serving line length issue

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Hoosier

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I am having an issue with figuring out the line length needed for my higher carbonated styles. I keep the fridge at 42F and use 3/16 ID line with picnic taps. According to ProMash I need to keep the gas at 24psi for 3.5 volumes of CO2. How do I calculate the line length using 3/16 ID tubing?
Reading what is posted on Northern Brewers website you need a 5ft length for 10psi to have a "perfect pour." Clearly this is not a linear equation. I tried a 12ft line and still had significant foaming issues. How can I solve this issue?
 
Their examples use 3PSI/foot on 3/16 tubing. Everything else I've read says 2 PSI/foot. I know the material makes a difference, so be aware.

Even figuring 2 PSI/foot doesn't seem to work for everybody.
 
that is what I am running into now. Based on the calculations @ 2psi resistance I need an 11ft length for 24psi with my system. I have a 12ft line that is still pouring too fast. i have more tubing and may just add another 5ft w/a connector and see where that gets me.
 
I read once in a soda making post, they had a cold fridge, close to 30psi, and it took 22feet of tap line to balance it.
hopefully this gives you some idea of how long you might have to go.
 
Ok, I'm trying to set my lines up for top performance. going to 2.5 volumes at 41 degrees. 3.2 foot distance from keg bottom to tap, giving my hose length of 3.2 ft. Now I've not heard of anyone using less than 5 ft! Whats the deal here. Am I way off?
 
Just went with 5 ft. Seems to be pouring well.

And I have 5 feet of 3/16 tubing for 42F beer and 2.5 volumes and mine pours like sh*&t! Nothing but foam. I have picnic taps and approximately 4' vertical lift.

When my beer pours, the line at the beginning of the hose (closest to keg) is full of liquid beer. As it gets closer to its final destination (my glass) it becomes foam and is dispensed as nothing but foam. I have played with the pressure and it is doing nothing but giving me a lot of foam really quickly or a lot of foam really slowly. :confused:
 
I've taken a very simple approach, all my lines (except the soda line) are 12' of 3/16ths. I don't care about the perfect pour. A few extra seconds and no worry about foam.

Duffman2 - changing your pressure doesn't immediately change the amount of CO2 in the beer and that is important.
 
At 24psi, you're going to need roughly a **** load of tubing. To be honest, the calculations are bull. If you want to test my theory, try doing the calculation, ordering exactly that length and if you pour half a glass of foam, I'm right. I think the resistance per foot is variable and the average temp of the beer is likely to be a little different than what the probe in the kegerator measures due to gradients in the box. 10' of tubing works well for my typical 10-14psi. Anything lower than 10psi for a mild for example, will pour a little too slow. I'd go with 16 feet for 24 psi and wrap it around the keg at the bottom where it will stay cold. You could also go shorter and fill your dip tube with those epoxy mixing tips. Search "a cure for your short hose troubles". It's not a Viagra ad.
 
...and wrap it around the keg at the bottom where it will stay cold.

I think this is important too and believe it was my foaming culprit on my keezer V1.0 I have 10 ft lines and coiled teh extra on top of the keg not even thinking about it. I do like the shorter lines though just from a organization standpoint.
Also duffman, Are you using beverage tubing or just 3/16 line from your hardware store? You have 24psi???
 
I went with 10' lines based on what I read here on the kegs that I added later. The lines on my original kegs that were 4-5' foam up no matter what I do whereas the 10' lines pour perfectly. Just went out yesterday and bought tubing so that I can convert the remaining lines to 10'. Montanaandy
 
I think this is important too and believe it was my foaming culprit on my keezer V1.0 I have 10 ft lines and coiled teh extra on top of the keg not even thinking about it. I do like the shorter lines though just from a organization standpoint.
Also duffman, Are you using beverage tubing or just 3/16 line from your hardware store? You have 24psi???

I set the keg at 20 psi for a couple of days, but other than that I've had it at 10.

My hose came from kegconnections but I just bought regular hardware store (Lowes) tubing at 12 ft to try it out. Hopefully the tubing is ok.
 
I am running 15' of 3/16" and at 42* I usually get a nearly perfect pour. Along with what Bobby said, the calculations are not the gospel, but I personally think they are a pretty good starting point.
 
I am running 15' of 3/16" and at 42* I usually get a nearly perfect pour. Along with what Bobby said, the calculations are not the gospel, but I personally think they are a pretty good starting point.

Those are long! I get perfect pours at 42f with 6ft lines. Everybody's setup is different.
 
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