Beer line tests & solution to the "plastic" taste - Page 11

Scut_Monkey · 12-13-2009, 07:47 AM

Just wanted to point out that the company that sells bev-seal ultra 235 also has an American based company/location. The company name is different but the website is almost identical.
American Location:
http://kuriyama.thomasnet.com/viewitems/tubing/bev-seal-ultra-174-series-235-tubing?&plpver=1004&forward=1
Canadian Location:
http://kuriyama.thomasnet.com/viewitems/tubing/bev-seal-ultra-174-series-235-tubing?&plpver=1001&forward=1

I'll try calling them soon to see how much they sell the ultra 235 and I'll post back here when I find out.

alphaking1 · 12-13-2009, 03:14 PM

Hey I just signed up so that I can post here and hopefully help out. I've had a similar problem over the last 3 years:

http://www.micromatic.com/forum/us-en/trouble-shooting-beer-quality-home/6516-another-plastic-taste-thread.html

I recently bought 50' of Tygon B-44-4x after reading a post on another homebrew forum where a user said he switched to this and problem solved, most likely the same stuff as the BevSeal. The difference though is that I was able to order this stuff in 3/16 ID and 5/16 OD from usplastic.com. I had a bad plastic taste problem and after a lot of reading online, I installed 5' of this on Thursday. The plastic taste was gone completely, even on the first pour the morning after. But I now had a problem with it pouring too fast. Per a suggestion on the above forum link I changed it to 7' of line yesterday and it is now perfect. The taste is great, I am not wasting any beer and it pours perfect. So for anyone looking to keep the 3/16" ID I highly recommend this line.
Chris

**conpewter** · 12-14-2009, 02:40 AM

Check out www.betterbottle.com they sold me Bev-Seal tubing (1/4" ID) at a really good price and I could order as much or as little as I wanted.

Scut_Monkey · 12-14-2009, 03:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by conpewter

Check out www.betterbottle.com they sold me Bev-Seal tubing (1/4" ID) at a really good price and I could order as much or as little as I wanted.

Thanks for the info. Do you remember how much it costs per foot? Also how were you able to balance your lines, super long beer line, low serving/carb pressure or by inserting flow restrictors such as the epoxy mixers?

**conpewter** · 12-14-2009, 04:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scut_Monkey

Thanks for the info. Do you remember how much it costs per foot? Also how were you able to balance your lines, super long beer line, low serving/carb pressure or by inserting flow restrictors such as the epoxy mixers?

I bought the tubing in the spring. 45 cents a foot, got 80 feet for $41 shipped. I don't have the other info yet as I've had too many other projects to actually get my new taps up and running. I plan to be dispensing from the kitchen (first floor) and the fridge is in the basement. From what I can find the height difference should help with the balancing (plus the ~ 15 ft of tubing). If not I have the epoxy inserts to try instead.

Scut_Monkey · 12-14-2009, 05:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by conpewter

I bought the tubing in the spring. 45 cents a foot, got 80 feet for $41 shipped. I don't have the other info yet as I've had too many other projects to actually get my new taps up and running. I plan to be dispensing from the kitchen (first floor) and the fridge is in the basement. From what I can find the height difference should help with the balancing (plus the ~ 15 ft of tubing). If not I have the epoxy inserts to try instead.

I want to get the best line but I don't have any experience with balancing the system so I would have no idea how much I need per tap. I'm thinking I'll get some basic poly tubing at Home Depot for cheap and see if I'm happy with the results on one tap. If it works for me I'll use it for the others.

foles · 01-25-2010, 03:56 AM

Has anyone determined whether certain chemicals, or certain minerals in water (maybe chlorine) bring out this plastic taint in vinyl & poly beerlines? Mine turns absolutely horrible after only being left in the line for less than 5 minutes. I've even tested brand new vinyl tube with tap water and it taints it to the point it is not drinkable.

Hotspur · 01-25-2010, 01:44 PM

It's probably the vinyl. Get some lined tubing like Tygon Beverage and Dairy, or the Bevseal. Vinyl/plastics release a lot of nasty chemicals as they age, and lined tubing puts an inert barrier between that and your beer/water.

Synovia · 01-25-2010, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JesseRC

I checked out that line and it says its not to be used on Ice makers and its not to be used where constant pressure will be applied.

I've been using that stuff with an RO/DI unit for a couple of years, and its exposed to house pressure (60+ PSI). I doubt 5-12PSI is going to cause an issue.

foles · 01-26-2010, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hotspur

It's probably the vinyl. Get some lined tubing like Tygon Beverage and Dairy, or the Bevseal. Vinyl/plastics release a lot of nasty chemicals as they age, and lined tubing puts an inert barrier between that and your beer/water.

No I'm pretty sure something else is causing it. Used about 5 types of beerline recently, and the same problem from new. Something is in the beer is reacting with the line after a few minutes. The few ounces of beer from the line looks cloudy, dull in colour and foams more. When the fresh stuff comes through it is ok, but not perfect as it passes through the line.

Its got me beat!? Is there a compound that could be in my beer that could cause this? I'm very strict with santitation. Maybe a PH thing? I do use a small percentage of acid malt in my beers to deal with alkaline water.