will this help 1st glass foam issue

I have had a few foaming issues since building my keezer. I have made numerous adjustments to line length and pressures. My only foaming now is the very first glass. Watching the beer in the line and thru the help of others it seems that its just a matter of the beer lines not staying as cold as the rest of the system. I have 12' lines coiled on the top of each keg. So here is what I hope solves the first pour problem. I used a project box from radio shack, a 120mm computer fan and an old nokia charger I had lying around. A 3" flexible venting tube, and a pvc flange thing from menards.




forgot to click another pic with the hose but i think you see where i was going with this. Now the box is on the bottom of the keezer and the flexible tubing is moving the colder air from the bottom and blowing over the hoses I have coiled near the taps.

Whaddya think? should this help that first pour?

Mike in Duluth

That should help a bit, but the real offender is going to be the bit of line in your tap tower. I have done two keggerators now and in both the final solution for foamy first pour was constant circulation into the tap tower.

Nice fit and finish on your blower BTW, looks great.

bowiefan said:

That should help a bit, but the real offender is going to be the bit of line in your tap tower. I have done two keggerators now and in both the final solution for foamy first pour was constant circulation into the tap tower.

Nice fit and finish on your blower BTW, looks great.

Click to expand...

No tower, btw. Its a collared keezer build. This is the build: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/finally-shes-done-now-181469/

Mike

What size line are you using? If you're using 1/4" ID, you'll run into foaming problems for lines shorter than fifteen or twenty feet. If you're using 3/16" ID, you can go as low as six feet and it should be a pretty clean pour. This is all dependent on elevations as well (keg vs faucet elevation). Here's a great primer on balancing draft systems

Decypher said:

What size line are you using? If you're using 1/4" ID, you'll run into foaming problems for lines shorter than fifteen or twenty feet. If you're using 3/16" ID, you can go as low as six feet and it should be a pretty clean pour. This is all dependent on elevations as well (keg vs faucet elevation). Here's a great primer on balancing draft systems

Click to expand...

I spent the 1st couple weeks getting the balancing as close as I could. I ended up going from 6' 3/16 lines up to 12' 3/16 lines and have them coiled on top of each keg now instead of letting the lines droop down. I run co2 at 12lbs. I have eliminated all foaming now except for the 1st glass. After a period of non use if i open the lid and look at my lines i can see gaps in the beer. So i believe that the line is allowing the beer to warm enough when it sets for a few hours that co2 is breaking out of the solution. After the 1st glass on each tap, the pours are perfect. Of course my freezer is much colder at the bottom than the top. SO i hope with this build to be able to move the much colder air across the lines and limit the co2 breakout.

Mike in Duluth

Mike

Mike,

Ok, the blower should have the desired effect then, wire it so it runs 24/7 though so that it evens the temp throughout the keezer. What length shanks are you using? For a collar, you will want some additional shank mass extending into the cold space to act as a heatsink and keep your taps cool. Also, the outgassing in your lines, is it all the way thru or just near the taps?

Ben

bowiefan said:

Mike,

Ok, the blower should have the desired effect then, wire it so it runs 24/7 though so that it evens the temp throughout the keezer. What length shanks are you using? For a collar, you will want some additional shank mass extending into the cold space to act as a heatsink and keep your taps cool. Also, the outgassing in your lines, is it all the way thru or just near the taps?

Ben

Click to expand...

I do have the blower running 24/7 now. The shanks are 4" thru a 2" collar so I do have some mass inside. As for the outgassing, it is more in the coil of hose that near the taps.

Funny, we have/had the exact same problem. Here is a link to a previous thread I started a while back.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/foaming-problems-initial-pour-154325/

bucfanmike said:

I spent the 1st couple weeks getting the balancing as close as I could. I ended up going from 6' 3/16 lines up to 12' 3/16 lines and have them coiled on top of each keg now instead of letting the lines droop down. I run co2 at 12lbs. I have eliminated all foaming now except for the 1st glass. After a period of non use if i open the lid and look at my lines i can see gaps in the beer. So i believe that the line is allowing the beer to warm enough when it sets for a few hours that co2 is breaking out of the solution. After the 1st glass on each tap, the pours are perfect. Of course my freezer is much colder at the bottom than the top. SO i hope with this build to be able to move the much colder air across the lines and limit the co2 breakout.

Mike in Duluth

Mike

Click to expand...

Looks like you're way ahead of me. I installed circulation fans in my kegerator to keep the temperature constant from top to bottom. So hopefully this solution works for you. Good luck!

For anyone with the same problem just thought i'd update. This has fixed my 1st glass foaming issue.