I'm starting fresh..just finished my build (few screws left actually) and am hooking up my hardware to pour my first beer tonight
Congratulations! I know what it's like working on one.
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?
Correct, for Lagers at 38 degrees, it should get you 2.38 volumes. Right in the middle of the range for that style.
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.
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...
Length of line = ( Presure -(Height x .5)-1 ) / Resistance of line
Length of line = ( 10 -(3 x .5)-1 ) / 2.7
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.
Any recommendations on final line size and PSI on those specs would be great!!
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