Bubbles in My Liquid Lines

Is this just an unnavoidable nuisance?

I'm pretty damn sure that this air in the line is responsible for my first draws having a mountain of a head.

I've take to just keeping a dump cup nearby so I can pour 2Oz's, dump and then take a draw.

Notice the larger air bubble in the Guinness line.

That's the reason I frequently drop the pressure for serving and store at a different (higher) pressure. I know Blah, Blah, Blah it's not a balanced system. But you lose a lot of beer dumping off that excess head plus it seems to lose a lot of the carbonation.

abracadabra said:

That's the reason I frequently drop the pressure for serving and store at a different (higher) pressure. I know Blah, Blah, Blah it's not a balanced system. But you lose a lot of beer dumping off that excess head plus it seems to lose a lot of the carbonation.

Click to expand...

I know, but this doesn't seem to be affected by pressure. It's like all the carbonation held in the beer, within the lines, consolidates into one big (or several medium) bubbles in the line.

It's not as much of a problem in the Sanyo, becaue the bubbles all collect at the top of the line and are first to exit. But in this sytem, there may be several "high points" and there fore bubble pockets throughout the line.

Mine does the same thing. And dropping the pressure helps. I was hoping maybe it would help you too. Oh well, that exhausts the limited advice I could give.

I'm using 3/16ths and never notice it. Hell there is only about an oz in my lines.

Drunkensatyr said:

I'm using 3/16ths and never notice it. Hell there is only about an oz in my lines.

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+1 (me too)

The only time my lines look like that is when the keg is empty.

Possible reasons:

-Temperature at the top of your fridge is warmer because cold air sinks and because the 2x4s that we all use in these freezer conversions have an R-value less than half that of the rest of the freezer, so it is warmer near your lines. This releases CO2 out of solution. If you have temperature probes, check your temperature differential from the bottom to the top of your fridge. If it is a big difference, consider adding a very small fan inside to circulate the air (like a 3" diameter).

-Warmth transmitted through the taps to the beer directly next to it. Not an issue (and not much you can do about it) unless your beer lines go downhill towards your tap. That beer will warm and release its CO2 away from the tap.

-Make sure your collars are really tight. If they are not, the tap may not close all of the way.

-Coil your lines so they are uphill all of the way to your tap.

-Dropping your pressure for serving will cause more bubbles in your line, not less. Think about it - if you lower the pressure from the amount at which it is carbonated, the carbonation will want to leave the beer to equalize. The CO2 that leaves will seek the highest point, and that will almost always be in your lines. Many people lower the pressure to serve because it comes out too fast and foams. The correct solution is to do what Drunkensatyr and FlyGuy say and use 3/16" lines. This allows you to run at the higher pressure that you store your kegs at because the restrictive line will scrub off that pressure and give you a perfect pour.

The solution: balance your lines. There is a perfect balance that can be achieved between temperature, pressure, the resulting carbonation, line diameter, and line length. Download my Beer Line Length & Pressure Calculator and you're on the way to a solution:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=35369

Bearcat Brewmeister said:

...The correct solution is to do what Drunkensatyr and FlyGuy say and use 3/16" lines. This allows you to run at the higher pressure that you store your kegs at because the restrictive line will scrub off that pressure and give you a perfect pour.

Click to expand...

Thanks but I use 3/16ths lines for all my taps.

I'm pretty sure it is beer-specific. Upon further tesing, the guinness, the SNPA and the Bas Ale did not bubble up like my freshly added IPA's. (It was a daunting task to tap and drink every beer...but I was up to it.)

The other thing is that the collection of bubbles begins almost immediately after shutting off the tap for those beers.

I'm banking on the kegs being slighty over carb'd an degassing taking care of the problem.

Is it specific to a single keg? How old are the O-rings on that keg? It may be that you are not getting a complete seal around that liquid out QD. I have a similar problem (and my lines ARE balanced) but haven't had a chance to get any new O-rings and try it out, have had a brewing absence after our move.

Try a higher pressure