line length on keezer

i tried googling and found an article on it, but it went a little over my head when it got to elevation of the taps and stuff..so i was curious what length beverage lines you are running on your keezers?

i bought 11 ft lines so i don't go too short..but im pretty sure I should probably cut them down to 8 ft or so

10 feet of 3/16, I would not recommend cutting your lines, my opinion. I was having one beer come out consistently slower than the others and I cut that line a little shorter. Now I pour a glass and get half a glass of foam. Just received my replacement 10 foot line.

If you want help, you have to answer these questions.

P = regulator presure

H = total height from center of keg to faucet in feet

What type of line are you using?



Tony

My pressure's at 10psi, my lines are 3/16" thick-walled beverage tubing, and they're 6 feet long. Only the first pour has too much foam - warm faucet. After that, it's all good. Pour is a tad slow, but not bad. I suspect an 11' line would pour quite slowly.

I'm starting fresh..just finished my build (few screws left actually) and am hooking up my hardware to pour my first beer tonight

I've got two lagers. my temp is set to 38 degrees. i haven't hooked up my tank and regulator yet, but im hearing around 10 PSI is where i want to be?

total height from center of keg to faucet? hmm, I'd say 3 ft maybe, give or take.

this is my beverage line: Kegco 11 Foot Length of 3/16 Inch I.D. Clear Thermoplastic Super.



Any recommendations on final line size and PSI on those specs would be great!!

Toneus said:

If you want help, you have to answer these questions.

P = regulator presure

You should have set your regulator presure to match the beer style and temperature of your cooling appliance. If you haven't done this, then we need to know more.​

H = total height from center of keg to faucet in feet

What type of line are you using?

Line Type:
3/8” OD stainless beverage tubing
5/16” OD stainless beverage tubing
1/4” OD stainless beverage tubing
3/8” ID plastic beer line
5/16” ID plastic beer line
1/4” ID plastic beer line
3/16” ID plastic beer line​

Tony

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jschnyderite said:

I'm starting fresh..just finished my build (few screws left actually) and am hooking up my hardware to pour my first beer tonight

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Congratulations! I know what it's like working on one.

jschnyderite said:

I've got two lagers. my temp is set to 38 degrees. i haven't hooked up my tank and regulator yet, but im hearing around 10 PSI is where i want to be?

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Correct, for Lagers at 38 degrees, it should get you 2.38 volumes. Right in the middle of the range for that style.

jschnyderite said:

total height from center of keg to faucet? hmm, I'd say 3 ft maybe, give or take.

this is my beverage line: Kegco 11 Foot Length of 3/16 Inch I.D. Clear Thermoplastic Super.

Click to expand...

3/16 line has a resistance of 2.7. This is a high resistance compared to other lines, but that's not a bad thing.

The length equation is...

The 1 in this equation is residual presure at the tap. If you want the beer to flow a little faster, then use 2.

The Length of line needed is 2.7 feet (2 feet 9 inches).

If you wanted the faster pour, then you can shorten to 2.4 feet (2 feet 5")

Note that these lengths are very short, but that is due to the small line size and the low presure for that beer style of 10 psi. Most other lines don't offer that much resistance. So if you're going to run multiple beer styles, you're going to have different volumes and different line lengths to be in balance.

jschnyderite said:

Any recommendations on final line size and PSI on those specs would be great!!

Click to expand...

Beverage line size is really dependent on the length of the run. It takes more PSI to push a liquid though a small diameter line a long distance. So that is really up to your setup and how much of a spider web of lines you want.

I personally have 3/16 ID lines, and I run two presures in my Keezer, 11 and 14. So my lines are longer, up around 8 feet. I don't get to hung up on how fast it is at the tap, just as long as it's not foaming. Make sure your taps are within about 5 degrees of the beer, or the warming effect at the tap will foam the beer too.

Cheers,

Tony

Hi

You never really know what pressure you will be serving at six months from now. Likely it will be below 20 psi, but how far below - who knows. I'd go for at least 15 feet of 3/16 if you are buying lines from scratch.

Bob

Correct, the line length will differ as you change presures, and even temperatures. I persoanally moved my temps up into the high 40's to see what it did to the flavor profiles of my beers. I have tried to find a comfortable medium, and assumed that I might need to buy different length hoses as I bring different beers online.

Cheers!

Toneus said:

Correct, the line length will differ as you change presures, and even temperatures. I persoanally moved my temps up into the high 40's to see what it did to the flavor profiles of my beers. I have tried to find a comfortable medium, and assumed that I might need to buy different length hoses as I bring different beers online.

Cheers!

Click to expand...

Hi

Lines that are "to short" create problems with foam. Lines that are "to long" simply pour more slowly than you might prefer. I can get plenty of beer out of a 20 foot 3/16 line at 12 psi. I'm sure that at some point (3 psi?) I'd get fed up with the pour rate. On a first time setup - go long. If you ever run into a rate problem you can always cut them down.

Bob

thanks all...ill try it at 11' for a bit and see how it works..especially since ill be trying different beers, i wouldn't want a really short cut.

i didn't get the 'foam caused by 5 degrees' comment above. can anyone explain?

i'm having a gathering tonight and know ill probably run into some issues in setting up, but hopefully i can work it out =)

carlisle_bob said:

Hi

Lines that are "to short" create problems with foam. Lines that are "to long" simply pour more slowly than you might prefer. I can get plenty of beer out of a 20 foot 3/16 line at 12 psi. I'm sure that at some point (3 psi?) I'd get fed up with the pour rate. On a first time setup - go long. If you ever run into a rate problem you can always cut them down.

Bob

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