Head of foam and flat soda.

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drakkenkin

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I'm trying to force carbonate soda in a 5gal keg and all I'm getting is a glass full of foam and a flat soda.

-The set up:
Picnic Tap
25' line out
Soda carbonated at 35psi for 6 days
Refrigerator temp of 37 to 42 deg F

-When I have tried to fill a glass I have bled the tank and set the regulator to about 5 to 10 PSI. Once the picnic tap is connected, soda starts to leave the keg before I press the taps lever to start pouring. (Same problem with both of the picnic taps I have.) Once I press the lever a lot of soda comes into the line but it is all foam and what I get in the glass is half an inch of soda with a two inch head of foam. :confused:

-The tap and line was in the refrigerator with the keg.

Anyone out there have an idea what I can do to fix this?
 
Try this:

Completely disconnect the CO2.
Bleed the soda keg until there is barely any pressure. (Do not reconnect the CO2)
Pour a couple glasses... still might be a little foamy at first, but after a couple of pours, you should be good to go.
 
I pour at the same pressure as I keep the soda at. Turning it down might be causing the co2 to come out of solution, causing flat foamy soda.

I use about 30' of 3/16 line for 30 psi at 40 degrees.
 
LVBen: Tried it. Turned off the CO2, bled the tank, and tried to serve a glass. The soda didn't leave the keg.

Yooper: I would love to try this, but I have soda leaving the tap at 5 PSI. I fear what will happen at 30 PSI. Could my problem be caused in part by trying to use picnic taps?
 
drakkenkin said:
LVBen: Tried it. Turned off the CO2, bled the tank, and tried to serve a glass. The soda didn't leave the keg.

Yooper: I would love to try this, but I have soda leaving the tap at 5 PSI. I fear what will happen at 30 PSI. Could my problem be caused in part by trying to use picnic taps?
Click to expand...

No, I don't think so. I use picnic taps for soda all the time.

Is your line 25' of 3/16" line?
 
No it isn't. When I went to get a longer line they were out of the 3/16 so I picked up 1/4th and tightened it with crimps.
 
Excellent, I'll go out and get a new line tomorrow and see if it works any better.

Thanks - I'll let you know how it turns out.

(BTW: Is it normal for a tap not to hold back a beverage at 5 PSI? I can even hear air passing the tap when it's disconnected and I move it with fluid in it.)
 
drakkenkin said:
Excellent, I'll go out and get a new line tomorrow and see if it works any better.

Thanks - I'll let you know how it turns out.

(BTW: Is it normal for a tap not to hold back a beverage at 5 PSI? I can even hear air passing the tap when it's disconnected and I move it with fluid in it.)
Click to expand...

Not really, but yes. If that makes sense!

Here's why: the beverage may be reduced to 5 psi to pour. But the beverage is actually carbed up to 3.0 volumes (more or less- soda is usually more, while beer is less). That means when the poppit is in the post, there is a way for it to come out. Not only do you get the beverage, you get some of the gas. If you keep the system charged according to the amount of the carb you have, it doesn't do that.

I have to keep my system balanced, and then it never happens.
 
Went out and picked up 40' of 3/16" ID line. Connected it all up, and started at 5 PSI and had the same problem. Turned up the pressure to 30 PSI. The soda looked like it was running with very few bubbles but the tap was not stopping it from flowing out and I had to turn off the CO2 and bled the keg to keep the 32oz mug from over flowing.

The soda in the glass still was flat, but the head was smaller.

Any other ideas?

----
A few hours after the above try I changed out the picnic tap on the line for my other one and was able to get it to hold the soda in the line at 10 PSI, but at 30 PSI the soda would just flow on out. Not that that solved anything. I'm still getting a flat soda with all a big head.

Going to try and degas in the keg a bit. I'm hoping I just over carbonated it.
 
drakkenkin said:
Went out and picked up 40' of 3/16" ID line. Connected it all up, and started at 5 PSI and had the same problem. Turned up the pressure to 30 PSI. The soda looked like it was running with very few bubbles but the tap was not stopping it from flowing out and I had to turn off the CO2 and bled the keg to keep the 32oz mug from over flowing.

The soda in the glass still was flat, but the head was smaller.

Any other ideas?

----
A few hours after the above try I changed out the picnic tap on the line for my other one and was able to get it to hold the soda in the line at 10 PSI, but at 30 PSI the soda would just flow on out. Not that that solved anything. I'm still getting a flat soda with all a big head.

Going to try and degas in the keg a bit. I'm hoping I just over carbonated it.
Click to expand...

Hmmm. Are you opening the tap completely and fully? The reason I ask is because sometimes people try to slow down a pour a bit, and sort of squeeze the tap. That makes it shoot out like a firehose (like pinching the end of a garden hose). This doesn't make sense.

Can you double check the connections of the black QD and then look at the post itself and the poppit? You can even take the black QD apart to see if the o-ring in there is ok.
 
Yooper said:
Can you double check the connections of the black QD and then look at the post itself and the poppit? You can even take the black QD apart to see if the o-ring in there is ok.
Click to expand...

I have only been opening the tap fully.

I took apart and checked the connections of the black QD. It looks like it is okay. It is threaded correctly, the o-rings are in good condition, and the poppet is free to move. The poppet is able to move a bit from side to site once depressed, but it makes a good seal once I stop pressing it down.

I have two kegs. I'm having the same problem with both kegs but they have different sodas. I'm about to dump out the ginger ale batch I was making (for some reason it has lost its bite) and try to carbonate some water. Would that prove to be a useful experiment?
 
drakkenkin said:
I have only been opening the tap fully.

I took apart and checked the connections of the black QD. It looks like it is okay. It is threaded correctly, the o-rings are in good condition, and the poppet is free to move. The poppet is able to move a bit from side to site once depressed, but it makes a good seal once I stop pressing it down.

I have two kegs. I'm having the same problem with both kegs but they have different sodas. I'm about to dump out the ginger ale batch I was making (for some reason it has lost its bite) and try to carbonate some water. Would that prove to be a useful experiment?
Click to expand...

I don't know. I'm at a loss. I've kegged lots of sodas, and never had an issue.
 
One last thing, The tubing I was sold is vinyl tubing. From what I have read vinyl tubing will offer less resistance and therefor back pressure. Do you think that could be a contributing factor?
 
drakkenkin said:
One last thing, The tubing I was sold is vinyl tubing. From what I have read vinyl tubing will offer less resistance and therefor back pressure. Do you think that could be a contributing factor?
Click to expand...

I don't know. I've been using two kinds- the beverage line from the LHBS, and the semi-rigid line from McMaster-Carr- with good results. If you're up to 40' of 3/16", though, that doesn't seem like the problem.
 

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