New to kegging, beer line length with kit

[casualbrewer]

Just received my kegging kit in the mail yesterday. After examining my kit and reading some threads on here I believe my beer lines will be a bit short. They came with 5' of line for each tap. Two things I really want for my beer is: 1. for it to be served very cold, probably between 34-36 degrees and 2. I like my beer a bit more carbonated than the "standard" 2.5-2.7 volumes. Will probably be closer to 3. This is just personal preference and don't care much if it is out of style for my beer. I'm thinking that I will be needing closer to 10' for each tap. That sound about right? Also, what are you guys thoughts on standard 3/16 line from lowes or home depot? I know some people have said it ok and some have not.

 

[Mexibilly]

I just kegged my first time and get a good pour at 8psi with a 5' hose

 

[m00ps]

I would definitely recommend using 3/16" lines for beer. Yeah 5 feet is not long enough to not end up with a ton of foam at standard carb levels. The general rule of thumb is start at 10 feet and cut back accordingly.

id reccomend using actual "beverage" lines. i used to use vinyl tubing from home depot for transfers but it can give a platicky taste, especially if its sitting in the lines for an extended period. I got a 50" bevflex ultra roll from farmhousebrewingsupply along with john guest quick disconnects for the shank and ball lock QD ends. Its great to easily switch out lines

What kind of kegerator do you have? most Ive seen wont go that cold unless you take apart the internal thermostat. I have a edgestar one and followed an online tutorial to adjust mine and now it can easily freeze the beer if i set it low enough

 

[d3track]

Use one of the calculators out there, if you want higher carbonation you will probably need longer lines, even at your temps.

And get the actual beverage line, for some reason (ph of beer?) the lines from the big box stores seem to want to leech a plasticy taste. The guys that tried using those lines that I know swapped out within a week.

 

[casualbrewer]

Good info guys. I just stopped by my lhbs and they said that 8' of line should be about perfect. So I got two 8' sections of beverage line. If need a bit more I can always use my other 10' to splice some in I guess.

 

[mucci2k]

Do you have a tower cooler? If not the first pour will be more foam since the line and tap will be warm. I drink mostly Hefe's and I started with 14' of line since I am pushing between 15-18 psi.

I bought this for beer lines and it has worked amazing so far.
http://amzn.com/B00E6BCXQ8

 

[PapaO]

Use this chart to set your psi. Use the temperature of your beer not the temperature of your kegerator.
http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.ph
Then use this to get your line length.
http://www.mikesoltys.com/2012/09/17/determining-proper-hose-length-for-your-kegerator/
Do not splice the line it will cause co2 to come out of solution and you will get foamy pours.

 

[casualbrewer]

Building a kegerator. All lines will be inside fridge.

 

[peterj]

8' doesn't sound long enough either. If you want it to be at 3 volumes of CO2 you'll be carbing and serving around 14-15 psi. I would think a minimum of 10', but I would probably start at 15' and cut it back if needed. It works better and is easier to shorten lines than trying to splice more length in. I've heard splicing causes foaming as well.

 

[Yooper]

8' doesn't sound long enough either. If you want it to be at 3 volumes of CO2 you'll be carbing and serving around 14-15 psi. I would think a minimum of 10', but I would probably start at 15' and cut it back if needed. It works better and is easier to shorten lines than trying to splice more length in. I've heard splicing causes foaming as well.

Agreed. A rule of thumb that seems to work is to have 1 foot of beerline for every 1 psi on the regulator. Colder beer foams less, so you have that going for you, but I wouldn't go any less than whatever your planned psi is. For 34 degrees, a volume of 3.0 would be 14 psi. A 8 foot line would likely foam quite a lot.

 

[rossi46]

I run 8 ft lines at 12 psi in a 37 degree fridge with an acceptable amount of foam.

 

[Shooter]

When I was running 10psi at 40 degrees, 5 feet seemed to be the bare minimum that would give me an acceptable pour.

 

[casualbrewer]

Hmmm... perhaps I can cut back on the volume of co2... getting greedy I suppose. How many of you have spliced lines with success? If I did splice it i would put the shortest section first obviously.

 

[LesFCHB]

When I was running 10psi at 40 degrees, 5 feet seemed to be the bare minimum that would give me an acceptable pour.

I have 5' lines, 10-12psi and serve around 39-40 degrees. First few ounces are a little foamy, (no tower fan/cooler) but additional pours are good.

 

[m00ps]

I dont think it would work very well. Splicing the lines will likely cause more turbulence which will actually make more foam. So you may get a bit less from a longer line, but then more from where the lines connect

 

[casualbrewer]

Well my fridge may keep colder than I think. Stays below freezing right now. Need to back it down some to see if I can get around 34 degrees

 

[casualbrewer]

Just as an update. I got 8' lines with beer around 36-38 degrees on 14 psi. It is an absolute perfect pour. Put it on 30 psi for about 30 hours then set it at 14 for a couple days. Pours perfect every time. Thanks for the help guys!