Lots of Line and Still Foam

aussieskier · 12-08-2009, 03:56 AM

I have spent the past two days searching around for a solution to this problem and have yet to find a fix so I thought I would make a post about my specific problem.

I have a keg of root beer that at ~38F and set at 40psi to carb up.

In an attempt to balance out the system so I can serve at these pressures, I tried 20' and then 40' of line but I am still loads of foam.

The soda still shoots out and there are large gaps in the fluid to the point where the coils of line quake when I try to pour.

The end result is that I get half a glass of foam that dissolves away, leaving basically flat root beer.

I am beginning to wonder if I merely have too much line at this point since turning down the pressure, purging the headspace and serving at a lower temp seems to make the foam even worse.

Any suggestions welcomed to this increasingly frustrating endeavor.
Thanks in advance,

Riley

**Cheeto** · 12-08-2009, 05:44 AM

so you are trying to serve at 40psi?

That is way too high knock that pressure down to at most 15psi.

it sounds like you are a small diameter line as well. 1/4" (6MM) at that length is a bit too small. I would try a 5/16th" (8MM) line. I would double check that Keg as well you may have a leaky o-ring letting gas in to your outbound line or a faucet that is not sealing correctly

aussieskier · 12-08-2009, 06:00 AM

I could understand dropping the pressure if this was beer. Correct me if I am wrong, but if I want to keep the root beer at around 4 volumes of CO2, dropping the pressure to 15psi would make the CO2 slowly come out of solution. This was the impression I was under anyways

Thus, serving at ~35psi would enable the C02 to stay in solution without having to always vent the keg when you want to serve.

As for a leaky o-ring, I hadn't thought about that. I haven't noticed any external leaks, but I suppose it would be the dip tube oring that was leaking. I will have to check that. Thanks for that idea.

marzsit · 12-08-2009, 08:26 AM

i've made root beer carbed at 30psi and served thru 20' of 3/16" line with no problems. root beer can be very tricky to serve, especially if it has a lot of honey or brown sugar in it..

**Bobby_M** · 12-08-2009, 01:50 PM

Right, you didn't mention the diameter of the tubing. If it's not 3/16", you're losing there. Also, the reason CO2 comes out of solution in the lines is that you have a temperature differential between the keg and where the line is coiled up. A small computer fan in the fridge just moving the air around will help a lot.

**Yooper** · 12-08-2009, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cheeto

so you are trying to serve at 40psi?

That is way too high knock that pressure down to at most 15psi.

it sounds like you are a small diameter line as well. 1/4" (6MM) at that length is a bit too small. I would try a 5/16th" (8MM) line. I would double check that Keg as well you may have a leaky o-ring letting gas in to your outbound line or a faucet that is not sealing correctly

If you're using 3/16" line, 30-40 psi is about right. I use that pressure, and I use a rigid line of about 30 feet.

As Bobby_M said, the line needs to be as cold as the keg. I have mine would up and twisty tied around the keg.

**david_42** · 12-08-2009, 03:17 PM

Ditto on 3/16ths. I use 40 psi and 20' of 3/16ths. I also have it coiled to fit on top of the cornie.

aussieskier · 12-08-2009, 03:31 PM

I am using 3/16th hose and it is all coiled on top of the keg.

I will have to try it this morning to see if letting the hose cool over night since messing with it helped.

Yooper, wrapping around the keg sounds like a good way to handle the excess line.

We will see what some testing yields this morning.

Cheers,
Riley

aussieskier · 12-08-2009, 08:17 PM

Alrighty, I think I got the problem sorted out.

Seems it was probably a bit of both the line temp and a leak around the diptube o-ring.

My first test it poured much better than last night but there were still some air gaps and a bit too much foam.

I took off the out post on the keg and changed the diptube o-ring and that seems to have solved the problem completely.

beilber · 12-30-2009, 01:31 AM

Well this was educational.....

I have my setup as 3/16 hose @ 6' length. I kegged the rootbeer and pumped it up to 50 psi @ 40F. I served it Xmas eve @10psi and had a foamy mess. I have it in my Garage right now which is at about 20F still @10psi. When I started reading I was planning to buy a 20' then just now i got myself a glass and it was the best pour yet! Nice carbonation Bite so I know its not loosing carbonation, and I am plain confused.

No question just felt like Sharing