First half-good. Last half-not good

[amEIREcan]

View media item 70349For some reason the first half of my corny keg has perfect carbonation. But then when the last half comes around the glass is about half foam and the beer lines have massive bubbles if I don’t pour anything for more than an hour. I carb and serve at at 12 psi, 40 ish feet of .25 inch lines. Anyone else see this problem or have any suggestions on how to make the good foam last for the entire keg?

 

[sicktght311]

That 40 feet of serving line sounds like a big red flag to me. My keezer's lines are 6-8ft max at 36degrees. 3/16" lines. Sounds like you have entirely too much backpressure

 

[amEIREcan]

at 40 feet of serving line sounds like a big red flag to me.

According to the line length calculators I’ve used that’s what I need to provide enough friction to slow down dispensing. I was sceptical at first too but with any shorter lines it fires out too first, creating foam.

 

[sicktght311]

Are you sure your pressure gauge is correct? 12psi with 10ft is the most common line length for most people using keezers or kegerators using 3/16", so i wouldnt think 1/4" would be that much of a difference. Yes the calculators tell you 40ft, but realistically that is WAY too long. You tried a 10ft line and it shot out foam and entirely too quick? Something sounds off here and sounds like an overpressurized keg if its shooting out that fast at 12psi and 10ft of beer lines.

Also keep in mind your beer line might be the culprit. Beer sitting in lines does tend to foam up and the first pour after a line has been sitting for a while can be extra foamy, so i typically pour off 2-3oz if my lines have been sitting for a while just to clear the line out. If you have 40ft of lines, thats A LOT of liquid left in those lines.

 

[day_trippr]

There is a HUGE difference in fluid dynamics between 3/16" ID and 1/4" ID. The latter has 80% greater inside cross-section than the former.
While the wisdom of using 1/4" ID line could easily be questioned in this case, the OP's 40 feet is actually in the ball park...

http://www.mikesoltys.com/2012/09/17/determining-proper-hose-length-for-your-kegerator/

Cheers!

 

[sicktght311]

There is a HUGE difference in fluid dynamics between 3/16" ID and 1/4" ID. The latter has 80% greater inside cross-section than the former.
While the wisdom of using 1/4" ID line could easily be questioned in this case, the OP's 40 feet is actually in the ball park...

http://www.mikesoltys.com/2012/09/17/determining-proper-hose-length-for-your-kegerator/

Cheers!

So basically judging by that calculator, my system asks for around 8ft of tubing, which sounds pretty close to what i'm using. Maybe a foot more or less, but around 8ft. You mean to tell me if someone is stepping up 1/16" in diameter in size tubing to 1/4", you have to quadruple the length of the beer line?

If that's the case, OP just go out and buy 3/16' tubing and see if that does the trick hah

 

[TallDan]

What temperature is your beer at? How long do your kegs last? Has this happened with different kegs? Does it start happening gradually, or is it perfectly fine for the first half, then two beers later it's all foam?

If you're going through kegs relatively fast (less than a month, let's say) and your keezer is very cold, you could be overcarbonating over time, try turning your pressure down a few psi. 12 psi is too high for most beers in my keezer. 8-9 is usually about right.

If you only have one keg, or this only happens with one, make sure your diptube isn't damaged. This would seem unlikely, but if it got bent and straightened back out and there's a pinhole leak in there, once the beer is below that level, it would foam like crazy.

 

[amEIREcan]

Thanks for all the replies.
Part of me assumed the hose was the issue. I live in the UK and the online homebrew selection isn’t nearly what it is in the US. So far I haven’t been able to find a hose barb on it’s own in 3/16. There are full shank sets which I’d rather not pay for something I don’t need and have a piece of equipment sitting around doing nothing. I have a whole box of that. It’s just frustrating because 1/4 equipment is fairly common on homebrew equipment online shops. So how come more people aren’t having the same issue as myself?

 

[mongoose33]

I'm going to guess you have some significant temperature stratification in your refrigerator. It's why, in keezers, it's advisable to keep a small fan inside the keezer to keep temps throughout the same.

I had the "bubbles in the line" issue not long ago; here's a thread that discusses the symptoms and the solution:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/bubbles-in-bevseal-lines.667677/

The problem may also be due to the differential as to when the refrigerator comes on. If, for example, the refrigerator has to warm 4 degrees for the unit to turn on, consider the difference in temperature between the lines toward the top of the compartment, and the beer, which isn't warming due to a big difference in thermal mass, which is at the bottom. That this problem only emerged when your beer was half gone suggests exactly that: you have a big temperature stratification between the top and the bottom.

A small computer or other fan, placed inside the refrigerator, coupled to a reduction in the differential temp (try 2 degrees if you have the capability to do that), would likely solve your problem.

 

[TheHopfather]

I think that 1/4" lines are for commercial Sanke keg setups typically. Homebrewers usually use corny kegs and 3/16" lines.

I don't have any 1/4" lines anywhere in my setup so its hard to comment. I can tell you that I run 11' of 3/16" lines in my kegerator and it pours like a champ. Seems weird that you don't have the option to buy both sizes at your local shops.