Kegerator Trouble Shoot

So I got a kegerator recently and I've currently got a 1/2 barrel of sierra nevada harvest in it (i'm getting ready to do my first corny keg with some xmas beer).

I've got psi set to about 8.5, and the temperature depending on where I put the thermometer in the kegerator ranges from 36 at the bottom, to 42 at the very top with about 4.5 feet of 3/16" line.

So the problem is that for the first beer that i pour, it is very foamy and the tap handle is VERY stiff and difficult to open and close. After the first beer it works well the rest of the night.

Any tips or ideas to help resolve this?

Thanks!
Joe

put a small fan in there. You can get a small computer fan and power it with a 6 or 12v wall charger, like from an old cell phone or such.

i think its about more than the temperature difference, tonight when my wife got a beer, the handle was so stiff (presumably from pressure build up) that it was almost impossible to shut the tap off, even with both hands...

clean the faucet. consider forward-seal like perlicks or ventmatic.

If it really is the pressure that's causing the tap to be difficult to shut off, then your regulator is malfunctioning. If it's set to 8.5 PSI, it should never allow more pressure build up than that, and in fact when the tap is open, the pressure will be much lower. Definitely make sure the tap is clean.

I'm not really sure, thanks for the good ideas. I'm about to finish a keg of sierra nevada harvest, and I'll clean everything out for sure when I do that...

I guess my concern is, this is a BRAND spankin new kegerator from beverage factory.
http://www.beveragefactory.com/draftbeer/kegerators/HBF05EBSS-2.shtml

Just seems like it should function a little more smoothly out of the box

I cleaned the taps today, and that was definitely 90+% of the issue, but why would it get so sticky/clogged? This keg has only been on draft for 3-4 weeks.

JoeIsbell said:

I cleaned the taps today, and that was definitely 90+% of the issue, but why would it get so sticky/clogged? This keg has only been on draft for 3-4 weeks.

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Well that is why they sell and advertise forward sealing fawcetts that limit the amount of left over beer in the spout ; to reduce sticking.

I had some generic non perlicks and they never stuck and my keezer is outside, but some folks swear that the cheap ones stick. I upgraded since then so I cant tell you. All I know is that my forward sealing Perlicks do not stick.

I don't have any sticking problems with my non forward sealing faucets.
After I pull my last liter for the day I inject SaniClean into the vent hole, all residual beer is cleaned out.



Cheers,
ClaudiusB

ClaudiusB said:

I don't have any sticking problems with my non forward sealing faucets.
After I pull my last liter for the day I inject SaniClean into the vent hole, all residual beer is cleaned out.

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Doesn't that seem like an annoying hassle? I guess i'm kind of annoyed that I didn't know this going in or i'd have upgraded. O well.

Just FYI, I kegged my first homebrew tonight which is pretty exciting. Its a cristmas ale based off a stone arrogant bastard clone (minus some IBU's of course)