Huge gaps in beer line?

[brew4you15]

Hey guys,

Done a lot of research on this topic, but thought it'd be helpful to post a picture of my particular situation.

Just changed a keg in my set up and I'm getting these huge gaps in my beer lines. I've tried changing the pressure, temperature etc. but can't seem to get it to work. I have another keg with the exact same variables but still doesn't have this problem, any thoughts?

I've got 10 ft. of beer line, temperature set to regulate at 38F (measured against a drinking glass of water in the keg) and set to 10 PSI

 

[HausBrauerei_Harvey]

is that a pic right after pouring or after the line has sat for a bit? if I'm pushing a beer at high co2 volume like my saison at 3.0 volumes there is foam in the pour, I cannot escape it. Thus after pouring a pint that foam in the line leaves 'gaps' like your pic shows. No big deal IMO.

Now i had one troublesome keg which was always foamy, and eventually realized the spring on the pocket had gotten into the post threads so it was causing foaming when I poured. might want to disassemble the keg and make sure the liquid poppet is ok.

 

[brew4you15]

Thanks for the reply,

Upon further investigation it looks like there are some bubbles (co2 I'm assuming) coming out of thee beer post and up into the line?

Any thoughts about why this might be happening, or is that normal?

 

[day_trippr]

Two primary causes of that phenomenon are beer carbed higher than what the dispensing temperature/pressure combination can maintain (so CO2 is gradually released by the beer to reach the lower equilibrium); and a missing or damaged O-ring under the Out dip tube flange.

If over-carbed beer is suspected, shut off the gas to the keg and latch the PRV for a day to bring the carb level down.

The O-ring does two jobs, sealing the dip tube flange to the top surface of the threaded keg riser, and sealing the inside of the Out post via expansion. If missing or damaged that O-ring will let CO2 in the keg head space to escape directly into the beer line.

You can shut off the gas, latch the PRV open, remove the Out post and diptube and replace the O-ring. Sanitize everything before reinstalling, of course...

Cheers!

 

[brew4you15]

I don't suspect overcarbed beer... I carbed at 30 psi for 24 hours and then knocked it down to 10 psi for a week before tasting.

I do know that I'm not missing an O ring, but it could be damaged I suppose, I bought the kegs used and replaced all the other O rings except for that one. I'll stop by my LHBS and try to pick up a few extra to try and see if that helps.

 

[Yooper]

I don't suspect overcarbed beer... I carbed at 30 psi for 24 hours and then knocked it down to 10 psi for a week before tasting.

I do know that I'm not missing an O ring, but it could be damaged I suppose, I bought the kegs used and replaced all the other O rings except for that one. I'll stop by my LHBS and try to pick up a few extra to try and see if that helps.

You can just depressurize the keg, remove the "out" post and take a look at the poppet inside. Maybe some debris is caught in there. Also, "eyeball" the diptube by holding it up to the light to make sure there isn't any clog or particle in there. Check that oring on the poppet and lube it with some keg lube, and put it back in the post and back on the keg. Sometimes that's all it takes.

 

[Bobb25]

The first time I cleaned my keg, I accidentally got the liquid side poppet upside down, and when the beer flowed I got that kind gap in the beer line caused by air being sucked in. Took a while to figure it out. Am more careful now.

 

[brew4you15]

Upside down? When I cleaned it both sides looked the same to me; I could have very easily done that as well. How did you tell the difference between upside down and right -side up?

 

[day_trippr]

Lol! Pretty basic - poppets have a metal slug that should be visible at the tops of the posts.
If you see a hole, you're either missing a poppet or it's up side down...

Cheers

 

[brew4you15]

day_tripper,


Haha I think there was a misunderstanding! I'd realize that a hole on top of the post might be a bit odd! I thought you had meant that the o-ring on the dip tube was potentially upside down, and was confused about how that could be

 

[day_trippr]

That wasn't me