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Superman3278

Superman3278

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HELP, I'm going nuts with this problem. New kegging system leaves air in line after operating the tap; GRRRR! Evertime I reopen the faucet, a gush of air and foam comes out. I can see the air began to form after the facuet is closed. I am using six foot of 5/16 line from keg tap to faucet on a 3 1/2 inch shank. No leaks of any kind, I am "Air Tight" ! Any ideas or sugestions? The beer is an ale, psi is set @ 6 lb. any higher and flow rate is too fast resuting in 80% head. The ale was conditioned for 3 weeks before a two week keg carbonation with 5oz. of priming surgar / 5 gallon batch.:mad:

Thanks in avance for your help,

cheers
 
What is the height between the top of the keg and your tap?

I'm thinking since you checked for air/liquid leaks, it's pressure related. Is it staying carbed at 6PSI? Solution could be as simple as longer hose and higher PSI. The restriction caused by the extra hose will make up for the pressure and allow you to have higher PSI and proper amount of head...
 
Well the facuet is 2 ft. higher than the kegg tap. I use Sanke kegs not the Pespsi sytle, for what it's worth. Increasing the length of product line is a worthy idea, if it dont work out I just have more line that I am sure will com in handy some time. As far as I can tell, it's not syaying carbed thus the reason for the "air space" in the line.
 
I am using six foot of 5/16 line from keg tap to faucet on a 3 1/2 inch shank.
Click to expand...

Is the inside diameter of your beer line 5/16"? If so, that is a potential problem as well...should be 3/16" ID.
 
alohanole said:
Is the inside diameter of your beer line 5/16"? If so, that is a potential problem as well...should be 3/16" ID.
Click to expand...

Potential problem, that's an understatement. As stated, you need 3/16 beer line with 6 to 8 feet to start with. Your getting massive co2 breakout.
 
bigger is not always better.... in this case only:D. I use 10 ft 3/16 as the recommendation of a fellow hbt'r. I can go up to 12psi with no problem
 
3/16 it is. Off to the LHBS to get some supplies, I'll stop off at Lowe's and get 10 ft.

Thanks for the help everyone, love this web site.
 
Do a search on beer length calculator and line balancing- you will have to up the PSI due to the longer, smaller diameter line. It may take some playing around, but you will be happy with the results. Good luck!

:mug:!
 
MoRoToRiUm said:
Do a search on beer length calculator and line balancing- you will have to up the PSI due to the longer, smaller diameter line. It may take some playing around, but you will be happy with the results. Good luck!

:mug:!
Click to expand...

I would start with 10 -12psi with 8 feet of line, that should be a good starting point. My lines are 5ft and 6ft, and 90% of my beers are served at 12psi 42F, zero foaming issues
 
Going with 3/16" ID might not be enough with the tubing from Lowes. I haven't checked what they have in a while, but another problem is thin-walled tubing. Commercial beer lines are pretty thick walled. This helps to limit any "balloon-like" inflation of the tubing. Any soft tubing under pressure will swell (like a crappy balloon), this leads to CO2 coming out of solution and making bubbles in your beer lines. The thicker the wall, the better it will resist this.
 
superman3278 said:
HELP, I'm going nuts with this problem. New kegging system leaves air in line after operating the tap; GRRRR! Evertime I reopen the faucet, a gush of air and foam comes out. I can see the air began to form after the facuet is closed. I am using six foot of 5/16 line from keg tap to faucet on a 3 1/2 inch shank. No leaks of any kind, I am "Air Tight" ! Any ideas or sugestions? The beer is an ale, psi is set @ 6 lb. any higher and flow rate is too fast resuting in 80% head. The ale was conditioned for 3 weeks before a two week keg carbonation with 5oz. of priming surgar / 5 gallon batch.:mad:

Thanks in avance for your help,

cheers
Click to expand...

Isn't 5oz of priming sugar for 5 gallons in a keg too much? I thought it should be somewhere around 3 oz. The beer may be overcarbed I would turn off the gas and purge/release pressure over a few days.

And +1 on pjj2ba comments use beer line not the stuff from Lowe's HD
 
Udate: Well the Guys at the LHBS saved the day. Dave the Owner was quite helpful in selling me 8' of 1/4 " beer line (thick wall). Installed wednesday night and set psi to 12 and the pour is good.
Springer the amount of priming surgar was too much I thought as well, I won't be using that method any more. Force carbing from here on out.
Hopsalot, I remove the dip tube/valve assembley for sanitizing, then fill via gravity from secondary and reinstall the assembly. It's a little tricky to reinstall but after a few tries I got in no problem.
Thanks to all for imparting your wisdom.
 
Just glad you can relax and enjoy your draft home brew properly!

Hope those 1/4 beer lines work out well for you (make sure your lines are cooled- the wider diameter lines are going to leave more beer in them, allowing it to warm as well as let the CO2 dissipate). :mug:!
 

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