Kegging newbie here: Can someone help me understand some things?

Hey folks,

So I've FINALLY got my kegging setup and running, and I'm pouring foam. I'm not shocked or upset, but I obviously don't quite understand what I'm doing.


Before I get to the questions here's the situation:
-I've had the kegging equipment for a while, but due to life I only acquired my freezer/built it up yesterday. It's a two tap tower with 5' of 1/4" line on it.

-I've had two 5 gallon batches sitting on about 20psi (pressured to 20psi and then disconnected the gas, and let them sit in the corner) for about 5 or 6 months just waiting for the keg setup to be done (yes, it's been a LOOOOONG brewing free time period ). The kegs held pressure fine and the beer is carbonated it seems.

-Got the setup built yesterday and got the temp controller holding the beer at 3*C (37*F).

-This chart said to hook up the gas at 25psi for the wheat, and 11 for the pale ale. I did that. (I bought a two product regulator)

-Tried to pour beer today ~24 hours after the kegs went into the freezer and I'm pouring foam on both.

It's my understanding that carbing pressure and serving pressure are one and the same....So if that's the case what am I doing wrong?

I've heard of "line balancing" but I don't totally understand it, it seems like theres only ONE serving pressure that works for a given beer line, but what if your carbing pressure is different?

Can someone clear up my confusion and help me get this kegerator pouring nicely?

First thing I noticed is if you have 1/4" line it is way too short. Essentially your lines aren't providing enough resistance and beer is flying through the line resulting in a glass of foam. Assuming you have ~18" of rise from keg to faucet, using 1/4" line you need roughly 13ft at a serving pressure of 11psi.

Here is the page I referenced...
http://web.archive.org/web/20080215.../clubs/franklin/public_html/docs/balance.html

Sounds like you are over-carbed. 25psi is very high.

For comparison, I serve my weizens at 12-13 psi (40 degrees), and use 10ft lines. They are perfect for me with this combination.

1/4" line has a resistance factor of .85 psi/ft. 3/16 line is about 2.7 psi/ft. So as you can see your 1/4 lines are not cutting it.

I personally serve everything in my kegerator at 12 psi at 38 degrees with ten feet of 3/16 line. That's pretty much the proven equation around here. I get perfect pours every time on every tap with every beer.

Your 5 ft of 1/4 inch line doesn't have enough resistance to keep the co2 in solution, especially since youre carbing to 20+ psi. Get yourself 10 feet or so of 3/16 line (and dont over carb) and I guarantee your foam problems will vanish. If you have too short lines you will get foam. The worst that will happen with long lines is that it will take you a few seconds longer to pour a pint. If the pour is too slow for you, you can always trim a little off until you find the sweet spot.