Excessive foam when transferring from fermenter to keg.

[stevehaun]

Today I transferred beer from my conical fermenter to kegs for spunding. I transferred using 5-7 psi pressure and got a large amount of foam coming out of my keg gas post. In the past, when I spunded in the fermenter, I used a spunding valve on my keg gas post which led to foam-free transfers. I did not think I would need a spunding valve during the transfer as the beer is not carbonated yet. Obviously, there is a fair amount of carbonation present. Suggestions?

 

[NeoBrew]

I had struggled with the same problem. I believe that even at atmospheric pressure you might get some low carbonation. Since you have the spunding valve, just use it.

I was having troubles getting good transfers even though I tend to not carb in my conical. Once I built a spunding valve and used it on the gas out post of my keg my problems seem to have gone away. (Knock on wood) In this case I'm willing to forgo the explanation and just accept that it works!

 

[stevehaun]

I was wondering if I simply used too much pressure? Perhaps if I pushed the beer with 2-3 psi there would be less foam? Today I started with 7 psi and turned it down to 5 psi when I started getting foam. That change did not seem to make a difference.

 

[NeoBrew]

The temperature of your keg can make a difference too. If you are cold crashing in the fermenter and then putting it in a warm keg you would get some foaming. Same for lines, fittings, etc. Although those would probably chill after the first few pints went through them.

2-3 PSI to push might help. But you know what will really help? Use your spunding valve.

 

[day_trippr]

Having just filled four kegs from crashed carboys - and from years of experience - I doubt it's the keg temperature per se. There's not a lot of thermal mass in a corny keg that the beer actually contacts.

But...if the fermentor was sealed and governed by a blow-off valve it's probably more carbonated than what comes out of my carboys, and that tends to amplify issues (like racking pressure, and maybe temperature). Bubbles beget bubbles during transfers, so if the transfer pressure isn't high enough to keep the dissolved CO2 in solution it's going to break out and in turn cause some cascade effects.

So...as already stated, using a spunding valve on the receiving keg should allow the use of enough pressure during racking to keep dissolved CO2 in solution...

Cheers!

 

[Dland]

I transfer from conical to spund in kegs also, have not needed to use spunding valve on gas post, just a line off it in case there is a little foam near when keg reaches capacity. Usually I only use 2 or 3 PSI CO2 to push transfer.

I do recall getting foam a couple times when I transferred when SG was a little higher than usual, as I did not want to miss "spunding window" during busy time at work, (maybe I should have used spunding valve for that).

In general, I do not get foam when transferring withing .006-.010 away from finish gravity, when airlock activity has significantly slowed..

 

[Robert65]

I transfer to keg to spund using no more than 5-6 psi. My method is to put a picnic tap on the gas post of the purged and initially pressurized receiver keg (fermenter and keg at equal pressure.) I periodically vent some pressure to keep flow moving. This will suppress foaming just as in a true counterpressure transfer, and will prevent overflow if you step away or at the end. That said, like the previous post notes, I don't have any such problem transferring within a fairly broad interpretation of the "window," when activity has subsided a bit.

 

[stevehaun]

So basically the picnic tap serves as a spunding valve whereas I was venting my keg into a bucket of sanitizer.

 

[Cavpilot2000]

I'd vote for too much pressure. I transfer at 1-2 PSI (from a SS Brewbucket).

 

[Robert65]

So basically the picnic tap serves as a spunding valve whereas I was venting my keg into a bucket of sanitizer.

Yep. Not a precise spunding valve (actually I got the idea from the purge valve on a CP bottle filler,) and unlike a spunding valve, I don't care if beer or foam does get in it. In fact I let beer come out the gas post, then dispense a known amount for a known headspace in the keg.

 

[NeoBrew]

Yep. Not a precise spunding valve (actually I got the idea from the purge valve on a CP bottle filler,) and unlike a spunding valve, I don't care if beer or foam does get in it. In fact I let beer come out the gas post, then dispense a known amount for a known headspace in the keg.

OMG, I can't believe I never thought of letting the keg fill to the gas out post and THEN dumping a few pints. This is brilliant!

 

[Robert65]

OMG, I can't believe I never thought of letting the keg fill to the gas out post and THEN dumping a few pints. This is brilliant!

And you get to drink some slop while kegging. Only works if you can brew enough and send enough to the fermenter to account for losses. But it does make life less anal.

 

[Die_Beerery]

OMG, I can't believe I never thought of letting the keg fill to the gas out post and THEN dumping a few pints. This is brilliant!

Uhh yea. Stupid simple. All these people with scales make me laugh.

 

[blizz81]

Yep. Not a precise spunding valve (actually I got the idea from the purge valve on a CP bottle filler,) and unlike a spunding valve, I don't care if beer or foam does get in it. In fact I let beer come out the gas post, then dispense a known amount for a known headspace in the keg.

If you were overvolume enough that you wanted to bottle off the excess, I imagine you could either use a bottling wand shoved into the picnic tap or just use the normal run of tubing into the bottom of a bottle and be on your merry way?

 

[day_trippr]

Uhh yea. Stupid simple. All these people with scales make me laugh.

Cheers! (That's a metric crapton of irony right there )

 

[Die_Beerery]

Yea I spose.