Temp, CO2 level & Line Balancing

OK, I'm not a newb or an expert by any means so bare with me....

I'm trying to set up a beer fridge (parts are on the way ) And I'm trying to get the same, or close to the same pressure for the carb level I want and still have my line balanced for a good pour.

Say my fridge temp is 36* and I want to get a carb level of 2.6, I would need a pressure of about 12PSI. Taken from Here: http://sdcollins.home.mindspring.com/ForceCarbonation.html

To have my lines balanced, I would use 3/16 plastic line-4.5 feet long, and my tap is 1 foot above the center of my keg. The pressure I would need is 12.65 PSI. Taken from here: http://kegman.net/balance.html

(both above examples were from links in the FAQ BTW!)

So that would be pretty balanced between a calculated pour and the carb level I would want for that beer. No worries that I would loose or gain the carbonation level if that keg was in the fridge for a while. But what do I do for a different beer style/carb level?

The only real variables that you could play with are fridge temp and the length of the line your using.

1- Does everyone try and find a happy medium or are you constantly messing around with those
2- Do you turn the CO2 up/down while pouring and change it back to keep the desired carb level?
3- What temp are your fridges/keezers set to?

Thanks

I would suggest a minimun line lenght of 6 ft, they can be trimmed but not added to.

Leave your co2 psi constant. Turning down the pressure to serve will result in co2 breakout and eventually flat beer.

My keezer dispenses at 42f.

I run 38-42 degrees in the kegerator. I have my CO2 set at 12psi. I have 10ft sections of 3/16" id beverage line...on all my taps except for one. My stout faucet is just a 5ft section of 1/4" beverage line from the previous recommendations that I got which turned out to be crap. The difference is the stout is connected to a stout faucet with a restrictor plate built-in...so the line restriction isn't much of a factor.

I'm happy with my pour with this arrangement. It's not fast --- but I'm not trying to serve 100 beers an hour either...so what's the rush.

So, basically you are prepared to be set up for your carbonation level and using that as the lowest common denominator-right? Even though technically, you could get away with say a 5ft line, you use 10 and just sacrifice the pour rate (or at least make sure that at least the length falls into the range you carbonate in)?

I only picked 4.5 because that was the length that made the same PSI setting when carbonating. I actually have longer lines.

Do you really want to keep the working pressure below 19-according to the kegman site?

Ki-ri-n said:

So, basically you are prepared to be set up for your carbonation level and using that as the lowest common denominator-right? Even though technically, you could get away with say a 5ft line, you use 10 and just sacrifice the pour rate (or at least make sure that at least the length falls into the range you carbonate in)?

I only picked 4.5 because that was the length that made the same PSI setting when carbonating. I actually have longer lines.

Do you really want to keep the working pressure below 19-according to the kegman site?

Click to expand...

Correct, most of those site go for a fast pour rate as in commercial serving. It's of no benefit to homebrewers to pour their pint in 4 seconds, and put up with the potential foaming problems. Of course a lot of people go to the extreme with 10' and longer lines to make up for other errors. I have a two tap setup one has a 5' line the other a 6', they both will pour any style of beer perfectly with no over foaming. And I don't know of many beers you would serve @ 19psi, most are in the 8-12 range, depending on the style.