Problem/Foam Keg

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DamageCT

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So I have a ball valve corny keg with a 5lb co2 tank connected.
It has a 5 foot line attached to a picnic tap.

Every time I go to pour a beer all I get is a cup full of foam, except when I turn off the CO2, bleed out the valve, detach my tap, and attach a friends foot disconnect to picnic tap while pouring at a downword angle (if I try anything lower then 10psi it will not come out of the 5 foot line and at 10 it foams like a beast).


This has happened for both of the beers I have kegged so far. The first one I rolled at a psi of 15 for about 6 or 7 minutes then left it at 15 for a solid week. The second one I rolled for a solid 10 minutes at 30 psi, left it at 30 for an hour, then bled out the pressure and put it at serving pressure.


The keg is very clean, I am fully opening the tap, I bleed out the pressure before putting it at serving, the keg is very cold, there is no residue in the line, all the bolts are very tight, the lines are in the fridge with my keg.
My keg seems to leak until I turn on the gas and get the lid at the perfect angle (may take like 10 tries at a time)...

I have had several friends that also brew come take a look at it and they have no clue how to help.
What is going on? Please help me solve this before I go insane.
Thanks in advance :drunk:
 
A 5 foot line will never cut it in my opinion. I have an 8' line on my kegs, all of them at about 2.4 volumes, and I never have a problem with foaming. Get rid of the "rolling" method. Just set your regulator to about 12-14psi and let it sit for two weeks. It will foam for the first couple beers, but it should be fine after that if you're using it often enough. If not, you may need to put it down to 5psi while serving.

As long as your system is balanced, you shouldn't have these issues. What kind of kegerator are you using? Have you accounted for the height of your tap?
 
I am using a chest freezer with a temp setter, and a line with picnic tap, open and close the freezer to actually be able to pour it.

See I thought hte same thing, but down to 5psi the beer wont even POUR out of a 5 foot never mind an 8 foot...
 
So nothing comes out below 10PSI and it foams like mad over 10PSI? I would suspect a clog somewhere along the line.

Have you tried a different disconnect/line/tap? You can pick up another setup for about $14. http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?cPath=178_40_271_129_371&products_id=1271

Also, what was your process for carbing? EDIT: I reread and saw that you posted your method. The boost and shake method usually gives me all foam if I try to pull a pint in the first day or so.
 
For your next keg, try not rolling/shaking/messing with it. If the keg is "very cold" (what temperature is that?) set it for 10 psi. Leave it alone, without changing the pressure or shaking it at all.

My fridge is at 40 degrees and 12 psi works well. After 10 days, pour a beer and see how it is. You shouldn't have any foam or anything like that.

It does sound like you've got something "pinching" off in your "out" line, though. Can you buy a new disconnect, and double check the poppit on the out post? It sounds like you've got something stuck in the poppit. I'd pull off the post (depressurize the the keg first!), and clean it well and inspect the rubber oring on the poppit. I'd also stick a new disconnect on it, too. Sounds like maybe an o-ring is missing on the black quick disconnect.
 
fwiw, someone started a similar thread a couple/few weeks ago that eventually turned out to be due to the picnic tap not actually opening fully...

Cheers!
 

Have you checked for clogs in the keg itself? I've actually had sediment build up in the dip tube that causes my keg to clog. Before you try buying a new poppit, try putting your liquid out connector on your gas line. Then force CO2 in, through the liquid out port. If you try to connect your gas connect to the liquid out, it will get stuck, so you need to switch them. I usually crank the co2 until I hear bubbling. If you hear bubbling, then you probably don't have a clog.
 
So I have a ball valve corny keg with a 5lb co2 tank connected.
It has a 5 foot line attached to a picnic tap.

Every time I go to pour a beer all I get is a cup full of foam, except when I turn off the CO2, bleed out the valve, detach my tap, and attach a friends foot disconnect to picnic tap while pouring at a downword angle (if I try anything lower then 10psi it will not come out of the 5 foot line and at 10 Thanks in advance :drunk:

What is a "foot disconnect"? Does this method still use all your equipment with the addition of your friends?

What others have said about a clog does seem to make sense, but how does the foot disconnect counteract a clog?
 
For your next keg, try not rolling/shaking/messing with it. If the keg is "very cold" (what temperature is that?) set it for 10 psi. Leave it alone, without changing the pressure or shaking it at all.

My fridge is at 40 degrees and 12 psi works well. After 10 days, pour a beer and see how it is. You shouldn't have any foam or anything like that.

It does sound like you've got something "pinching" off in your "out" line, though. Can you buy a new disconnect, and double check the poppit on the out post? It sounds like you've got something stuck in the poppit. I'd pull off the post (depressurize the the keg first!), and clean it well and inspect the rubber oring on the poppit. I'd also stick a new disconnect on it, too. Sounds like maybe an o-ring is missing on the black quick disconnect.

It is around 40*F Johnson Controllers arent great on chest freezers I've noticed but the temp of the liquid is pretty consistent.

I have thought that maybe something was pinching it off too, but when I took apart the keg between batches (YES I DRANK AN ENTIRE FOAM KEG) it did not seem like anything was dirty or missing.
I threw all the metal parts into a bath of B-Brite along with the inisde of the keg... and then StarSan'd the entire keg with everything attached and flushed the starsan out with some CO2.

I am so stumped.
 
fwiw, someone started a similar thread a couple/few weeks ago that eventually turned out to be due to the picnic tap not actually opening fully...

Cheers!

I thought about that, so I tried my friends picnic tap.... his isnt working either, but his is on a foot of tubing which could be the problem, maybe ill take it off his disconect and try it on mine.
 
What is a "foot disconnect"? Does this method still use all your equipment with the addition of your friends?

What others have said about a clog does seem to make sense, but how does the foot disconnect counteract a clog?

A foot long tubing attached to a disconnect.
 
It is around 40*F Johnson Controllers arent great on chest freezers I've noticed but the temp of the liquid is pretty consistent.

I have thought that maybe something was pinching it off too, but when I took apart the keg between batches (YES I DRANK AN ENTIRE FOAM KEG) it did not seem like anything was dirty or missing.
I threw all the metal parts into a bath of B-Brite along with the inisde of the keg... and then StarSan'd the entire keg with everything attached and flushed the starsan out with some CO2.

I am so stumped.

I'm assuming that you pulled out the poppets from the post when you took it apart? And made sure you didn't mix up the gas/liquid posts (which are different)?

The first thing I see is that you are definitely overcarbing by turning up the gas and shaking the keg. If your keezer is at 40 degrees, you don't want to go over 12 psi.

But in your first post, you said your "keg seems to leak". Where is it leaking from? Around the lid? If so, that needs to be fixed with some keg lube or putting a dime under the feet of the lid to make it fit tighter.
 
Have you checked for clogs in the keg itself? I've actually had sediment build up in the dip tube that causes my keg to clog. Before you try buying a new poppit, try putting your liquid out connector on your gas line. Then force CO2 in, through the liquid out port. If you try to connect your gas connect to the liquid out, it will get stuck, so you need to switch them. I usually crank the co2 until I hear bubbling. If you hear bubbling, then you probably don't have a clog.

Maybe I will try that, but wouldnt that jam my disconnects?
I know the keg came with some soda syrup in it but I believe my cleaning efforts (B-Brite for several hours/1day then StarSan) would have removed it all?
 
I'm assuming that you pulled out the poppets from the post when you took it apart? And made sure you didn't mix up the gas/liquid posts (which are different)?

The first thing I see is that you are definitely overcarbing by turning up the gas and shaking the keg. If your keezer is at 40 degrees, you don't want to go over 12 psi.

But in your first post, you said your "keg seems to leak". Where is it leaking from? Around the lid? If so, that needs to be fixed with some keg lube or putting a dime under the feet of the lid to make it fit tighter.


I did take out the poppets, and at first I did mix up the gas and liquid, but i got my liquid disconnect jammed on my gas post and realized where I messed up and fixed it.

I am leaving the psi lower then 12 for serving, the 30 was for 10 minutes worth of shaking then one hour of sitting. Since then I have shook and bleed off presure as well (thinking it was over carbed).

I have a cut up creditcard under the legs now, and plan on getting keg lube, it seems to seal up nicely when there is pressure (I dont seem to be losing any CO2 from my tank).
 
I did take out the poppets, and at first I did mix up the gas and liquid, but i got my liquid disconnect jammed on my gas post and realized where I messed up and fixed it.

I am leaving the psi lower then 12 for serving, the 30 was for 10 minutes worth of shaking then one hour of sitting. Since then I have shook and bleed off presure as well (thinking it was over carbed).

I have a cut up creditcard under the legs now, and plan on getting keg lube, it seems to seal up nicely when there is pressure (I dont seem to be losing any CO2 from my tank).

But, see, the problem with a "serving pressure" and a "carb pressure" is that when you release the pressure to lower it and pour it, it causes some foaming so that the co2 is knocked out of suspension. So it results in seemingly lower carbed, but foamy, beer. Then it has to be raised back up to a higher pressure to keep the carb level. I really think that is problematic for many brewers.
 
But, see, the problem with a "serving pressure" and a "carb pressure" is that when you release the pressure to lower it and pour it, it causes some foaming so that the co2 is knocked out of suspension. So it results in seemingly lower carbed, but foamy, beer. Then it has to be raised back up to a higher pressure to keep the carb level. I really think that is problematic for many brewers.

I see, but what I mean was I thought it may have been over carbed, as you said, so I shook it (not connected to CO2) and let excess CO2 bleed off for about a day (the day after I initially carbed it).

I may still have that problem though....
 
I fought the foam.. and I won. Longer lines and fan circulation to keep the bottom of the keg and the top of the keg equal temperatures were the answer for me. My taps are through the door so I don't have to open and close the door to serve and the temps stay constant.
 
I fought the foam.. and I won. Longer lines and fan circulation to keep the bottom of the keg and the top of the keg equal temperatures were the answer for me. My taps are through the door so I don't have to open and close the door to serve and the temps stay constant.

I actually invested in a bar setup I am putting in soon that has 10 foot lines, coming out of a freezer (never need to open except to throw more kegs in) running up to a tap, with insulation all the way. Maybe that will have less foam, but the keg I have now shouldn't be foaming as it does.
 
Maybe I will try that, but wouldnt that jam my disconnects?
I know the keg came with some soda syrup in it but I believe my cleaning efforts (B-Brite for several hours/1day then StarSan) would have removed it all?

It won't jam your disconnects if you hook up a "liquid out" disconnect to your gas line. Just make sure you switch them again before hooking it up normally.

I would think soaking them would have been fine, but sometimes they do get buildup in the dip tube that can't be cleaned just by soaking. I use a long skinny wire brush to clean mine. I only do this after every 3-4 uses though (at the same time I disassemble my kegs). Sometimes it's not even leftover from a batch before. I've had kegs clog because I had too much sediment that was transferred over.
 
It won't jam your disconnects if you hook up a "liquid out" disconnect to your gas line. Just make sure you switch them again before hooking it up normally.

I would think soaking them would have been fine, but sometimes they do get buildup in the dip tube that can't be cleaned just by soaking. I use a long skinny wire brush to clean mine. I only do this after every 3-4 uses though (at the same time I disassemble my kegs). Sometimes it's not even leftover from a batch before. I've had kegs clog because I had too much sediment that was transferred over.

That could be it, I bought it used and it comes through as liquid when not carbonated but def has issues when I have it carbed so I will def test this after work.
Thanks!
 
I went out on a limb and bought a new picnic tap, cut mine off, clamped the new one on and it fixed the problem.

Thanks everyone for the advice and help..

I guess after all that stress it was just that my picnic tap's spring wasnt working properly thus the tap was barely opening therefore causing foam.


:tank::mug:
 
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