Newbie Kegerator problems.... Please Help

[SchnorrCS]

Hello guys.... First thread, so if its in the wrong place I'm really sorry.

Anyways....
I just got a kegerator! It's a commercially built Haier unit, with a single faucet on a tower. I have it placed out in my garage.
My problem is I get NOTHING but foam! When I first had the problem, it was with a 8gal keg of Bud Light (I know....) but I wanted to try and get it dialed in with some crap beer I didn't care about wasting some (a lot) of it.
When I first started, I did a lot of googling, which is how I found this forum, and thought I had it all set, but I'm super wrong.

My set up....
Haier kegerator
One faucet, 10 feet 3/16 line, beerman tower cooler (little fan on a hose)
I now have a five gallon keg of ShockTop in there. I want to home brew, but I'm not there yet.

My temp is set to make the beer about 40 degrees.

I used the v/v chart, and saw I needed to set my psi to 11, which I did. Problem is, if I open the faucet at that psi the beer shoots out of there like a frickin fire hose! So I dropped the pressure down, but I don't know what's wrong.
I tapped it and waited about two hours to try the first pour, that's when I dialed the pressure back.

What am I doing wrong?

Thanks in advance for all your help.

 

[jolsen]

With store bought kegs, I find I have to release the pressure in the keg with the pressure relief and then add pressure to it. Then it pours nicely

 

[NoCornOrRice]

It sounds like the pressure inside the keg is too high, likely due to the keg being warm or having been recently jostled. Just let the keg sit overnight in the fridge, with no C02 hooked up. Then connect the Co2, and you should be good to go. If its still foamy, try bleeding the co2 pressure from the keg and then setting it around 6 psi.

Also, is the C02 tank in the fridge? if it is, then you only need a pressure of about 4-6 psi (as the C02 is denser when cooler)

 

[SchnorrCS]

Thanks very much for the quick replies.


Yes, the co2 is inside the fridge. I didn't realize having it in the fridge would make such a drastic difference.
Ill set it to 6 and purge the tank. Hope that does it...

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

If you look at the beer line in the kegerator, do you see clean unbroken liquid or are there CO2 bubbles forming in the line?

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Thanks very much for the quick replies.

Yes, the co2 is inside the fridge. I didn't realize having it in the fridge would make such a drastic difference.
Ill set it to 6 and purge the tank. Hope that does it...

CO2 in the fridge doesn't matter. But purging the keg is a good idea in case it is more highly carbonated than your system would allow (which might be the case with a beer like shock top.

 

[SchnorrCS]

Ok.... Just tried it.

I rest the co2 to 6 psi and pulled the purge on the tank and let it sit over night.
When I just tried it, the gauge had moved to 8 psi. I got one glass of foam and then a perfect pour. The next pour I did was about 20 minutes later, and it was good. About 2 inches of foam/head, but way, way better. And the beer tastes great! Perfect carb, nice and cold. My ir thermometer says 42 dg aimed at the cup, so I've gotta be right around 38 in the keg.
How do your kegerator s pour? Perfect pour first time, every time? What should I change?

Again, thanks for the help!

 

[jolsen]

I always get good pours. Be careful with leaving your co2 at a low psi you will lose carbonation, unless if you like low carb.