Beer Line Length and Pressure Calculator

[jtkratzer]

If you actually want to carb different brews to style and have them on tap simultaneously and maintain those carb levels, then a multi-pressure regulator setup is pretty much mandatory.

But that isn't going to solve a foam problem. If you want to keep your wheaties at 3.5+ volumes, you're going to need beer line that can handle it - and it's going to be longer than what you'd need for a typical 2.5 volume ale.

So you can worst-case it and put like 15 footers on all taps. Seems like overkill when there's an alternative: go with ten footers all around - which will work great for ~2.5 volumes and below - and then stick an epoxy mixer or two down the keg out tube on your more effervescent wheat beers...

Cheers!

Well, I got the 50' roll on sale and just cut it into three equal lengths of 16' and they sent a couple feet more than 50, so I have enough for a jumper if I feel like making one. I also ordered a Taprite 3-way secondary regulator today...on sale for $107. Not bad.

I haven't finished the connections on the lines yet, so I can cut them down if necessary, but will it hurt anything to have lines longer than necessary? If not, it will be convenient to be able to put a keg of any beer I want on any of my taps and just dial in the appropriate pressure on the regulator for that faucet.

 

[day_trippr]

The only down side would be slower pour rates with calmer-than-heffy-carb-level brews. The up side is worth that, unless it gets stupid slow.

If I can pull 16 ounces in less than 10 seconds with a nice head I'm happy to not ever have to deal with foamy pours...

Cheers!

 

[jtkratzer]

The only down side would be slower pour rates with calmer-than-heffy-carb-level brews. The up side is worth that, unless it gets stupid slow.

If I can pull 16 ounces in less than 10 seconds with a nice head I'm happy to not ever have to deal with foamy pours...

Cheers!

I'm not tipping myself for fast service or running a bar, so I can handle a brief wait for fantastic, appropriately carbed, beautifully poured beer.

 

[spaceyaquarius]

Just finished this one. It uses a few formulas found on the Internet to calculate the head loss for different types of beer line and shanks (or cobra tap). You enter the items at the top: beer style, temperature range you want to see, beer line inside diameter, shank bore, height from center of keg to tap, and distance from keg output to shank. The table will then show the range of CO2 volumes that are appropriate for the style selected across the top and temperature down the side. For each temperature/CO2 volume combination, a beer line length and properly balanced psi setting to carbonate the beer and push it through the given length beer line are displayed.

Let me know how it works for you and if you have any ideas for improvements.

Beer Line Length and Pressure Calculator

Interesting. I like your Excel calculator. Did you create that spreadsheet?

It seems a little off though. For a Belgian Wit at 38F, you have to have a beer line length of 58 inches (4.7 feet). Most people here say 10 foot long lines for 3/16" inner diameter. I do have 4.75 feet beer lines and all I get is foam and an acidic aftertaste.

 

[spaceyaquarius]

The Excel doc is protected with a password.

 

[day_trippr]

Try this Google Docs link.

I'm not certain it's the same spreadsheet as the zipped one linked above, but it was sourced from HBT just yesterday (and if I could remember the thread I'd link that, too!).

I ran my dispensing system through it and it nailed my line lengths dead nuts, so I'm a believer. Kudos to whomever coded it!

Cheers!

 

[Bigscience]

As long as we're pulling them out, here's mine. Not the prettiest but it does line length, pressure for volumes by style and priming sugars. Not my math but what I've pulled from other sources.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B6L_gp_1w5XHZ2tiYUFkdTJxOEE/edit

First shot a Google Docs too so let me know if it doesn't work.

 

[day_trippr]

fyi, for those trying to use the spreadsheet at the Google Docs link and finding it "locked", you need to click on the File menu just below the document title, then Download As... an Excel file (or whatever you prefer) to your own machine. You'll be able to edit the local copy...

Cheers!

 

[three_bags_full]

Confused newb, here. I didn't get a very good understanding of the CO2 volume. Is this volume the amount of CO2 based on the amount of beer? I guess I don't understand the relationship between CO2 volume and PSI.

 

[day_trippr]

Confused newb, here. I didn't get a very good understanding of the CO2 volume. Is this volume the amount of CO2 based on the amount of beer? I guess I don't understand the relationship between CO2 volume and PSI.

Volumes of CO2 on its own is just a way of expressing the ratio of dissolved CO2 to fluid. But to get to a given level, you do indeed need to know how much beer you're carbing to know how much CO2 you're going to need. So if you had one liter of beer and wanted to carb it to one volume of CO2, you'd need a liter of CO2 (at STP); to get to the 2.5 volumes that many beers are carbed to, you'd need 2.5 liters of CO2.

Scale those numbers up to a 19 liter/5 gallon batch at 2.5 volumes and you'd need ~47 liters of CO2 - or roughly 1.7 cubic feet.

PSI comes into play when understanding how much CO2 beer can hold at different temperatures and pressure, when trying to hit a given carbonation level. It takes less pressure to dissolve CO2 in beer when cold than warm, as illustrated in my favorite carbonation table. As one can see from that table, there is a range of temperatures and corresponding CO2 pressures that will achieve a given carbonation level, as expressed as volumes of CO2. And all of those combinations will result in the exact same amount of CO2 used...

hth

Cheers!

 

[bmahler]

So, if it says I should have 5 feet of line, but am using 10, I shouldn't have any problems??? Can you have too much line?

 

[day_trippr]

Ten foot lines would simply result in a somewhat slower pour.

But I would look askance at any "calculator" that suggests five foot lines are proper...

Cheers!

 

[vinylrooster]

amazing bearcat, thank you!

 

[LowNotes]

Just bookmarking for future reference, lots of good info here for when I setup my system soon.

 

[H2B]

First off Bearcat, thank you for your efforts in creating this spreadsheet!! Your spreadsheet looks like a solution I need... but I'm afraid I can't figure out how to use it. I'm plugging in the numbers but I'm not exactly sure how to fill out a couple of them... I'd greatly appreciate any answers dumbed down as much as possible:

ID of my beer line: I measured and am getting about 3.5/16 with my tape measure but on beverage factory.com it says my tower came with 3/16

I've read quite a few things on CO2 volume, and they all make me feel pretty stupid. Currently I have a keg of Stone IPA, I don't understand how to figure out this part for the spreadsheet... Do I control this, or did Stone? it makes not sense to me.

Shank bore: I can't find this info on beverage factory, and don't know how to tell??? I assume i would be 3/16 too?

So the figures I plugged in are
IPA
34-44
3/16
2"
3/16
29
40"

Am i reading this right? I'd have to go up to 40 degrees for a good pour?

I have about $1000 invested into my kegerator, wasted so much beer and time, and honestly I just want to enjoy a cold foam free glass and just enjoy the fruits of this labor

When I decrease the last figure from 40" to 25.5" it looks like I can have it at 34 degrees at 7.5 psi for frosty perfection? before I go cutting my beer line to 2 feet and potentially shooting myself in the foot. Could you help me out?

Thanks again, can't wait to use this thing

 

[RRL]

posted for future reference


also I just did a quick test and for the beers I have ran red / brown lager the calculations where more so spot on to what I needed to run!


The only off measurement I seem to have found was for the cream ale I had, the c02 was separating at 14 psi once I upped it to 16 psi it cured that however the poors where way to fast fot a 66" line (5.5ft or so) I ended up with 8ft lines as a good match combo.

HOWEVER every brew will be slightly different which must be kept in mind.