Too much foam problems...

Help! I purchased a second cobra tap and associated hoses, etc. so that I could have 2 beers on tap at the same time. Well, I've had nothing but problems with this new tap. Last night I wanted to tap my first IPA brew but could not, for the life of me, get it to pour without producing loads of foam (like 7/8 of the glass worth!). I had the keg on 28psi for about 4 days, in the fridge obviously. I turned the pressure down to 5psi and bled off all the gas out of the keg. From first pour to 5th pour it's all the same, tons of foam. The tubing is clear so I can see that as soon as I stop pouring bubbles begin to form at the tap end AND at the keg end. My tubing is about 2.5-3 ft long approximately.

What's going on here and how can I fix it?

thanks again!

Hmmm. Does this issue subside after 5 pints? I usually expect the first few to be foamy and poor a pitcher or two to get it going. Is the carbonation level pretty high after the foam subsides?

I'm not going on my rant, but next time just for grins, just keg and force carb slowly at serving pressure 8-12psi for 7-14 days or however long it takes.

As for now, Your kegs are over carbed. Take the gas off , shake, pull relief valve ,repeat a few times all day. Then start carbing again as stated above.

Oh and 2-3 ft of line is too short, you need 10 ft of 3/16" line.

What's the diameter? If it's 3/16'', you need between 5 and 6 feet.

JonK331 said:

Hmmm. Does this issue subside after 5 pints? I usually expect the first few to be foamy and poor a pitcher or two to get it going. Is the carbonation level pretty high after the foam subsides?

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I only poured maybe 4 pints and it wasn't necessarily getting any better but I'll pour a few more tonight and see if it improves.

Yes 5-6 feet of 3/16" ID tubing is ideal, and you should really be carbonating at the pressure you intend to serve at. I know force carbonating works, but if you just give it at week at 10 PSI, you wont be having these issues

Brewsmith said:

What's the diameter? If it's 3/16'', you need between 5 and 6 feet.

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I think it's 3/8". I'll have to check tonight. It's just the standard picnic tap line, you know. My first tap is the same diameter and the same length but I don't seem to have any problems with that one.

Oh yeah - 3 ft of 3/8" tubing will foam like a mo-fo!

Beavdowg said:

I think it's 3/8". I'll have to check tonight. It's just the standard picnic tap line, you know. My first tap is the same diameter and the same length but I don't seem to have any problems with that one.

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No it's 3/16", and yes that lines to short and it's probably overcarbed. You can't help but pour foamy beer with that setup.

wildwest450 said:

No it's 3/16", and yes that lines to short and it's probably overcarbed. You can't help but pour foamy beer with that setup.

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Wildwest, thank you soo very much for responding to my post. As I've said in the past I just can't get enough of your avatar!! But on to my problem; so I should have 5 feet of 3/16" hose and carb my keg at 10psi for 1 week? Is this all correct?

thanks

Beavdowg said:

I had the keg on 28psi for about 4 days

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JessRC is right.

The above is your problem. Your beer is way overcarbed right now. You will need to vent the gas repeatedly for the next few days to get it back down to a reasonable level.

Beavdowg said:

Wildwest, thank you soo very much for responding to my post. As I've said in the past I just can't get enough of your avatar!! But on to my problem; so I should have 5 feet of 3/16" hose and carb my keg at 10psi for 1 week? Is this all correct?

thanks

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I would start with 6ft of hose(yes, 3/16"), it can be cut not lengthened. You need to carb to your beer temp and your volumes of c02, use the chart in my sig. As was suggested, take the beer off the gas and purge it several times, then re-attach and set at proper psi. Be patient it will carb and pour great in a day or two.

Thanks I'll get more beer line this weekend.

I vote for 10' of 3/16" ID. If I'm wrong, you shorten it and are only out what ever hose you removed. I think 10' is a nice compromise and it gives you some room to work with at the higher end of the serving pressures.

Totally agree with starting with 10'.

28psi x 4 days is definitely over carbed. The general problem with "burst", "flash", "rush", "hurry" carbing is that it's not fully predictable. Well, maybe it is but I haven't seen anyone run the numbers or test it to be able to predict volumes based on elevated pressures. What I do know is that as the volumes of CO2 reaches equilibrium, the speed of absorption gets slower and slower. If it were linear, we'd have it figured out easy.

You might be at a good carb level right now, but you'll only know that once you change out your serving line to 6-10' of 3/16" ID tubing. If it's still blowing foam, you know it's overcarbed.

It's really hard to get the CO2 out when the beer is cold. Take it out of the fridge, warm it up to room temp and keep pulling the vent for a full day.

I've got 3.5 ft. of 3/8 running out of two different kegs at two different pressures. Never had a problem. 10ft. seems like a bit much.

JonK331 said:

10ft. seems like a bit much.

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To me too. I don't have 3 minutes to wait for a beer to pour. I don't understand all the problems people have with kegging. Enormously long lines is a bandaid on a bigger problem, if you have a properly balanced system 5' to 6' is plenty, imo.

I may not be a master brewer yet, but I know it all when it comes to carbonation. :cross:

wildwest450 said:

To me too. I don't have 3 minutes to wait for a beer to pour. I don't understand all the problems people have with kegging. Enormously long lines is a bandaid on a bigger problem, if you have a properly balanced system 5' to 6' is plenty, imo.

I may not be a master brewer yet, but I know it all when it comes to carbonation. :cross:

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3 minutes!!! come on now, you'll send all the noobs running to cut their lines. I'm just saying, it may work for you, but all of these new kegging beginners are being told to shake and force carb and use 5', it's only gonna end in more posts about foam. Lets make their fist keg experience a good one and then let them tweak from there as they get experience.

JesseRC said:

3 minutes!!! come on now, you'll send all the noobs running to cut their lines. I'm just saying, it may work for you, but all of these new kegging beginners are being told to shake and force carb and use 5', it's only gonna end in more posts about foam. Lets make their fist keg experience a good one and then let them tweak from there as they get experience.

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Ha! Poop on the n00bs! That will teach them to force carb like cavemen. It's a lot of people on here who are giving the bad advice about shaking beer, besides 20 ft lines won't help if your way overcarbed.

P.S. A properly balanced system will work for anyone.

JonK331 said:

I've got 3.5 ft. of 3/8 running out of two different kegs at two different pressures. Never had a problem. 10ft. seems like a bit much.

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I guess you just like your beers either a bit less carbonated and/or served colder.
The other possibility is that you turn your pressure down for serving.
I like to serve at 43F and I like high carbonation. That's a double whammy requiring both higher pressure and longer lines.

I serve my beers around 40. Like I said I have two different kegs going. So I might have a pils at 10-12 psi and a porter at 3-4. Never had problems. Besides, at the start of a new keg, the first few are always a bit foamy and then it calms down. Just pour a darn pitcher, be a bit patient, and it's fine. If you want to suck down beers like a college frat party, just turn down the pressure. You can't have a perfectly pourn beer with a beautiful rocky head without being a little bit patient. The wonderful stuff takes hours to make and weeks to age so what's another minute or two per pint

Beavdowg said:

As I've said in the past I just can't get enough of your avatar!

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Yeah. I am a fan too!

Random_Guy said:

Yeah. I am a fan too!

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where you from??