The cure for your short hose troubles

Yakima 728
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Just got my first 12-pack and put the first two in a beer I'm force carbing overnight at 30-psi.

I'm impressed - I drew a sample at 30psi through a 5' hose attached to a ventmatic faucet with one of the smaller diameter nozzles from centerline and it poured like it was at about 15-psi or less. I'll definitely be ordering a bunch more for all my kegs.

Thanks for the tip - this is definitely something I never would have discovered without this great forum and exchange of ideas!
 
Wow, these REALLY slow down the pour and reduce the foam. My kegs were naturally primed, but, due to short hoses, I was turning them down to 5 psi to serve and had to remember to bump them back to 10 psi at the end of the evening. Adjusting the regulator with that stubby screwdriver was getting to be a pain, especially after a few pints. Now, I can just leave the thing at 10-12 psi and not have to worry about it. Thanks for the GREAT tip on these!!

I think I'll go pour myself another pint of my Simcoe IPA!

A perfect pour, still a decent pour speed and a great head with just the right amount of foam. I am a happy brewer/drinker this evening!

Just for reference for others, I am using the standard five foot hose with picnic tap setup from Keg Connection.
 
dustinp said:
Here is a question for all of the mixer stick experts!!: Is there any other side effects to a slow pour besides waiting for your glass to fill up? For example, any carbonation, or head retention issues? The reason I ask is because I am set at 20psi for a honey weizen and have 2 mixer sticks in the keg liquid tube. The beer is not fully carbonated yet, but this question popped in my head after a few glasses of good beer!!!
Click to expand...

I am using 5ft lines at 12-14 PSI with taps in the fridge door (also used them for months with picnic taps) and have never had a problem with head retention or anything else.. the only "problem" I have heard of with these things is the slow pour you mentioned.. Personally, I dont mind waiting 8-10 seconds to fill my glass... Except that I have to stare at my Seahawks tap handle the whole time and that gives me more time to:eek: get even more disgusted with them.....
 
GroosBrewz said:
I am using 5ft lines at 12-14 PSI with taps in the fridge door (also used them for months with picnic taps) and have never had a problem with head retention or anything else.. the only "problem" I have heard of with these things is the slow pour you mentioned.. Personally, I dont mind waiting 8-10 seconds to fill my glass... Except that I have to stare at my Seahawks tap handle the whole time and that gives me more time to:eek: get even more disgusted with them.....
Click to expand...


Wow, I've seen many of your posts and never noticed you were in Colfax! I'm a WSU graduate and have been through there many times.
 
Does anyone have any concerns about these not being food-grade? I was tempted to order some, but am having second thoughts.

Thanks
 
Pickngrin said:
Does anyone have any concerns about these not being food-grade? I was tempted to order some, but am having second thoughts.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Speaking only for me, I have never really given it a second thought. Since it has become so important to my kegging system, they are just too important to worry about..

BTW, I am pickin' and grinnin too.... :mug:
 
I soaked mine in sanitizer for a few days before I used them. I figured any leeching would happen pretty quick. Also, since they are being used in cold temps, if there was anything bad in them, it should leech at a much slower rate. Personally, Im not that worried about it since they are so small. Even "food safe" plastic isnt always safe. Look at the nalgene/bpa plastics. We are all gonna die sometime...might as well enjoy a perfectly poured homebrew first ;)
 
hmmm.... I'm just thinking that every drop of the keg comes in contact with that piece.
Are people that are inserting vinyl tubing into the dip tube having similar positive results?
 
I just built a new kegorator and instead of sweating adding resistance with these, I used all flare connections and started with 4' lines and made a set of extensions in 6", 12" and 24". Then I calculated line lengths (with the spreadsheet here) since I know my temp and I know the vols of CO2 for each beer, and I can put in extensions to lengthen lines with a few seconds effort. So far so good.

I now have to figure out which of my 17 kegs has the swirlygig in the dip tube...
 
Pickngrin said:
hmmm.... I'm just thinking that every drop of the keg comes in contact with that piece.
Are people that are inserting vinyl tubing into the dip tube having similar positive results?
Click to expand...


I have some ice maker tubing stuck in the dip-tube of my keg. It seems to help some on the 3ft serving line I'm using now, but could be a little better. In other words, I'm not getting the SPECTACULAR results with this method that guys using the epoxy mixers are getting. However, it might be much better if I swap it out for a 6-8ft line(which I've been meaning to do).

I'm guessing the epoxy mixers work so well b/c of the baffles; it presumably increases the surface area significantly (increasing resistance) as compared to "necking down" the inside diameter of the dip tube with the vinyl tubing.

I can't comment on the safety of the plastic. Based on the looks of them, I would guess they are made of HDPE, same as food grade buckets. As for being food-safe, I'm not going to make this a homer bucket debate:drunk:
 
I get good pours now, but I would like to be able to shorten my beer lines to a) declutter my fridge and b) minimize the amount of old beer left in the line when I switch kegs to a different beer
 
pickngrin, what size beer line are you using? I'm running 3/16" and for a pilsner at 40F I'm getting a calculation of about 5', and my pour on a porter last night on 4' of line was perfect with about 11.2 psi.

You could also consider using thinner lines right behind the shank, called a "choker" to help.
 
How much did shipping run with only those on the order? Don't need anything else from them now (well, except everything). Hate to spend too much on shipping though.
Jeff
 
They charge actual shipping rates, so Im sure for that it would be the base price from UPS. $5 sounds about right. My entire order (was fairly large) was $5, but it all fit in a pretty small box (was mostly screws and stuff like that).
 
Bought a few of these and am ready to try them with a keg this weekend. Have a question for those who have used these inserts and force carb their kegs: how do they work when forced carbing the beer with the shake method? When I force carb, I send the gas thru the "out" (dip tube) side to saturate the beer directly. I set the pressure at 25-30 psi and shake the keg vigorously for a bit. I am just a little bit concerned that the inserts might get forced out the bottom of the dip tube by the gas pressure/shaking combo - any known issues with that?
 
legaleagle said:
Bought a few of these and am ready to try them with a keg this weekend. Have a question for those who have used these inserts and force carb their kegs: how do they work when forced carbing the beer with the shake method? When I force carb, I send the gas thru the "out" (dip tube) side to saturate the beer directly. I set the pressure at 25-30 psi and shake the keg vigorously for a bit. I am just a little bit concerned that the inserts might get forced out the bottom of the dip tube by the gas pressure/shaking combo - any known issues with that?
Click to expand...

Unless your pickup is about 2-3" above the bottom of the keg, I don't see how they could ever come out. Also, if your pickup tube is of the bent variety, they actually don't make it past the bend.

I think I may try force carbing through the "out" for my sodas - they seem to be taking forever (much longer than beer) to get a good carb on.
 
Yea, I have the "bend" style dip tube. I too am thinking that the bend would prevent them from being pushed out. But then again I noticed that the inserts have some flex to them and I suppose it is possible that somehow with enough pressure/agitation they might work their way out the tube. But theories and possibilities are one thing; real experience is another.
 
I learned the "gas into the out post" method a long time ago when I first started force carbing. I never questioned it because it worked. But if, as you suggest, I will get the same quick forced carb results simply by filling the headspace and shaking, then that would be the way to go (and eliminate the extra step of changing the QD on my gas line). I will use your method then and eliminate this issue altogether.
 
If you didn't shake and let the keg just sit there, there should be a small advantage to bubbling the CO2 up through the column because it adds a SMALL amount of extra gas to beer surface area. However, the bubbles are so large that it's minimal.

The next step is one of those stainless diffuser stones where you make a billion tiny bubbles. It's kind of a hassle in my opinion.

If you just pressurize the keg and shake the hell out of it, you're essentially turning the headspace into a million bubbles. It's a strongman's version of the diffusion stone.
 
I am sold on trying the headspace shake method for no other reason than it eliminates an extra step in changing out QDs (which means one less step standing atween me and me beer). Anything that gets me to where I want to be with less trouble or expense I am all for.
 
You can also put the inserts in AFTER carbing. I just did that for the Belgian Strong I just put on tap. I carbed it up naturally and it was foaming too much, so I vented it, took the gas in fitting off, popped in two sanitized inserts, put the fitting back on. Now I've got a nice smooth pour at 17 psi (8 ft line)
 
I just use the gas in, lay the corny on its side, and rock it w/ about 40 psi. You can roll it so the gas-in is on the bottom and it bubbles through it. The larger surface area gets more CO2 into solution. Just shut the gas off while it's still hissing so no beer flows into the gas line.
 
It has been a while since I read this whole thread. Is there any rough guideline for how many inserts at different levels of pressure? I suppose it would all depend on hose length too. I've been going with one with most of my beers. All taps are on five foot lines with 12 psi serving pressure. For low carbed beers I'm serving at about 5 psi and not worrying about an insert. I have a wheat beer on deck and am going to be up around 20 psi on that one. I'm thinking I'll need at least two inserts for that keg.
 
Shooter said:
It has been a while since I read this whole thread. Is there any rough guideline for how many inserts at different levels of pressure? I suppose it would all depend on hose length too. I've been going with one with most of my beers. All taps are on five foot lines with 12 psi serving pressure. For low carbed beers I'm serving at about 5 psi and not worrying about an insert. I have a wheat beer on deck and am going to be up around 20 psi on that one. I'm thinking I'll need at least two inserts for that keg.
Click to expand...

For normal beers I use 2 at 13-15 psi. But when I go higher I use 3. Also on two of my kegs I believe they both that the more race track or square lids vs. the egg/oval lids. The dip tubes in the square lid ones are wider for my kegs. The inserts just slide down without touching the dip tube walls so I use 3-4 inserts in those.
:mug:
 
pjj2ba said:
You can also put the inserts in AFTER carbing. I just did that for the Belgian Strong I just put on tap. I carbed it up naturally and it was foaming too much, so I vented it, took the gas in fitting off, popped in two sanitized inserts, put the fitting back on. Now I've got a nice smooth pour at 17 psi (8 ft line)
Click to expand...

This has actually become my standard procedure. When I don't crash cool prior to kegging, I get some yeast sludge on the bottom of the keg by the time it's carbed up. If the mixer sticks are already in place, they get clogged by the sediment. So I dispense a pint or two to draw the sludge out, then pop the mixer sticks in there, and reconnect.
 
OK, just bought and installed these in my kegerator. Corneys were 40°F, 10psi, ~6 feet of hose, and pouring very fast but getting only about 1" of head when poured 1" away from galss and ~45° inclination. Not bad, but I figured I'd try these out because I will periodically take a keg to a bonfire in a bucket of ice with a party tap. Got them delivered today, sanitized them, installed one in each dip tube. Brought corneys back to 10psi. Now they pour really really slow and I get about 2" of foam. Didn't expect the foam increase. Anyone else get this?
 
Eisendrath said:
OK, just bought and installed these in my kegerator. Corneys were 40°F, 10psi, ~6 feet of hose, and pouring very fast but getting only about 1" of head when poured 1" away from galss and ~45° inclination. Not bad, but I figured I'd try these out because I will periodically take a keg to a bonfire in a bucket of ice with a party tap. Got them delivered today, sanitized them, installed one in each dip tube. Brought corneys back to 10psi. Now they pour really really slow and I get about 2" of foam. Didn't expect the foam increase. Anyone else get this?
Click to expand...

According to some of the "line balancing" instructions, you can get foam from too much resistance to too little resistance. This device is for too little resistance, AFAIK. It sound like you were already balanced, so it's not surprising it got worse.
 
OK, I broke down and ordered 30 of these from MMC. I know everyone was questioning the food safety of these, but I didn't know they were specifically labeled poisonous.

When I got the invoice from MMC, it said "Warning! This product contains chemicals known to be cancerous". YIKES, you guys are putting these in your beer? I guess I'd rather live with a little foam than die a horrible death from cancer. Anyone want to buy them from me? I paid $38.68, but make me an offer. The food grade tubing restriction in the dip tube is looking better.
 
Ricand said:
OK, I broke down and ordered 30 of these from MMC. I know everyone was questioning the food safety of these, but I didn't know they were specifically labeled poisonous.

When I got the invoice from MMC, it said "Warning! This product contains chemicals known to be cancerous". YIKES, you guys are putting these in your beer? I guess I'd rather live with a little foam than die a horrible death from cancer. Anyone want to buy them from me? I paid $38.68, but make me an offer. The food grade tubing restriction in the dip tube is looking better.
Click to expand...

What's the chemical? What beer line are you using, as that may have similar warnings? Tygon has DEHP in it's B-44-3 which is food grade, so it's kind of difficult to avoid products that get those warnings. Not advocating the use or non use of any product, you just need to do some research and then make up your mind.
 
They are made of polypropylene. Polypropylene is used in tons of food containers. The Coke you drank today has a polypropylene cap, and the pH is far lower than that of beer (extreme pH ranges tend to increase leaching of chemicals/materials). I would not worry.

Here's a link. http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/plastics.html
 
greenbirds said:
They are made of polypropylene. Polypropylene is used in tons of food containers. The Coke you drank today has a polypropylene cap, and the pH is far lower than that of beer (extreme pH ranges tend to increase leaching of chemicals/materials). I would not worry.

Here's a link. http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/plastics.html
Click to expand...

This topic always comes and goes for every HDPE or PET container we use for brewing. But your link basically says not to use non-food grade material!

The difference, AFAIK, is between food grade and non-food grade. Food grade(FDA) has (supposedly) followed all the rules about how and from what machines, dyes, chemicals(like release agents) it was manufactured from/with; non-food grade is not. The non-food grade "might" be just as good or then again not. Like what the extruder had on it before, was it cleaned, were recycled materials used(that contained chemicals), etc. You just don't know with non-food grade, for certain.

There is a different, more expensive restrictor:
http://www.chicompany.net/insta-balance-foam-preventer-859.html

Haven't used, but they look like stainless.

Like a friend used to say, you pays your money and you takes your chances....
 
I'd like to commend the OP on this one. When the idea of this first came about, there was another discussion regarding restricting the diptube ID. I went down that path with the supplies in hand. I have tried a few combinations over the past year and have a very well balanced system.

I just happened to be ordering from Mcmaster, and decided to go apples to apples on this one. For me, it's not close, the epoxy mixer inserts are easier, and work as good if not better. I tossed 2 into a lager that was having foam issues (even on my setup), and the issue was gone, the pour was controlled, slightly slower, and the foam was gone. I see these being around for awhile.

So if you're unsure whether to get them or not, order some O-rings for your keg, and add 2 to your cart. Give them a try.
 
I've been using one of these in my kegs since my second keg of brew. The first keg was a nightmare of line balancing experiments that just never worked. My brewbud found these in a post and we ordered them up.

I use one in the diptube with an 18" 3/16 line to a party tap, on four kegs in my fridge. The pressure is set to 12-13 psi and has worked well for all my beers. The pour is smooth with minimal foaming. I even sometimes think I don't get enough head, but that is another discussion. I'm sure that is a recipe problem. :eek:

I occasionally creep the pressure up to 14-15 psi, but the blondes tend to get too bubbly and over-carbonated for my taste. I know folks advocate the use of these to allow multiple styles of beer on the same serving pressure, but I have found that if you leave any beer at a higher pressure it will take on that carb level regardless of the restrictor. Just something to think about...
 
BigdogMark said:
I occasionally creep the pressure up to 14-15 psi, but the blondes tend to get too bubbly and over-carbonated for my taste. I know folks advocate the use of these to allow multiple styles of beer on the same serving pressure, but I have found that if you leave any beer at a higher pressure it will take on that carb level regardless of the restrictor. Just something to think about...
Click to expand...

That is why a bought an add-on regulator for my regulator. Now I can have two different pressures off a single tank. Of course then I also had to run a second gas line into my fridge.
 

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