Complete Newb... Kegerator questions!

[Gizzygone]

Forgive me: I know most of this has been covered, but I keep getting lost in searches for my answers!


I just purchased a kegerator (with the intent to home brew soon), and I bought a keg of Sam adams just to get enjoy the new novelty...

I was under the impression that you could just toss the beer in, set your CO2 and drink away, but my first night didn’t go so well. I purchased a nice cold keg, let it sit in the kegerator for a few hours, then tried to pour my first glass only to find tons of foam and waste (I had several pours).


Reading here, I’m finding that some people say you need to pressurize the keg at 30 PSI first? Is that just for home brew?

Also, I’m curious: if I’m not going to be drinking for a few days: is it best to keep all hooked up? Or should I be untapping the keg first?


Finally (for now!): I ordered some Cider too: will that also have the 10-12PSI rating that the beer would have?


Forgive my questions! I’m just finding myself lost amongst the forums, and can’t tell what rules/practices apply to what!

 

[mredge73]

As far as pressure goes, follow this chart.
http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php

Most beer styles do well at 2.5vol, this is your average so shoot for that.
Notice that carbonation levels are temperature dependent.
Find 2.5vol on the chart and compare to your temperature.
For example, if the kegerator is running at 38F then use 10-12 psi.
This will ensure that you never loose carbonation.

Next, how long is your liquid line?
At 10-12psi you will get some foam with a 5' line.
You need to reduce the flow, using a 10-15' liquid line will work.
Use purpose built 3/16" beverage/beer tubing.
There is a chart for this somewhere but I don't remember where it is since I switched over to flow control.

Alternately you can buy a flow control faucet and not worry about line length anymore!
Intertap SS flow control faucets are bad ass, but a little expensive.


On your note about 30psi:
Home brewers with small kegerators do this on kegs sitting outside their fridge.
Notice that on the chart you can carbonate to 2.5vol at 30psi at 65F.
My recommendation, DO NOT DO THIS. It is hard to fix over-carbonation.

 

[hezagenius]

Carbing at 30psi is a homebrew thing to get something carbed up quickly. Commercial kegs are already carbonated. You just need to hook up the CO2 to maintain carbonation. Somewhere between 10-12psi is probably sufficient, assuming your lines are long enough.

Yes, keep it hooked up. If you aren't drinking it, it won't be using any more CO2.

Foam can be due to a lot of things: lines too short, temp too high, carb too high. You probably want lines at least 10'.

The cider should be just fine at 10-12psi.

 

[pokeacow]

The kegerator i bought foams when you set it above like 8 PSI because it has fairly short beer lines. Just drop your regulator pressure to like 5psi and see if that fixes the foam. If it does then you can just adjust the pressure up by 1 or 2 at a time and see where your kegerator is happiest.

You could also buy longer beer lines but practically speaking i dont think it makes much difference. I force carb my home brew at 30psi for a day and then hook it up to the kegerator at the 8psi and it stays fully carbonated

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

A new keg swishing around in your car needs time to settle...give it a day .

Switch your faucet to Perlick flow control ASAP...It will make kegging so much better for you. It controls the flow of beer and eliminates foam issues

keep it hooked up at around 11 psi and don't unhook till its kicked

The first beer will always be foamier than the rest. The warm tower(beer in the line) forces the co2 out of the beer and creates foam. The following beers are always better. Not much you can do about that and something we all deal with

 

[Gizzygone]

Carbing at 30psi is a homebrew thing to get something carbed up quickly. Commercial kegs are already carbonated. You just need to hook up the CO2 to maintain carbonation. Somewhere between 10-12psi is probably sufficient, assuming your lines are long enough.

Yes, keep it hooked up. If you aren't drinking it, it won't be using any more CO2.

Foam can be due to a lot of things: lines too short, temp too high, carb too high. You probably want lines at least 10'.

The cider should be just fine at 10-12psi.

Thanks for the help! Clears up the confusion!

The kegerator i bought foams when you set it above like 8 PSI because it has fairly short beer lines. Just drop your regulator pressure to like 5psi and see if that fixes the foam. If it does then you can just adjust the pressure up by 1 or 2 at a time and see where your kegerator is happiest.

You could also buy longer beer lines but practically speaking i dont think it makes much difference. I force carb my home brew at 30psi for a day and then hook it up to the kegerator at the 8psi and it stays fully carbonated

I was contemplating replacing the regulator as it is.... it seems pretty flimsy... but I think I’ll swap the taps first!

A new keg swishing around in your car needs time to settle...give it a day .

Switch your faucet to Perlick flow control ASAP...It will make kegging so much better for you. It controls the flow of beer and eliminates foam issues

keep it hooked up at around 11 psi and don't unhook till its kicked

The first beer will always be foamier than the rest. The warm tower(beer in the line) forces the co2 out of the beer and creates foam. The following beers are always better. Not much you can do about that and something we all deal with

A day, huh? I guess I’ll have to order my kegs well in advance!

I was actually looking at the Intertap faucets just now: looks like they’re compatible with Cider (whereas Perlick says it isn’t).

I was wondering if maybe the temp difference between the lines and the beer would have been the issue? I let it sit 8 hours in the kegerator, but that’s some mass to equalize I guess (the supplier down the road had them all refrigerated, so it was out of refrigeration for perhaps 7 minutes! But I don’t know what they keep their temps at).

 

[hezagenius]

For high acid drinks like wine, mead, cider, etc, you want stainless taps, not chrome.

 

[Gizzygone]

For high acid drinks like wine, mead, cider, etc, you want stainless taps, not chrome.

Any recommendation as to what brand coupler to go with? Taprite? micromatic?

And do I need new lines just for the Cider?

 

[hezagenius]

Any tap that's stainless should be OK, whether it's Perlick, Micromatic, Intertap, etc.

I have a dedicated line for mead that I don't use for anything else. Personally, I wouldn't switch between beer and cider in the same line, even if you clean the line after each keg (which I also do). I'd just switch the line out after cleaning it and keep it for the next time.

I use a Micromatic Rototap for my mead and I love it. It's a little pricey ($100) but I love the design.

Just make sure to pick the faucet you like so you don't regret it later. Buy once, cry once.

 

[PapaO]

mredge73 is right. Use this for you're line.
http://www.mikesoltys.com/2012/09/17/determining-proper-hose-length-for-your-kegerator/
Lines or flow control faucet are only used to control the flow they will not stop foam, if you're system is not in balance. Do not turn down you're co2 control flow it will only cause more foam.

 

[TheBrewBrotha]

Definitely bet the culprit is too short of lines if using the set up included with your new kegerator. Manufacturers usually include 5' lines when you're definitely need 10-12ft per tap. Also, for home brewing, are you using sanke kegs, ball lock or pin lock? You will need a conversion kit to switch your lines to ball or pin lock

 

[Gizzygone]

Right now just using sanke kegs. I’d like to start brewing myself this winter if I ever finish work on the basement! But at that point I’d order new lines for whatever keg style I decide to use

I’m curious: does a flow control faucet change the need for 10’ lines?

 

[mredge73]

The long lines provide resistance, so they reduce flow.
Flow control faucet reduces flow at the tap, you can use short lines if you like.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Right now just using sanke kegs. I’d like to start brewing myself this winter if I ever finish work on the basement! But at that point I’d order new lines for whatever keg style I decide to use

I’m curious: does a flow control faucet change the need for 10’ lines?

I use sanke kegs for my homebrew. I run 4 ft lines the tower came with flow control faucets and it works great. Honestly I only use the flow control once in a while and only on the first pour. First pours of the day with a tower are always a little foamy due to the warm tower. Nothing much you can do about that.