Foam problem to no head now

[esabasard]

When I got my kegerator I had foam problems. I have replaced line with 12' 3/16" and the regulator to a taprite. Now I don't get any head on the pour, even if it is straight down into the glass. I am at 37° and 12 psi. Do I just need to crank up the pressure? Where I am now is in the yellow on the carb chart. I am hesitant to turn it up more because I don't want to go back to where I was previously.

 

[Bensiff]

12' is a pretty long run of line, you might want to redo your calculations. Off the top of my head, I my lines are around 4', in a kegerator that I hold around 35 degrees, and 8 psi on the beer.

Is the beer fully carbed? May be as simple as it needs a few more days to carb up, or you have a bunch of beer sitting in that 12' line that loses carbonation so you need to pour off that first bit to get the carbonation right.

 

[day_trippr]

Fwiw, 12' of 3/16" id beer line holds less than 2 ounces of brew. And beer in the line shouldn't lose carbonation - except from breakout if the lines are warmer than the keg.

I'd also suspect the carbonation isn't complete...

Cheers!

 

[k1ngl1ves]

Obligatory "sounds like you married that kegerator" comment...

 

[esabasard]

I'll give it a little longer before I adjust anything to be sure carbonation is complete. The last keg in there was a nut brown and it was the same way into the end of the keg though.

 

[zachattack]

No head is not the same as no carbonation. If the beer is nicely carbonated, I'd start to look at the cleanliness of your glassware.

 

[Bobby_M]

We don't know if you should wait longer for it to carb up because we don't know how long it's been on the gas. I'll just say that it takes about 2.5 weeks to get to equilibrium if you start at chart pressure. If it's been less than 2 weeks, you have a bit to go. If you can't form a head in the glass by dropping the glass down a few inches and pouring straight into the bottom down the barrel, it's not carbed yet. See, when your serving line is too wide or too short, the huge amount of foam generated is a combination of CO2 coming out of solution and also foam being created simply by being shotgunned out of the nozzle.

 

[esabasard]

I has been on the CO2 since 6/21, so about 3 weeks now. It does seem to be pouring better. Does 12 psi seem about right? I don't want to make foam bombs again by cranking it way too high.

 

[Yooper]

I has been on the CO2 since 6/21, so about 3 weeks now. It does seem to be pouring better. Does 12 psi seem about right? I don't want to make foam bombs again by cranking it way too high.

Mine is 12 psi at 40 degrees. It's about perfect for me. Since yours is a bit colder, it may end up a bit more carbed than mine but it still should be right in the ballpark.