CO2 pressure HELP!!! Noob here...

[brewawan]

My buddy and I recently bought the Haier kegerator, so we could have draft brew at the house. He's not a homebrewer (yet), but he's interested in the process.

He recently bought a Lagunitas IPA 7.75 keg and has a 5 lb CO2 tank. Without purging any O2 prior to, he tapped the keg with 12 psi and began to drink. Here in lies the problem...At first each pour was very foamy, but it began to get little better with 24 hours. After 48 hrs, it was still foamy and that's when I stepped in.

I purged the keg several times and turned the tank off. Obviously, without the tank, the keg would pull anything. I turned the tank back on but to only 2-3 psi. This allows me to get about a 2-3 sec pour, but then I get a sudden rush of pressure and its back to all foam. I told him to let it sit and wait for the lower pressure to regulate, but it continues to pour then all foam.

My question to anyone who knows is what are we doing wrong? I asked because I'm about to keg my first 5 gal Scottish Ale homebrew tomorrow, and I didn't wanna fall into the same trap. Did he over-carbonate because commerically bought kegs are already carbonated? Will I not run into this problem because homebrew needs to carbonate?

 

[Walker]

My buddy and I recently bought the Haier kegerator, so we could have draft brew at the house. He's not a homebrewer (yet), but he's interested in the process.

He recently bought a Lagunitas IPA 7.75 keg and has a 5 lb CO2 tank. Without purging any O2 prior to, he tapped the keg with 12 psi and began to drink. Here in lies the problem...At first each pour was very foamy, but it began to get little better with 24 hours. After 48 hrs, it was still foamy and that's when I stepped in.

I purged the keg several times and turned the tank off. Obviously, without the tank, the keg would pull anything. I turned the tank back on but to only 2-3 psi. This allows me to get about a 2-3 sec pour, but then I get a sudden rush of pressure and its back to all foam. I told him to let it sit and wait for the lower pressure to regulate, but it continues to pour then all foam.

My question to anyone who knows is what are we doing wrong? I asked because I'm about to keg my first 5 gal Scottish Ale homebrew tomorrow, and I didn't wanna fall into the same trap. Did he over-carbonate because commerically bought kegs are already carbonated? Will I not run into this problem because homebrew needs to carbonate?

how long is the line connecting the keg to the tap? It sounds to me like they are just too short.

 

[Scut_Monkey]

How long is your serving line?

Edit: Walker beat me to it.

 

[Shooter]

Yep, I serve commercial kegs at 10-12 psi without any trouble, but use about 10 feet of narrow line.

 

[brewawan]

how long is the line connecting the keg to the tap? It sounds to me like they are just too short.

I haven't measured it, but my guess is at least 3 feet. I wouldn't say it could be any more than 4 feet

 

[wilserbrewer]

Shut the gas off and bleed the pressure off the keg at the sanke coupler. Try and pour at a reduced pressure. You should have at least 5' of 3/16" line, preferably a bit more.

 

[Walker]

I haven't measured it, but my guess is at least 3 feet. I wouldn't say it could be any more than 4 feet

yup... like the others have suggested... those lines are too short for 10-12psi.

 

[jmf143]

Try raising your glass as high as possible too. Gravity is your friend.

 

[Scut_Monkey]

You need a longer line to balance it. It would help to reduce your serving pressure but you would then need to turn it back up at the end of the night to prevent the beer from lossing carbonation down to the lower serving pressure. If you plan on kegging or serving from a keg for the future just buy some new line, it's cheap.