Kegerator frustration, please help!

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cgseanp

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I recently bought a kegerator that someone made out of an old glass door 7 up fridge. I got a 5 gallon keg of North Coast Red Seal Ale hooked up and am pretty much only getting foam. I've probably wasted half this keg on foam and it's not making me feel good! The keg is cold and the lines are cold so that shouldn't be the problem. Im guessing it's the co2 pressure but I just can't seem to get it right. I've been reading it should be around 12-15 psi, but when it's that high the beer shoots out like a fire hose and i get a glass full of foam in a split second. What should the psi be set at? I am using a 3/16 line that is 5' long. Also, I've noticed that co2 bubbles are leaking into the beer line from the keg coupler. Is it normal for bubbles to always be coming out, even when not pouring a beer?
Please help! Thanks!
 
How did you carbonate the beer? (Pressure and duration if force carbed, amount and type of sugar if natural carb.) Also, how long did the beer ferment (ie any chance that fermentation wasn't done when you racked to the keg)?

Edit: also did you bleed the pressure off the keg when you changed the pressure on your regulator? The best thing I can recommend now is to go to the link below and click the "download the manual" link in the upper right. Read it, know it, love it.

http://www.draughtquality.org/
 
cgseanp said:
I recently bought a kegerator that someone made out of an old glass door 7 up fridge. I got a 5 gallon keg of North Coast Red Seal Ale hooked up and am pretty much only getting foam. I've probably wasted half this keg on foam and it's not making me feel good! The keg is cold and the lines are cold so that shouldn't be the problem. Im guessing it's the co2 pressure but I just can't seem to get it right. I've been reading it should be around 12-15 psi, but when it's that high the beer shoots out like a fire hose and i get a glass full of foam in a split second. What should the psi be set at? I am using a 3/16 line that is 5' long. Also, I've noticed that co2 bubbles are leaking into the beer line from the keg coupler. Is it normal for bubbles to always be coming out, even when not pouring a beer?
Please help! Thanks!
Click to expand...

psi should be no more than 10. sounds like a pressure problem from your description. lower to 8 for now and bleed off the pressure in the keg with the relief valve and see what happens.
 
Thanks for replies. Is it normal to get spurts of air when pouring a beer? It seems like air is getting in the line or something.
 
I think the probability of this being your problem is low but yours sounds very similar to a problem Ed Wort had:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/troubleshoot-corny-keg-problem-277979/

It sounds like your have a leak around the diptube area. The air pressure is pushing the beer out but along the way there's a burst in the tube injecting CO2 causing severe foam. You might try replacing the poppets and o-rings too. I'd try investigating the diptube after all these other recommendations before me.
 

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