Another line length question...

Hello,

I am trying to get my kegerator balanced and working perfect. I have a dual-top built-in model which I keep at about 38 degrees. The tower is air-cooled and has 5' of 3/16" line for each tap. I currently have 2 american light beers on tap and have had it dialed back to about 5psi to get the right pour. I noticed last night that the beer kinda tasted flat and I am thinking its because it has been on such a low gas setting for a week (does this sound right?) So my question is, if I buy more 3/16" line to replace mine, what length should I get to correctly balance this system based on that I will mostly be buying store kegs (haven't started home brew yet.) Thanks!

ED7

Yeah, 5 PSI is too low. Ideally, you want to serve at the same pressure as carbonation/storage. Check the following link out, good information on balancing a system. http://***********/stories/techniques/article/indices/39-kegging/165-balancing-your-draft-system-advanced-brewing

I've never had much luck when following the recommended line length formulas. So what I did was buy 20ft of line and I kept cutting it until I finally got the foam to an acceptable amount. My pour is a bit slow but I'm not running a bar.

Keep in mind, usually your first pour will have more head and subsequent pours will have less foam. So pour a few pints to get a good idea of the flow.

You should be able to pour at the same pressure you need your co2 at for carbonating.

Thanks for the article..lots of info there. I know all the things for the formula except the carbonation level, however.

As far as buying a long length and cutting it till its right, how do I keep the beer from shooting everywhere each time i cut it?? Also, once i get the line length right, wouldn't it be different based on what type of beer I have in the keg? I am guessing I need to be around 12psi for american light (bud, miller, coors, etc) to stay carbonated and serve, is this right?

Yes, 12psi is about right for 38F. I would put 10 feet of 3/16" line per tap and leave it be. If you do decide that it's too slow of a pour, you disconnect the tap from the keg, remove the tubing from the barb and cut a foot of tubing off. Try it again. Each foot of tubing you remove, you'll speed up the pour a bit. There's a sweet spot where it pours quickly, but without filling the glass with half foam first. Anytime you go to pour when it's been sitting dormant for several hours or days (yeah right), pour about 2 ounces, dump or chug it, then pour for real. Purging any of the beer and/or foam from the line first makes for a better full pour.