong without wasting too much of my precious brew!

Thanks