dialing in keg pressure

[Brewhemoth]

Hi all,

sorry if this should go somewhere else - i am new to the forum and not sure what protocol is. I have had a keg for a while and finally got a fridge. Like most new keggers, i am having foam trouble.

firstly I have a ball lock Corny. For now i just use a picnic tap (little plastic guy) . i was pouring foam for a while so i ordered a what i thought was a longer version of the same beer line (1 Meter). turns out it is super narrow and ibelieve it to be 3/16” ID plastic beer line with 2.7 resistance.

according to my calculations (http://www.brewersfriend.com/2009/0...our-kegged-beer-co2-line-length-and-pressure/ ) i need another 2" to balance the system.

the question is: can i simply dial back the pressure on my regulator until it stops pouring foam, or do I really need to get a longer line? Is there a way to get the beer carbonated enough without having to buy a new line? the issue is that i don't have a shop near me and the customer service for ordering online leaves something to be desired. if i just dial back the pressure, does that mean it will stop foaming, but the beer will not be carbonated to the correct level?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Brewhemoth]

ps. Keg is sitting at roughly 37 F (3C), beer line is 3/16" (i think!) and about 3.2' long. desired Co2 volume is about 2.1

 

[zachattack]

2.1 volumes is on the low side, but I assume you're happy with that To maintain that carb level you should set the regulator to about 7 psi if you're at 37 degrees.

How did you carbonate the keg? If it's truly equilibrated at 2.1 volumes (ex. if you left it carbonating for 2 weeks at 7 psi), lowering the pressure will increase foaming as the CO2 comes out of solution in the line in order to balance the pressure.

You need a longer line. The line length calculators are flawed for our uses, for a number of reasons. The only drawback of a longer line is that you'll pour a bit slower, but it will drastically reduce foaming.

If you only plan on serving at relatively low carbonation levels like this, you can probably get away with a 7-8 foot line (3/16" ID). Most of us have found somewhere in the neighborhood of a 10 foot line works fine for most carbonation levels.

The bottom line is, if you want to properly serve your beer you'll need a longer line. You can briefly drop the pressure to pour, then turn it back up to maintain carbonation, but this is a sloppy and wasteful technique. A new line will only cost you a couple bucks.

 

[Brewhemoth]

Sweet! Thanks a lot for the good advice. Will order ten feet I think

 

[Brewhemoth]

So i ended up getting 5 Meters of 1/4" lining. do i still use about 10 Feet, or can i shorten the length now?

 

[Bobby_M]

With 1/4” you actually need way more length... like 20 feet. Stick with 10 ft of 3/16"

 

[Brewhemoth]

trying very hard not to swear right now that was just silly of me then. we are about 1.9/2 meters short then. I think i will go for the full 5 Meters and a slightly less carbonated beer for right now. i thought i hd read that the fatter lines are less likely to pull Co2 out of solution so thought i would need less length. my connection to the tap is 1/4" so i got that instead of the 6/13 because although it fit, that was quite tight.

 

[Yooper]

trying very hard not to swear right now that was just silly of me then. we are about 1.9/2 meters short then. I think i will go for the full 5 Meters and a slightly less carbonated beer for right now. i thought i hd read that the fatter lines are less likely to pull Co2 out of solution so thought i would need less length. my connection to the tap is 1/4" so i got that instead of the 6/13 because although it fit, that was quite tight.

If you start with 12' of 3/16" line, that will probably be all you need for both higher and lower carb levels. You can probably go up to 2.8 volumes of c02 with 12' lines and no foaming.

1/4" lines are for long runs- like at a bar where the kegs are far away from the taps. For shorter runs, 3/16" ID is the size you want.

 

[Brewhemoth]

back to the drawing board on the tubing. Will let you know how it works out once i get it. Thanks Yooper