Help! Problem with my beer line.

For whatever reason, I'm getting a lot of foam/air in my beer line. This is only happening on a refurbed keg that holds a Czech lager I recently finished. It can't be pulling air, bc there is no leak. I would assume that in a highly pressurized keg full of beer, if it was able to pull air, beer would be coming out the leak area first. I've read several things that say I may have CO2 coming out of the solution. This could be due to irregular temps throughout the keg and possibly bc I've jammed three kegs in my fridge. Lol. I've bled it several times, but still have the same problem. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Also to note; I opened the keg after it was charged to add gelatin bc of the chill haze (which didn't do much to help btw). Not sure if that contributed to my current problem or not. Thanks in advance!! Pics are attached.

I'm not exactly a pro in diagnosing kegging problems, but I have been running a kegerator for many years. Since dip tubs are drawing from the bottom of the keg, it certainly seems odd that air/gas can fill your liquid line provided there is adequate volumes of beer in the keg, and provided there is adequate pressure in the keg to keep a positive beer flow thru the faucet. And I am assuming you properly purged the keg when you opened it and reapplied CO2. Do you think the gelatin you added could be partially stopping up your dip tube? And I am sure you have checked the gas line and beer lines and the refurbing company didn't switch the dip tube and gas tube switched by mistake.

What happens when you open your faucet handle? Does the beer line pass out all the gas and finally dispense beer? Or is all you get is foam, and once the foam dies down all you are left with is a void in your beer line? Have you ever seen this line filled with pure beer and no foam?

I am not familiar with picnic faucets, but have you tried this beer with a traditional style tap faucet on a tap tower? I suspect this to be an unrelated issue, but I run several styles of beer needing various psi and cooling requirements. Some would foam while others would not. I finally bought Perlick 650ss flow control faucets and can say this is the best money I have spent.

You've got a bad seal and that is 100% a leak.

It's either on the dip tube o-ring or on the post o-ring.

Just because there's a leak doesn't necessarily mean that liquid would be all over the place.

I put my money on the dip tube o-ring.

Purge the keg. Remove the post. Take the old o-ring off and put a new one on. Put the tube back in. Put the post back on. Purge the keg a few times and you should be good.

brewprint said:

You've got a bad seal and that is 100% a leak.

It's either on the dip tube o-ring or on the post o-ring.

Just because there's a leak doesn't necessarily mean that liquid would be all over the place.

I put my money on the dip tube o-ring.

Purge the keg. Remove the post. Take the old o-ring off and put a new one on. Put the tube back in. Put the post back on. Purge the keg a few times and you should be good.

Click to expand...

+1 I'd probably replace both while I'm there

It would probably be best for me to take a video. I get a good glass of beer, but the left over is partial CO2 that seems to back up to the keg post, if that makes sense.

brewprint said:

You've got a bad seal and that is 100% a leak.

It's either on the dip tube o-ring or on the post o-ring.

Just because there's a leak doesn't necessarily mean that liquid would be all over the place.

I put my money on the dip tube o-ring.

Purge the keg. Remove the post. Take the old o-ring off and put a new one on. Put the tube back in. Put the post back on. Purge the keg a few times and you should be good.

Click to expand...

Those O rings are actually brand new. Bought the refurbished keg from Homebrew Supply online and they sent an entire seal/o-ring kit. Maybe just not snug enough?

mason9800 said:

Those O rings are actually brand new. Bought the refurbished keg from Homebrew Supply online and they sent an entire seal/o-ring kit. Maybe just not snug enough?

Click to expand...

I have installed new dip tube o rings only to find they have been bad too. Try another one and a bit a keg lube on the o ring.

You've got picnic taps on there, so you need to open the door. Could it be those lines are not staying cold and CO2 gets out of solution?

I had almost that exact problem several months ago on one of my kegs. It turned out that I had forgotten to re-install the o-ring on the liquid-side dip tube. As soon as I broke it back down again and installed that dip tube, the problem went away.

mason9800 said:

Those O rings are actually brand new. Bought the refurbished keg from Homebrew Supply online and they sent an entire seal/o-ring kit. Maybe just not snug enough?

Click to expand...

Did you use keg lube?

It could be that it's not snug enough too. Somewhere you are sucking air and I don't think it's co2.

I've had some leaks on the liquid side be worse than others. What you describe sounds like the liquid side to me. Also if there is no keg lube on either o-ring I would think it could be part of the problem too.

brewprint said:

You've got a bad seal and that is 100% a leak.

It's either on the dip tube o-ring or on the post o-ring.

Just because there's a leak doesn't necessarily mean that liquid would be all over the place.

I put my money on the dip tube o-ring.

Purge the keg. Remove the post. Take the old o-ring off and put a new one on. Put the tube back in. Put the post back on. Purge the keg a few times and you should be good.

Click to expand...

+1 if you didn't have a leak then the beer out line would bee all beer....I see air sitting at the top

How long has it been since you cleaned your beer line? Just a little bit of beer stone buildup in the line will cause some turbulence and cause the beer to foam up. I recently had this problem and I was sure I had a leak somewhere but after I checked/replaced everything I could think of I flushed the liquid line with BLC and everything was pouring perfect again. It doesn't take much buildup to cause a problem.

+1 To what everyone said about leaky O rings and using lube,( I use silicone food grade spray). To check for a leak, shut off gas to all the other kegs,
charge that one and shut off the gas from the tank over night, If there is a leak, you'll see it on your gauges in the morning.
Also check the connection where the lines meet the ball lock connectors, The ball lock fittings are usually just a plastic flare type and can wear out.

Hey gang,

Thanks for all the input!! Sorry for the delay, work has been crazy. Bought new dip tube o-rings and will install tomorrow. I do have keg lube, but normally only use it on the keg lid and posts. After I get it installed, I'll re-charge the keg and let everyone know. Crossing my fingers!!

In other news, just brewed up a Crystal Honey Lager today! Can't wait to try.

Found the culprit! Pushed it in and all is well. You guys are awesome. Thanks for all the help!!!

Side note; how do I keep my pics from turning sideways? Someone said it has something to do with Apple.

Can't help you with the picture, but when you screw the post down all the way it should ensure that the dip tube is fully seated. I assume you're using a wrench to tighten the post?

mason9800 said:

Found the culprit! Pushed it in and all is well. You guys are awesome. Thanks for all the help!!!

Click to expand...

That's exactly where I thought the leak was.

Zachattack what you said isn't necessarily true. The poppet spring will be tight against the top of that tube using a wrench but the spring, in this case, didn't have enough pressure to push the tube all the way down.

To get the pictures to turn right side up the pictures have to be taken with the phone in the 'wide screen' view. At least with my phone.

brewprint said:

That's exactly where I thought the leak was.

Zachattack what you said isn't necessarily true. The poppet spring will be tight against the top of that tube using a wrench but the spring, in this case, didn't have enough pressure to push the tube all the way down.

To get the pictures to turn right side up the pictures have to be taken with the phone in the 'wide screen' view. At least with my phone.

Click to expand...

Gotcha, learn something every time! I guess I've gotten lucky with mine.