faucet like a fire hose with 1/4" tubing

[cornelius]

I have 4 taps on my chest top kegerator. I am
using 11 feet of 1/4" beer line. This is connected to 1/4" barbs and 3/16"ID shanks. Is it crucial that the beer line be the same ID as the shank? That is my concern because my system is not balanced and is a foam producing factory. My guess is this is due to the discrepancy between beer line and the shanks. Before I tear out the 1/4" line to switch to 3/16" ID beer line, please help me troubleshoot my kegerator carbonation setup. I have been experimenting with intentionally restricting beerflow. I tried putting one of the epoxy mixing sticks in the line. That helped quiet the stream but I still get sections of foam in the line. With the tap wide open, the flow alternates between beer and bursts of foam that disturb the beer in the glass. Does anyone else have shanks that are 3/16" and beer line that is 1/4"? How's your pour?

 

[ihomebrewing]

Mine pours fine with 1/4in line, and I have 3/16 shanks. I use about 6 to 7 feet of beer line.

The more restricted the flow, the more you will agitate the CO2 out of the beer.

Make sure that your beer was not over carbonated to begin with, as well. I have 2 kegs hooked up at once on a CO2 splitter, and one keg is over carbonated. I had to shut the CO2 valve completely off to that keg, and I have been pouring for 2 days like that now...

 

[Yukon_Skiers]

I also have 1/4 lines with 3/16 shanks and I am hooking my first keg (4 tap system) up today.

A friend of mine who has a similar set up to me also had the foam issue. He experimented with different lengths of liquid out tubing and was able to solve the problem.

 

[heckels]

I had a similar issue when my brew was a little overcarbed. I reduced the pressure but never actually shook the keg to release the carbonation. Recently kegged a porter and have had no troubles so far.

I believe my shank is actually 1/4" and my line is 5 ft of 3/16" tubing. You may want to consider switching over to 3/16" line as that seems to be the standard for kegerators and will increase resistance.

 

[Bobby_M]

1/4" ID is too large. In order to balance to 12psi with that tubing, you'd need around 20 feet of line. You need to size down to 3/16" ID and I'd recommend something like 8 feet of that.

 

[heyjaffy]

I recently tried balancing out my system for a wheat beer that I carb'ed and serve around 20 psi. I started with 10' of 3/16 beer line and got quite a foamy pour. Went to LHBS and asked for 20' of beer line, and the guy there convinced me that I should use 1/4 beer line, which I foolishly agreed to. Went home and hooked it up and the pour is faster and foamier with 20' of 1/4 vs. 10' of 3/6. I just picked up 25' of 3/16 and finally get a reasonable pour with the psi set to 20.