CO2 buildup in line

[joshehansen]

I'm having an issue with a 1/6 barrel of commercial brew with a keg coupler on it - I'm getting CO2 building up in the line between the coupler and the faucet. It results in a pretty foamy first pour of the day, and if I let it go a few days between pours I get a couple inches of nothing but CO2 in the line.

Back story - the ball valve on my keg coupler was stuck, and I ended up cranking down pretty hard on the coupler while tapping the keg, thinking I just wasn't turning it far enough. It's possible I damaged it by turning it too hard. Any other obvious cause that I'm missing, before I go buy a new coupler?

 

[zachattack]

I see two likely possibilities:

1) your line is warmer than the keg (do you have a fan in the kegerator/keezer?)

2) you don't have the CO2 pressure high enough, so gas is coming out of the beer to equilibrate things. You can call/e-mail the brewery and ask how many volumes of CO2 they package the keg at, and set your regulator appropriately. Chances are it's up near 2.7 volumes.

 

[b-boy]

I had this problem a few years ago. It turned out to be a bad sanke tap.

 

[joshehansen]

Thanks for the replies! I do have a fan in my keezer, so temperature probably isn't the issue.

As for the regulator, I wasn't sure how high to set it since the keg was already carbonated, so I just dialed in enough psi to keep pushing the beer out - no more than about 5 psi. I'll crank it up to 15 psi (for 2.5 volumes at 45 degrees F) and see if the problem continues.

If it does, sounds like I should try a new keg coupler.

 

[Grannyknot]

co2 coming out of the beer.
Raise your gas pressure to properly maintain the volumes of co2 the beer was carbed at in order to balance the system.
It will likely take several days to correct itself.

 

[zachattack]

Thanks for the replies! I do have a fan in my keezer, so temperature probably isn't the issue.

As for the regulator, I wasn't sure how high to set it since the keg was already carbonated, so I just dialed in enough psi to keep pushing the beer out - no more than about 5 psi. I'll crank it up to 15 psi (for 2.5 volumes at 45 degrees F) and see if the problem continues.

If it does, sounds like I should try a new keg coupler.

Oh yeah, 5 PSI will definitely do it. If it's carbed up to 2.7 volumes it'll drop down to 2.5 eventually and the foaming will even out. I've had very good luck asking breweries for specific carb levels, most are happy to answer since it means you'll be serving their beer as they intended!

It could be the coupler, but that's much less likely.

 

[DrunkleJon]

Thanks for the replies! I do have a fan in my keezer, so temperature probably isn't the issue.

As for the regulator, I wasn't sure how high to set it since the keg was already carbonated, so I just dialed in enough psi to keep pushing the beer out - no more than about 5 psi. I'll crank it up to 15 psi (for 2.5 volumes at 45 degrees F) and see if the problem continues.

If it does, sounds like I should try a new keg coupler.

Just up the pressure until you no longer see bubbles appearing in the lines. How long are your beer lines? If they are short 5 feet and under I would consider increasing them to 8-12 feet so that you dont only have foamy pours. It is best to start long and chop down if it pours too slowly since it is hard to lenghten a line that is already cut.

 

[patthebrewer]

Just up the pressure until you no longer see bubbles appearing in the lines. How long are your beer lines? If they are short 5 feet and under I would consider increasing them to 8-12 feet so that you dont only have foamy pours. It is best to start long and chop down if it pours too slowly since it is hard to lenghten a line that is already cut.

+1

I had the same problem until I balanced my lines, now I start at a min of ten feet.