Keg lines for soda

as mentioned in the post below this one (atm), i'm working on a ginger soda recipe. should i use a different set of lines for this? i know people have warned against using root beer in your regular beer lines, but do you think the ginger brew will be strong enough to contaminate the lines?

i would say try it in a empty soda can or a plastic cup with a lid and let it sit for a couple days then sanitize it the way you would sanitze your lines. if the smell is there.... thats the answer

The plastic used for beer lines doesn't absorb flavors that way the rubber o-rings do. Beer line cleaner will clean them 100%. On the other hand, you need a much longer line for soda than beer. I use 15' of 3/16".

david_42 said:

On the other hand, you need a much longer line for soda than beer. I use 15' of 3/16".

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why is that?

Higher pressure soda is under (30 psi v. beer at 10-12) will give you wicked foaming when you try to pour. The longer length line reduces it (2 psi per foot I believe) by the time it reaches the tap/faucet.

slim chillingsworth said:

why is that?

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Because soda is typically carbed to a much higher level. If you run a short line, you will foam like crazy.



EDIT - I'm waaay too slow on hitting the post button!

makes sense.

zero said:

Higher pressure soda is under (30 psi v. beer at 10-12) will give you wicked foaming when you try to pour. The longer length line reduces it (2 psi per foot I believe) by the time it reaches the tap/faucet.

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1.7 psi/foot for 3/16" ID beverage line
.7 psi/foot for 1/4" ID beverage line

WRONG>>> So for davids example he could instead use a little over 6 foot of 1/4" line instead of 17 foot of 3/16 ((0.7/1.7)*15= 6.176), if he didn't want to have a big coil of line in the fridge. <<< WRONG

Edit, I'm wrong on the math, see below.

Actually don't you need 43 ft of 1/4 tubing by those figures?

conpewter said:

Actually don't you need 43 ft of 1/4 tubing by those figures?

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oops, heh your right should have inverted the fraction, my bad

I think the ginger ale would be strong enough to effect the line, but the other side of that is that it may be a moot point. Soda needs much more carbonation than beer, and any soda that is carbed like a beer willl seem flat. With that much carbonation, you'll need more beverage line than your standard beer serving length or you'll be pouring foam. In other words, I think you need about 15 to 20 feet of line for soda, which is too much for beer, so you probably neeed a dedicated line anyway.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=55570&highlight=root+beer+feet

The balance to that is that you can turn up your serving pressure closer to 15-20, so it's not really a slow pour. The problem with that is that you would need either a secondary regulator or a dual pressure regulator. I have a dual pressure regulator so I can serve soda at 20 psi.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=45021&highlight=soda+serving+pressure