Air pockets in liquid line...please help, I'm about to lose my mind

[dawn_kiebawls]

So I just finished my keezer (re)build, bust carbed a cider, hooked it up to my EVA lines and drew off a small sample. PERFECT! However, I fear that I really s**t the bed on this one.

I burst carbed it, let it chill at ~31F for a day, pulled the PRV, set it to 12 and poured a sample. It came out wonderfully, just a hair over-carbed so I pulled the PRV twice more over the next hour. Regulator set to 13psi and I'm getting NOTHING out of the faucet. Check to make sure my lines aren't frozen. Nope. Give everything a once over, pull the PRV on my regulator to make sure I didn't leak a tank of CO2. Nope, plenty of gas. Look at the ball valve on the regulator and it's closed :alm meet forehead:: open the ball valve and hear the regulator groan instantly.

The problem I'm having though is that I have some major gas bubbles inside my liquid line. This happened last time I had something on (picnic) tap and was a constant battle against foam and flat beers. Since I did some reading after my last go'round I decided to add some extra lube to the post, drain the liquid line, hook it back up and try again. Major foam and more air pockets. I tried to lube again and I think I accidentally put PINLOCK o-rings on my BALL-LOCK posts. I can EASILY take the o-ring off with two fingers.

So: Is the o-ring the cause of my air leak? Did I completely F up the carbonation and is this causing air pockets in my lines/foamy blowouts for EVERY pour?

Please help! I'm hosting an event tomorrow and need these faucets to be pouring reasonably well.

I'm going to run to my LHBS and get a new pack of o-rings and a new liquid post just to eliminate those variable, although if carb/psi levels are the issue replacing a post will only make my situation 100x worse. Thanks!

Also, my keezer is set at 35F. 6' lines of 4mm ID EVA tubing, regulator set to 13psi

 

[catalanotte]

I have struggled with the same issue from time to time on a set up that pours very well with most kegs. Hopefully the new rings do the trick but if not consider the culprit may be an over carbonated keg.

If you pour a second beer right after you clear out the gas in the line with the first pint, does that one pour normally? If so that supports over carbonation and gas is likely coming out of solution into the serving line.

Try this, it has worked for me in the past:
Turn the gas off and bleed the headspace a couple of times. Give it time to stabilize and turn your regulator pressure down below 10. Then turn the gas on and slowly increase your regulator pressure to see what psi the keg is conditioned to. If it’s above your desired pressure, you may need to continue to bleed the headspace.

13 psi at 35 degrees may also be a bit high (2.83 vol) unless that’s what you want for your style.

 

[dawn_kiebawls]

I have struggled with the same issue from time to time on a set up that pours very well with most kegs. Hopefully the new rings do the trick but if not consider the culprit may be an over carbonated keg.

If you pour a second beer right after you clear out the gas in the line with the first pint, does that one pour normally? If so that supports over carbonation and gas is likely coming out of solution into the serving line.

Try this, it has worked for me in the past:
Turn the gas off and bleed the headspace a couple of times. Give it time to stabilize and turn your regulator pressure down below 10. Then turn the gas on and slowly increase your regulator pressure to see what psi the keg is conditioned to. If it’s above your desired pressure, you may need to continue to bleed the headspace.

13 psi at 35 degrees may also be a bit high (2.83 vol) unless that’s what you want for your style.

I replaced the gas post o-ring and nothing has changed, but they do fit much better. How long do you give your keg to stabilize? I normally just do the 'set it and forget it' method but since I need to be serving this keg tomorrow I decided to burst carb...

After the o-ring exchange gave me the same results I'm suspecting overcarb so I shut the gas off, and have bled the headspace a couple times and have lowered the psi from the regulator. Would it make sense to get the keezer colder as well, since I carbed it at like 30F but it's now at 35F?

 

[catalanotte]

Hard to say how long it will take. I'd leaving the gas off, bleeding the keg every hour or so, and if you need to, pour pitchers for your event tomorrow since the co2 bubbles will come out of the line at the start of the pour. Only put gas back on the keg if you need serving pressure, or after it has stabilized. Dropping the temp will help a little, but your already pretty low. Just another thought, what is actual beer temp? If the keg hasn't been in the fridge for a couple days, your beer may still be quite a bit warmer than the refer temp. Good luck.

 

[jddevinn]

Did you replace the gasket that goes on the dip tube? Failure on this Oring will allow CO2 from the headspace to exit with the beer.

 

[Stonehenge360]

Had this same issue when I first started kegging. Turns out it was all just my own impatience. Your issue is almost certainly over-carbonation. When burst carbing, you probably overshot slightly, and now when you lowered to the serving pressure, the carb is coming back out. Eventually it will reach equilibrium and all will be well. Posters above are correct as far as purging the headspace. It takes a good few days for carb and temp to stabilize, so any changes you make are not going to be instantaneous. Leave the gas off for the time being unless your tap slows way down, and then put it back at serving pressure.

Another minor issue could be a difference in the temperature of the lines and the temp of the beer in the keg. If the lines are very warm (at the top of the keezer near the opening) cold carbonated beer will shed its co2 once its sitting in the line and warming up. If this is the case, a small computer fan inside circulating the air will fix the issue

 

[jseyfert3]

Did you replace the gasket that goes on the dip tube? Failure on this Oring will allow CO2 from the headspace to exit with the beer.
View attachment 702725

Related to this is just the dip tube/o-ring not seated correctly. I had some gas bubbles in my line with a new batch once. Did some searching here, discovered that oring might cause it. I took the post off, wiggled the dip tube to make sure it was seated in the dip at the bottom of the keg and not raised up, put it back together and that fixed it. Must have been offset or raised slightly and not letting the post seat fully and compress the oring enough.

 

[wsmith1625]

If it's overcarbed...
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/overcarbed-keg-heres-an-instant-solution.127655/

 

[Brooothru]

Related to this is just the dip tube/o-ring not seated correctly. I had some gas bubbles in my line with a new batch once. Did some searching here, discovered that oring might cause it. I took the post off, wiggled the dip tube to make sure it was seated in the dip at the bottom of the keg and not raised up, put it back together and that fixed it. Must have been offset or raised slightly and not letting the post seat fully and compress the oring enough.

I had exactly this happen on a keg I had modified for a floating dip tube. Eventually had to disassemble the bev out line to replace the gasket which had gotten pinched. PITA! There's no easy way to get the flexible beer line on the shortened bev out diptube. Since the modified (short) tube can easily get installed cockeyed crooked, it can easily bleed headspace gas into the fitting at the post/keg interface. It can also happen with a standard (long) diptube. I could actually see the bubbles accumulating in the beer line, right where the line attached the the black QD on the beer out post.

Brooo Brother

 

[day_trippr]

If the beer is "spitting" at the faucet, I would suspect a compromised O-ring under the long (Out) dip tube flange, as that would allow pressurized CO2 in the keg head space to be injected into the beer stream at the Out post.

But given this appears to be the first "burst carb" outing, I would suspect an overcarbed keg of beer, which is trying to achieve equilibrium at "chart pressure" and thus is shedding excess CO2...

Cheers!