Any Issues Connecting Multiple Lengths of Beer Line With Swivel Nut?

[chally]

Hi, all. First post, so go easy on me.

I just purchased a pre-made home kegerator, which came pre-assembled with 7' of vinyl tubing beer line. I'm planning to replace the line with Bev-Seal tubing. After looking into some of the threads on here regarding line length, however, it seems like different lengths of line would be required to achieve an ideal pour for different styles. Because of the way the kegerator is assembled, swapping beer lines out seems like a real pain.

Would there be any issues if I used a base length of beer line (e.g., 7'), installed a stainless steel hose barb to MFL fitting on one end, then cut additional lengths of line (e.g., 3', 7', and 10') to simply screw on as needed for the style (using a hose barb to FFL swivel nut)? I assume it would throw off the line pressure calculations a bit. Are there any other issues I should be aware of?

One of the added benefits is that I could then wrap the initial 7' of beer line in soft copper tubing to efficiently chill the line in the tower.

Thoughts?

 

[bucfanmike]

how much line you need is based on serving pressure, temperature, rise to the tap, line diameter, not style of beer. Where the style of beer comes in is that some beers by style by definition should be carbed at different levels. So first off, what type of regulator do you have? If it only is capable of outputting 1 pressure then all your beers will be carbed to the same level and all work with the same length of beer line. If you have a regulator with a secondary then you may want the ability to change line lengths but i doubt the math would change much between something carbed at 9lbs and something carbed at 14lbs. For the other part, imo having that extra connection in your beer line is likely to cause issues. Anything that causes turbulence on the way to the faucet it likely to knock co2 out of suspension and cause foaming. I would say its best to start with about 12' of gas line and work your way from there. You can always reduce some of it if you need.

 

[chally]

Thanks for the fast reply, Mike.

how much line you need is based on serving pressure, temperature, rise to the tap, line diameter, not style of beer. Where the style of beer comes in is that some beers by style by definition should be carbed at different levels.

Correct me if I'm wrong here (I'm new to kegging, obviously), but serving temp and serving pressure (vols. C02) will be constants based on style. So, for example, a Kolsch that I want to serve at 38 deg. and 2.6 vols. CO2 will need to be pressurized to around 12.5 psi. An English Brown that I want to serve at 53 deg. and 1.7 vols. of C02 will need to be pressurised to around 8.5 psi.

Assuming I want a consistent 4-5 second pour accross styles, line length is the only variable I can change to dial-in my pour, no?

...i doubt the math would change much between something carbed at 9lbs and something carbed at 14lbs.

I haven't run the numbers, but are you saying that you think the ideal line lengths wouldn't change enough to be worthwhile (say 6-12"), or that the difference in pour speed wouldn't really be noticable at different pressures with the same length of line?

I started thinking about this solution because I keep seeing threads pop up with people complaining about fast pours (with too much foam) and slow pours (just a dribble), with recommendations from users ranging from 6' to 20' of beer line. It seemed like there were some big variations out there, so I figured it would be nice to just run through the math every time I make a beer and screw on the length of line needed to give me a perfect pour every time.

 

[BrewThruYou]

Assuming I want a consistent 4-5 second pour accross styles, line length is the only variable I can change to dial-in my pour, no?

Well, the variable is actually resistance, which can be changed by line length. It can be changed in other ways such as line diameter, vertical rise (which increases resistance) and the easiest way in your situation...by changing the faucet to a Perlick flow control faucet. You would want to keep a relatively short beer line for serving the lowest carbed styles and with higher carbed beers, you would turn up the resistance.

 

[zachattack]

chally, I think Mike was asking if you have a single-gauge regulator and was assuming you'll have multiple beers on tap at once. In that case, your pressure and temperature could be fixed across all kegs, limiting your ability to serve exactly to style.

What most of us do is just put in a long length of liquid tubing. The only disadvantage to this is that the pour will be slower for styles with less carbonation, but waiting an extra 5 seconds for a beer in a home bar shouldn't be a problem.

 

[chally]

chally, I think Mike was asking if you have a single-gauge regulator and was assuming you'll have multiple beers on tap at once. In that case, your pressure and temperature could be fixed across all kegs, limiting your ability to serve exactly to style.

Ah. I just have a single-tap setup, so my plan is to dial-in the temperature and pressure to suit the style each time I brew, then connect the appropriate length line to give me the best possible pour for those settings. I drink slowly, so I'd like to be able to just leave everything on tap for a few weeks at a time (hence the Bev-Seal line).

What most of us do is just put in a long length of liquid tubing. The only disadvantage to this is that the pour will be slower for styles with less carbonation, but waiting an extra 5 seconds for a beer in a home bar shouldn't be a problem.

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but doesn't the slow pour also affect the head formation? My worst fear is the all-foam pour, but if I go with a length of line appropriate for my highest-carbonated beer, I worry about getting a sad little headless trickle on my lower-carbed styles. Given all the threads on balancing your kegging system through line length adjustments, it seems like the the difference in pour speed must have some noticable impact on the beer? Do you find that's not really the case? Perhaps I'm worrying over nothing?

 

[zachattack]

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but doesn't the slow pour also affect the head formation? My worst fear is the all-foam pour, but if I go with a length of line appropriate for my highest-carbonated beer, I worry about getting a sad little headless trickle on my lower-carbed styles. Given all the threads on balancing your kegging system through line length adjustments, it seems like the the difference in pour speed must have some noticable impact on the beer? Do you find that's not really the case? Perhaps I'm worrying over nothing?

Well, head formation is due to CO2 leaving the beer, but then the bubbles are stabilized by proteins, etc. A slower pour will yield a smaller head, but that's because more CO2 stays in solution. Pour a bottle rapidly into a glass and you get a huge head, pour it slow enough and there's no head.

A variable you're forgetting is the distance from the faucet to the glass, as well as the angle you hold the glass. Even with a slow pour, if you pour it straight down or bring the glass down a few inches you'll get a nice head

 

[JuanMoore]

Ah. I just have a single-tap setup, so my plan is to dial-in the temperature and pressure to suit the style each time I brew, then connect the appropriate length line to give me the best possible pour for those settings. I drink slowly, so I'd like to be able to just leave everything on tap for a few weeks at a time (hence the Bev-Seal line).


Sorry if this is a dumb question, but doesn't the slow pour also affect the head formation? My worst fear is the all-foam pour, but if I go with a length of line appropriate for my highest-carbonated beer, I worry about getting a sad little headless trickle on my lower-carbed styles. Given all the threads on balancing your kegging system through line length adjustments, it seems like the the difference in pour speed must have some noticable impact on the beer? Do you find that's not really the case? Perhaps I'm worrying over nothing?

Just use lines long enough for the highest carbonation level you'll ever use. Yes, it will result in a slightly slower pour for many of your beers. Unless you're running a commercial bar or restaurant where the number of pints you can pour in an hour impacts your profits, what's the harm in an extra couple seconds to pour? And no, there's no difference in head formation between a perfectly balanced line, and a line that's longer. As mentioned, connections mid-line will likely knock gas out of solution and cause foaming. And FWIW the line length and balancing calculators are virtually useless if you plan on serving beer any warmer than 35°F. Even at cold temps, they're useless for the bev-seal line since it has much less resistance than vinyl beer lines. You'll likely need longer than 7' of bev-seal ultra even for lower carbed beers.

Well, head formation is due to CO2 leaving the beer, but then the bubbles are stabilized by proteins, etc. A slower pour will yield a smaller head, but that's because more CO2 stays in solution. Pour a bottle rapidly into a glass and you get a huge head, pour it slow enough and there's no head.

A variable you're forgetting is the distance from the faucet to the glass, as well as the angle you hold the glass. Even with a slow pour, if you pour it straight down or bring the glass down a few inches you'll get a nice head

Also very true.