Keg Line Length

I see a lot of posts on here about the length of line for the out tube of kegs. However, all I have on mine is a picnic tap and I get a great pour everytime. Am I missing something when people are talking about their "line length"? Thanks!

How long is the line between your picnic tap and keg? You're not missing anything, you just happened to pick a good length for your serving pressure.

It must only be about 8 inches max. Very short line.

What is your carbing pressure and what is your serving pressure?

I usally carb at 30 for about 36 hours with a couple shakes in that time span. Then purge and knock it down to just about 8-9

the "30 for 36" method doesn't really give a reliable way of determining co2 volumes so I can't guess at that, but apparently whatever it is, it works with 8-9 psi serving and the ling length. How long does it take to fill a pint glass.

i would love to empirically test that right now but i am at work. to guess I would say 4-5 seconds.

So it's a bit fast, but if you're now getting excessive foam I would leave well enough alone. Supposedly it should take 8 seconds, but my system (11psi, 5' lines) is probably closer to your 5 seconds.

Thanks for your help, much appreciated. 5 foot lines?! I can't understand how my 8 inch line seems to work fine and your 5 foot line also works(insert thats what she said joke). What gives?

What temperature is your keg at?

48 I believe

that would be one variable. Mine is kept at 39-42. You'll have less co2 in solution. I'm guessing your beer is over all not as carbed. That would be making the difference combined with ~3psi lower on the serving pressure. 3psi doesn't sound like a lot, but it's 25% of mine, so a significant difference.

What gives is that you have no idea what your actual carbonation level is. When you knock it down to 8-9 psi to get a decent pour, you're also potentially losing carbonation. Long lines are generally required when you want to carb over 2 volumes at something like 40-45F, and you don't want to mess around adjusting pressures to serve slow enough.

If you wait long enough, 8psi at 48F will get you to 1.8 volumes which is about right for English beers.

So are you saying that the carbonation method I use is not ideal? It's worked several times but I think hat you're saying is that I could never put a number to my carbonation levels.

Well, if you're happy with the results, it's ideal. I guess the way to look at it is that you just don't know if the carb level is style appropriate and you couldn't duplicate results on subsequent batches if that matter to you.