How do you guys go about balancing your setup with this line? I can't seem to find an accurate figure for the resistance on this stuff. Currently I have 18' of 3/16" line mated to intertap flow control faucets. The pour is always extremely foamy. In order to get a drinkable pour I have the flow control almost all the way down. I was going to start with 30' and work my way down, but figured I'd see if anyone has any experience with this.
Bev Seal Ultra draft lines
- Thread starter Rlawlyes
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Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
Keezer or kegerator?
Do you run a small fan inside 24/7 to keep things stirred up/prevent stratification?
What method do you use to carbonate your kegs?
If you pour a second beer within a few minutes of the first, is the pour any better?
Ultra 235 being sold as 3/16" ID is actually 1/5" ID and while the difference from that to a true 3/16" seems tiny it's enough that combined with the slick PET liner most folks do run around 18 feet of it if not a bit more for a typically carbed beer (say, 2.4-2.5 volumes of CO2). If you're running higher carbonated beers (of which there are many styles with volumes up through 4 and higher) everything needs to be scaled appropriately.
As an aside, I would use Mike Soltie's calculator and add another 50% to whatever it comes up with. But at 18 feet you're pretty much where most seem to end up. So perhaps there's some other issue.
If you haven't yet, next time you go for a pour, check the beer lines first. Are they filled with bubbles - maybe quite large ones?
If the lines appear clear, pour a beer and check the lines again. Are they filled with foam?
Cheers!
Do you run a small fan inside 24/7 to keep things stirred up/prevent stratification?
What method do you use to carbonate your kegs?
If you pour a second beer within a few minutes of the first, is the pour any better?
Ultra 235 being sold as 3/16" ID is actually 1/5" ID and while the difference from that to a true 3/16" seems tiny it's enough that combined with the slick PET liner most folks do run around 18 feet of it if not a bit more for a typically carbed beer (say, 2.4-2.5 volumes of CO2). If you're running higher carbonated beers (of which there are many styles with volumes up through 4 and higher) everything needs to be scaled appropriately.
As an aside, I would use Mike Soltie's calculator and add another 50% to whatever it comes up with. But at 18 feet you're pretty much where most seem to end up. So perhaps there's some other issue.
If you haven't yet, next time you go for a pour, check the beer lines first. Are they filled with bubbles - maybe quite large ones?
If the lines appear clear, pour a beer and check the lines again. Are they filled with foam?
Cheers!
brew703
Well-Known Member
Get rid of those lines and get the EVA barrier lines. You will use have the length. Someone also suggested using the Kegland flow control disconnects but haven't tried that.
I used the same ones you have. I didn't have a huge issue with foaming. I had 12' lines and got tired of having issues with coiling the tubing.
I do have a fan although not sure how much effect it has. Keezer temp is set at 35 but beer pours closer to 40.
Try rinsing your glass first with cold water. Also, pour a couple ounces and drink. Then pour a pint and see if that helps.
Also check the poppets to make sure there is no hop debris.
I used the same ones you have. I didn't have a huge issue with foaming. I had 12' lines and got tired of having issues with coiling the tubing.
I do have a fan although not sure how much effect it has. Keezer temp is set at 35 but beer pours closer to 40.
Try rinsing your glass first with cold water. Also, pour a couple ounces and drink. Then pour a pint and see if that helps.
Also check the poppets to make sure there is no hop debris.
I would remove a couple of your faucets, and tear them down to do an in depth visual inspection to check for anything that could be a nucleation site. There are have been some historical reports of intertaps with poor castings and poor finishing with rough surfaces.
I have 1/4" ID bev seal ultra 235 tubing on my 14 faucets with perlick 650ss flow control faucets from the coffin box. My setup is a bit unique, I suppose. I have some lines that are a bit more foamy than others, but I am generally satisfied with the pour that I get, considering that the shanks and faucets are at room temp in the unchilled coffin box from the walk-in cooler.
I have the 650ss because of the 1/4" ID tubing (I had converted to 3/8" OD tubing fittings many years before, so I was committed to that tubing OD size, which meant I needed to use 1/4" ID bev seal tubing). Since I was using 1/4" ID tubing, I needed the flow control in order to be able to have the necessary restriction necessary for decent pours without having 50 ft of tubing per faucet (which for 14 faucets, is a LOT of tubing).
All that to say, if your flow control faucets are working as they should, you should be able to easily balance your system, so if you are having issues, you need to examine your entire setup to ensure that you aren't following a red herring.
I will say that an issue that I have run in to is with debris flowing through the lines that clog the flow control mechanism. This causes reduced flow and increased foaming.
Also, if you have foaming in your lines themselves, then you need to also check your kegs, the dip tube, poppets, disconnects, etc. If the foam is starting at the keg, that will cause foam all the way through.
I have 1/4" ID bev seal ultra 235 tubing on my 14 faucets with perlick 650ss flow control faucets from the coffin box. My setup is a bit unique, I suppose. I have some lines that are a bit more foamy than others, but I am generally satisfied with the pour that I get, considering that the shanks and faucets are at room temp in the unchilled coffin box from the walk-in cooler.
I have the 650ss because of the 1/4" ID tubing (I had converted to 3/8" OD tubing fittings many years before, so I was committed to that tubing OD size, which meant I needed to use 1/4" ID bev seal tubing). Since I was using 1/4" ID tubing, I needed the flow control in order to be able to have the necessary restriction necessary for decent pours without having 50 ft of tubing per faucet (which for 14 faucets, is a LOT of tubing).
All that to say, if your flow control faucets are working as they should, you should be able to easily balance your system, so if you are having issues, you need to examine your entire setup to ensure that you aren't following a red herring.
I will say that an issue that I have run in to is with debris flowing through the lines that clog the flow control mechanism. This causes reduced flow and increased foaming.
Also, if you have foaming in your lines themselves, then you need to also check your kegs, the dip tube, poppets, disconnects, etc. If the foam is starting at the keg, that will cause foam all the way through.
The_Bishop
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I'll throw in a recommendation to switch to the EVABarrier tubing as well. My old setup had the Bev Seal Ultra tubing, which while it was great from a barrier point of view, it absolutely sucked from a length of line needed and flexibility point of view.
I swapped out the 16'-17' of BevSealUltra to 5' of the 4mm (5/32) id EVA Barrier tubing. Pours are great, and it's pretty nice to not wrangle big coils of line when loading or unloading kegs. It's also pretty nice that there's only .6-.7 of an ounce of beer in the line as opposed to 3+ ounces.
I swapped out the 16'-17' of BevSealUltra to 5' of the 4mm (5/32) id EVA Barrier tubing. Pours are great, and it's pretty nice to not wrangle big coils of line when loading or unloading kegs. It's also pretty nice that there's only .6-.7 of an ounce of beer in the line as opposed to 3+ ounces.
Thanks everyone for the input, I think I figured it out. The flow control mechanism was clogged with strawberries. I have 18'/20' on all of my faucets and I am now happy with the pour. I have three fans in the keezer that all point different directions so my temps are pretty even throughout.
I love happy endings, especially ones that involve drinking home brew! 
Cheers!
Cheers!
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