Tapping the finished product

Hey guys,

I just bought a new kegerator from Circuity City. I am at work and i forget the name brand of it. Anyway, here is my problem.

Ill get home from a long day at work, and grab a frosty mug to tap a fresh brew. The first pour always comes out with a huge head on it. In a pint glass, I will get about 75% foam in the glass. If i set that one aside, and tap another beer into a new pint glass, it will come out normal.

This happens everyday.

is there something that i am doing wrong? is there an adjustment with the CO2 tank, or something that causes the first tap to always be so foamy?

What pressure is your CO2 at currently?

Lower the pressure of the o2 or buy a longer beer line the minimize foam but I would lower the pressure first.

I keep the pressure at 10-12 psi. I looked online and that is what everyone seems to be happy at. I tested it by setting the pressure to 5psi, and the same thing happend, just came out much slower.

jlinner said:

Lower the pressure of the o2 or buy a longer beer line the minimize foam but I would lower the pressure first.

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Call me ignorant, but how would a longer beer line minimize the foam?

It loses pressure based on length and ID of the tubing. I don't know how much exactly, but I'm sure someone can answer that. I've always heard 10-12 psi and a 6 foot beer line works pretty well. That's what I have, and it does work fine.

Also, this might be obvious, but make sure you're pulling the tap handle all the way out. A partial pull will foam like mad.

Another possible cause is the line & tap warming up during the day. The first pull cools everything off, but foams too much and the second is fine.

psujeeperman02 said:

The first pour always comes out with a huge head on it. In a pint glass, I will get about 75% foam in the glass. If i set that one aside, and tap another beer into a new pint glass, it will come out normal.

This happens everyday.

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I have a Haier kegerator, with 5 ft. beer lines and the same issue. I solve it by using two glasses. One for the short burst first that I set aside for a few minutes, and a second that I drink from.

I'm thinking it is coming from the not as cooled beer in the line in the tower.

I've become used to it and it only happens if the kegerator has not been used for a while.

Perhaps it's lonely and mad that its handle has not been pulled all day? :cross:

I have the same problem all I do is pull the purge valve on my keg and get rid of the extra pressure first.

I'm thinking it is coming from the not as cooled beer in the line in the tower.

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I read a lot of info on this once I got my kegerator cause I ran into the same problem... There were a few different ways people dealt with it...

You can circulate the cold are up into the tower with a fan or something.. I started to rig something up, but haven't finished it yet.. I took a plastic project box, a computer fan, and a tube... I'll let ya know how it works out, although currently it doesn't seem to blow enough air, I might have a leak in the box or the fan might not be strong enough..

Another interesting one was someone took a copper tube filled it with salt water and sealed it on each end. He made it long enough to sit on top of the keg and extend up into the tower... The idea was that it would transfer the cold through the copper into the tower.. He said it worked great, although he had a sanke keg, so it might have been easier to set the copper tube on that than 3-4 cornies...