bit of a foaming issue

Keeping my keezer about 36-38 degrees. Its a small keezer and there is only about 8" rise from the top of the kegs to the taps. I am using 6' of 3/16 line on both kegs. I am set on 12lbs and carbed the beer that way (set and forget on 12lbs). Im getting about 1/3 foam when i pour. I have ordered more beer line to arrive tomorrow so that I can switch up to 12' lines if needed. I have tried varying the pressure and didnt get much change. I have read about not having any dips in the line, and Im wondering if this is my issue. my lines do initially run down next to the kegs and then straight up to the taps. Should i find a way to coil my lines on top of the kegs to avoid the dip at the bottom? Is there something else I may be missing. If it matters Im using perlicks with 4 inch shanks and an instant read thermometer shows my beer about 39 degrees in the glass.

Mike in Duluth

I think you'll be good with about 10' of line and keeping it above the kegs as you mentioned.

I also want to point out that glass choice makes a big difference. I'm not saying you don't know how to pull a pint correctly, but most people who use my kegerator seem to get lots of foam. Yet, when I pull a pint, I get the perfect amount. I blame it on glass angle and shape most of the time. Tall skinny glasses seem to foam more than a wide snifter-like glass.

Try this experiment. Take two glasses in there and pour the first one, foam and all till it's about half full. Grab the other glass and pour immediately to see if there are any foaming issues. If your second glass pours correctly, your issue is with tower temperature. This happened to me.

Ricand said:

Try this experiment. Take two glasses in there and pour the first one, foam and all till it's about half full. Grab the other glass and pour immediately to see if there are any foaming issues. If your second glass pours correctly, your issue is with tower temperature. This happened to me.

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+1, unless your tower is cooled you will get foam on your first pour, just a fact of life, warm beer foams.

wildwest450 said:

+1, unless your tower is cooled you will get foam on your first pour, just a fact of life, warm beer foams.

Click to expand...

I will try this after work today, if it makes a difference I have a collar (no tower).

Mike in Duluth

Hello, i have almost the exact same set up and am having the same problem. It looks as if the beer is turning to foam in the beer line right before it connects to the shank. I tried continuosly pouring as stated above but it didnt work. I have been asking around but cant find any answers.

Think i figured it out. Please let me know if you agree.

According to "balancing your draft system". 3/16" line puts approximatly 3psi of restriction on the line and lift is eqaul to .5 psi. if this is the case and we are dispensing at 12 PSI in the keg with 6'-0" of 3/16" beer line then we would actually be losing too much PSI in the line and thus foaming before reaching the tap.

required psi for dispensing = 2 to 3 psi at tap

12PSI - 2PSI for lift (4'-0" in my system) = 10 psi

10PSI - 18PSI for 6'-0" of beer line = -8PSI

way too low i am assuming according to the calculation of 3PSI of pressure restriction per foot of 3/16" hose.

I dont understand why im getting good flow at the tap but it is all foam coming out.

Anyway, based on the calculation, i would need a maximum of 2.66 feet of beer line for 2PSI of pressure at the tap. I just hope i can reach the tap with this lenght of hose. I am going to try this when i get home.

Please let me know if anyone agrees / disagrees. 3PSI of restriction per foot seems a bit much to me but we shall see.

Thanks,
Dustin Hickey

Dustin...Your math is fuzzy.... you need to go longer.
12PSI(keg Pressure) - hose loss= pressure drop at the tap.

Here is the formula I found

12.3 PSI = Length * Resistance (2.7 psi per foot) + Height * 0.5
12.3 PSI = 4 feet * 2.7 + 3 feet * 0.5
12.3 PSI = 10.8 + 1.5
12.3 PSI = 12.3

by doing the above calculation with length of run set at 4' i see that 12.3 PSI would be correct. By simply adding 2 addtional feet of line (making it 6 feet) we see that we would need 17.7 psi in the keg for the proper pressure at the tap.

That being said. I am going to remove 2'-0" of beer line from my system when i get home and give er a go. Will post results.


-Thanks,
Dustin Hickey

schmagy said:

Dustin...Your math is fuzzy.... you need to go longer.
12PSI(keg Pressure) - hose loss= pressure drop at the tap.

Click to expand...

Your right, i was a bit off because the hose loss is actaully 2.7 instead of 3. but the basic concept was correct.

12 psi - 2.7 x 6' ( hose loss ) = -4.2 without even adding height to the equation.

see calculation above. I need 4'-0" of hose to get approximatley 2 or 3 psi at tap with 3'-0" lift.

Will be interested to see what the shorter length of hose does for you, I keep reading in other posts to go longer or add epoxy mixers into the keg tube. I am thinking of adding a computer fan in a box at the bottom of freezer for airflow to more regulate the temps inside the box since so much of the beer line is near the top of the feezer.

Mike in Duluth

Ok, think I might be in control of the foam now. I had 6' lines that I had allowed to drape to the bottom of the keezer, then up to the taps. I think this was causing problems with 2 ways. Too short of length of hose, and then dipping to the bottom of the keezer where it is much colder than the near the taps. I now went to 12' of line and have it coiled on top of the kegs and straight to the tap. My stout is pouring really well, my witbier still gets about 2" of foam and not much carbonation, I think I may have this overcarbed and will be bleeding it off regularly for the next couple of days to see if it helps.

Mike in Duluth