Beer taps sputtering them foam

[fun4stuff]

I'm at my wit's end.

I get sputtering and then foam in 2-3 of my beers taps pretty consistently the last few weeks. I have them upright fridge that I've installed 4 flow control taps (mead is in the 4th tAp which does not foam).

At first I thought they were overcarb'd so I tried method described in sticky thread as well as taking it off the gas for a couple days and release gas from check valve a few times per day.

I changed the line in one of them to 30 ft long. Others are 15-20 ft long. 3/16” diameter. Serving pressure is 8-10 psi.

I cleaned the taps.

I checked connections. No leaks. O-rings are good. I even replaced a few o-rings.

I guess what might be causing it is the temp. The fridge temp is now 42. Beer temp is 45. I noticed yesterday that the fridge air temp was 47! Beer temp was 50. I have a glass of water in the fridge now which is at 39 so I’m hoping beer gets to that temp.

So you think the problem is fridge temp? I would have thought that the long beer line length would make up for that. And it kind of sputters inconsistently then foams.

 

[quid_non]

Are you using a keezer or tower tap? If using the latter try using a tower cooler or make one - that solved my problem with a tower set up

 

[day_trippr]

Foamy pours can definitely happen if lines are warmer than the beer in the keg. If the problem subsides on a second pour that'd be a good place to focus. Make sure the temperature in the cabinet is uniform - add a small fan running 24/7 to prevent stratification.

As well, overcarbed beer can/will test the system tuning: if one tunes their system for, say, 2.5 volume carbonation but the actual carbonation is substantially higher the system resistance will be inadequate to keep the excess CO2 in solution. Solution is to not over-carb kegs

All that mentioned, "sputtering" is often indicative of CO2 being injected into the beer stream at the keg. The most frequent cause is missing or damaged O-ring under the Out dip tube flange. It doesn't take much of a nick in the right place for this syndrome to manifest. I'd give the worst offending keg an extra close look...

btw, that small O-ring under the dip tube flange can be abused if installed dry. Once it's bulged outwards to engage with the inside of the post as the latter is tightened it can grab on the post which can induce small tears in the surface. Always install those O-rings at least wetted, better is to use food grade silicone grease (aka "keg lube")...

Cheers!