Slow pour

Okay I got everything assembled and hooked up. I force carbed a keg last night using the shaking method. It's been sitting for a while now. When I go to pour a beer the beer comes out pretty slow. It take 15-20 seconds or so to fill a pint glass.

Is this normal for home-brew kegs or is my faucet messed up? It's the standard faucet not a Perlick. Is there an adjustment screw someplace?

Oh yeah.. I have it set to 11psi which is about 1.5psi over where a porter should be.

Line length? Line Diameter? Have you poured off this setup/tap before? checked for clogged pick-up tubes on the keg? Mine was clogged with hops once and pouring SSSOOOOO slow.

Brand new setup.. 1/4" ID tubing.. 3ft on the liquid line.

With only 3' of 1/4" line I'd expect it to be coming out so fast that all you get is foam. Check for a clog or blockage, most likely places are in the diptube, the poppet, or the faucet.

JuanMoore said:

With only 3' of 1/4" line I'd expect it to be coming out so fast that all you get is foam. Check for a clog or blockage, most likely places are in the diptube, the poppet, or the faucet.

Click to expand...

What he means, is something like a firehose of beer foam.

What size line should I be using. I found out my LHBS knows NOTHING about kegging.. had to go back 3 times to get all the pieces.. should have just ordered the kit from Keg Cowboy.

A firehose of beer foam is a better way to put it. As far as line length, it varies some depending on your system and the brand of lines, but 6-10' of 3/16" id line is pretty standard. I'd start with 10' and cut 6-12" at a time until it's right. First you need to figure out what's causing the blockage though.

There was no blockage.. the LHBS lady sold me a dual gauge regulator with a 3/16 barb on it, but keg connectors with 1/4" barbs and she gave me only 1/4" tubing. Well the 1/4" ID tubing wouldn't stretch over the 3/16 barb so I got some 1/2" tubing and hose clamped it to the 3/16 barb and then slid the 1/4" tubing inside it. Well I just found out that won't work, leaking CO2 like crazy.

I'm off to ace hardware to get some all 3/16 tubing and I'll just clamp it well on the 1/4" barbs. Sound like that will work?

GreenDragon said:

There was no blockage.. the LHBS lady sold me a dual gauge regulator with a 3/16 barb on it, but keg connectors with 1/4" barbs and she gave me only 1/4" tubing. Well the 1/4" ID tubing wouldn't stretch over the 3/16 barb so I got some 1/2" tubing and hose clamped it to the 3/16 barb and then slid the 1/4" tubing inside it. Well I just found out that won't work, leaking CO2 like crazy.

I'm off to ace hardware to get some all 3/16 tubing and I'll just clamp it well on the 1/4" barbs. Sound like that will work?

Click to expand...

No, that probably won't work.

Number one, you want food grade tubing. I doubt Ace has it. You also want 3/16" ID tubing, but thick walled. I can't remember the OD, but it's important to have that thick walled tubing so that it can handle pressure.

Beverage tubing is really what you need. If you can't get 3/16" beer line at your LHBS, you'll have to order it.

I'm not sure even what is going on here.

So the 1/4" tubing is OD? You say the liquid lines are 1/4" ID. Are the gas lines the same tubing or something different? You can use a smaller tube on a larger barb, just hold it in near boiling water for 20 or so seconds and should slip right on. The trick is to only hold about the last inch of the end of the tube in the water so the rest of the line doesn't go all limp-wiener on you. This method will work for one size difference, sometimes two.

I use 12' of 3/16" BevLex line. That way I get a good pour on more highly carbed beers.

I use 3/16" ID food grade beer line @ ~9 feet. It pours a perfect drawn pint at 38'f first pour.

I just ordered the correct disconnects from Keg Connection. Four feet of 5/16 gas line with 5/16th disconnect and 10 feet of 3/16 beer line with 1/4 disconnect. (No clue why the disconnect on the beer line is slightly larger then the hose.)

Looks like you're on the right track now.

Boil a cup of water in the microwave, then dip the beer line end into it for a few seconds. It will go on the 1/4" barb much easier.


_

yeah 1/4" barbs are pretty standard for our gas and liquid couplings. I'm using 3/16" ID barrier tubing and it was a BIG PITA to get it on. I had to dip in boiling water then use my snap ring pliers to spread the tubing, then dip in boiling water again and use pliers to spread 90° of my first one. then I had to quickly get it on my barb fitting before it cooled off and shrank back down to size.

all i'm saying is you should be able to get the end of the tubing soft enough to get on that barb no problem.

-=Jason=-

I find it is really easy to get 3/16" onto the 1/4" barb, boiling water for 5 seconds and put it on, no need for a pliers or anything, just work quick