5 Feet of 3/16 Inch of Beer Line - Foam Issues

[lucasweb]

I've been reading the forums regarding beer line length and the general consensus seems to be that 5' of beer line is too short.

However when I look around at sites selling beer lines, taps etc most of them seem to sell 5' of 3/16" beer line with a picnic tap and claim it will serve foam free beer. I have also seen sites that claim for than 5' of 3/16" beer line will cause serving issues

I have one of these setups (keg with 5' of 3/16" beer line) and am running into issues where the beer pours way too fast leaving me with mostly foam which when it settles out leaves an under carbonated beer.

The Keg is set to 12 PSI and is at 38F. I have used the set and forget method and it has now been 5 days.

I did an experiment where I purged the tank and dropped the PSI to 4 and poured a beer. It did pour a little slower and had less foam and slightly more carbonation but was still less than ideal.

My question is should I look at getting a longer beer line? If so what size should I get? Would 10' of 3/16" beer line be a good starting point?

Thanks in advance.

 

[day_trippr]

[...]Would 10' of 3/16" beer line be a good starting point?

I wouldn't start any shorter...

Cheers!

 

[dbrewski]

After getting advice here, I started with 10 feet and stayed there. Works great.

 

[dogbar]

Ditto.

 

[zacster]

I just ordered a kit that is to arrive tomorrow and it does indeed have a 5' line. I had checked this earlier today when I was reading through the sticky on force carb'ing.

I'll try it, but now that I know I'll probably just go to my lbhs or Lowes and get 10'

 

[lucasweb]

Have just ordered 10' of 3/16 line from MoreBeer. Hopefully this will solve the problem.

 

[evandena]

I just ordered a kit that is to arrive tomorrow and it does indeed have a 5' line. I had checked this earlier today when I was reading through the sticky on force carb'ing.

I'll try it, but now that I know I'll probably just go to my lbhs or Lowes and get 10'

You can join two pieces of tubing together, it's like a dual barbed pass through.

 

[devilbrewer75]

Yup I had the same problem last year. Went to the homebrew store and asked for 9 feet of line, guy told me 5 was plenty. After dealing with foam and fast pours for a couple of months I switched to 12 feet, perfect pours now.

 

[alestateyall]

This is one of life's great mysteries. I too started with 5' lines with lots of foam. I switched to 10' and no more foam.

The mystery is why do all the stores sell 5' lines and why do all the balancing equations assume line restriction values that suggest 5' lines will work?

 

[Pappers_]

Interesting thread, I use 5 feet without foaming problems.

 

[JSGT09]

Can you use any type of line for the beer line? Will regular vinyl line from Home Depot be ok?

 

[evandena]

Can you use any type of line for the beer line? Will regular vinyl line from Home Depot be ok?

Get beverage tubing. thicker wall.

 

[dbrewski]

Can you use any type of line for the beer line? Will regular vinyl line from Home Depot be ok?

no you need to use 3/16" beverage tubing. It's a much thicker wall.

 

[kapbrew13]

Interesting thread, I use 5 feet without foaming problems.

Same here. Kegs @10psi.

 

[badbrew]

I have some 5 ft lines and get no foam at 12 psi. It's all about the temp of the keg and the lines as well as the carbonation of the beer. If the beer is flat and being force carbed, it foams up for me. When it's carbed up, I literally have to hold the tap 4" above the liquid to make a head on top. Keep it under 40 F.

 

[Brewnoob1]

5ft can work, but 10 just ensures you get a nice pour. It is a bit slower for me at 40 degrees at 10psi. But, at least I know I'll get a good head by simply adjusting the height of the glass during the pour.

 

[Grossy]

I have this exact same issue, I just sent an email to Keg Connection on this then came across this thread. I could have written the first post, it is exactly my issue.

So the question I have is this: Is 10' the magic number, or would 12' be better?

I run at 12psi, 38 degrees, taps are 3" above the kegs.

Thanks.

 

[Double-R]

Interesting thread, I use 5 feet without foaming problems.

Same here. Kegs @10psi.

Ditto.. Plus I use 3/16, Lowes vinyl tubeing, NO problem in pour or flavor.

 

[Brewnoob1]

I have this exact same issue, I just sent an email to Keg Connection on this then came across this thread. I could have written the first post, it is exactly my issue.

So the question I have is this: Is 10' the magic number, or would 12' be better?

I run at 12psi, 38 degrees, taps are 3" above the kegs.

Thanks.

I'd have to look up specifics, but if memory serves correctly you lose about 2psi per foot at 3/16. So, even if you were running 12psi, you SHOULD only need about 6 feet to be at 0psi on exit. However, that just doesn't seem to be the case for most of us. 10' of 3/16 bevy line works for me and a lot of others.

 

[Craig311]

I started with 8' (serving at 12psi with picnic taps) and it has worked for me so far. Good luck!

 

[lucasweb]

My 10' of 3/16 beer line showed up yesterday. I switched out the 5' line with the new line but was still getting a ton of foam.

Did some more research and decided I was dealing with an over-carbonated keg (am not sure how it got over-carbonated but thats's a different problem for a different day).

After following the technique shown in this video to de-carb my beer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xk79UYGmAk8#t=5m47s I let it sit over night and am now getting a perfect pour @ 10PSI.

If anything it could be a little bit faster but am not going to mess with it any more at this point as the beer was nicely carbed and I was able to get a nice 1/4" head by only opening the cobra tap 3/4 of the way at the end.

Am wondering how a 5' line would work now that I sorted out the carb issue but am happy with the 10' line so am going to leave it for now.

Thanks for everyones help.

 

[dbrewski]

Cool technique, thanks for the link. Glad it worked out.

 

[zacster]

I tried my 5' line yesterday for the first time and all I got was foam. However, I had used the Keg Connections' instructions for force carb'ing, and the keg wasn't as cold as I thought it would be after being in the fridge all night.

I first had the pressure at 12psi, then I kept turning it down until I was at 5psi but was still getting a lot of foam. I can see in the line that something isn't working quite right. In any case I put the keg on ice in my giant cooler (2 garbage cans with fiberglass insulation between them, duct tape to seal it up. I put my old college down coat over the top as the carboy lid that I made didn't fit. After sitting overnight on a warm muggy night it was all still ice!). I'll see what it is like later today as it's only 7am right now and not quite Beer:30

 

[zacster]

Tried it again, with the ice still in the cooler 24 hours later, and it flowed nice and smooth without excess foam and I got a nice head. It was also nicely carbonated. And very cold which was a blessing on a hot humid day.

I put it at 6psi after I let off the 25psi I left it at all night.

 

[freshhoarse]

My 10' of 3/16 beer line showed up yesterday. I switched out the 5' line with the new line but was still getting a ton of foam.

Did some more research and decided I was dealing with an over-carbonated keg (am not sure how it got over-carbonated but thats's a different problem for a different day).

After following the technique shown in this video to de-carb my beer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xk79UYGmAk8#t=5m47s I let it sit over night and am now getting a perfect pour @ 10PSI.

If anything it could be a little bit faster but am not going to mess with it any more at this point as the beer was nicely carbed and I was able to get a nice 1/4" head by only opening the cobra tap 3/4 of the way at the end.

Am wondering how a 5' line would work now that I sorted out the carb issue but am happy with the 10' line so am going to leave it for now.

Thanks for everyones help.

I have been having the same issue for the past week fighting with a keg to get it back to the right carb level. Degassed as per this video, pouring perfect pints in 2 minutes!!!

Thanks for the link!

 

[carlisle_bob]

Hi

Beer line is cheap stuff compared to all the rest of the money you spend on kegging. After reading up a bit, I went with 20 foot 3/16" lines on my faucets. I run 18 to 20 psi and have no real foam issues. I happen to like summer beers with a "good" carb level.

Bob