Firestone kegs dispense too fast

[BrokenBrew]

I'm wondering if anyone has a solution to this. I can't seem to figure out how to get my Firestone kegs to pour slowly enough that I don't have too much foam.

I have seven kegs, two of which are Firestone. The five non-Firestone kegs pour perfect. I have about fifteen feet of beer line for each, and I put two to three epoxy mixers in the dip tubes to slow the pour down a little more. I carb to about 12 psi. Perfect pours - slow enough that I get a nice full head, without too much foam.

The Firestone kegs, however, are a whole different story. They dispense so quickly that I get a ton of foam. The reason is that both the gas in and dip tubes have a larger diameter, so the epoxy mixers don't do much good.

My keezer has four taps, and I move kegs around to whichever tap is free. So I can't really put more beer line on one or two of the taps, or change how they're carbed, etc.

Any advice for fixing Firestone kegs so they don't pour so fast?

 

[Jphillips13]

I recently had a damaged poppet causing this same issue. Swapped a poppet from another keg and it pours perfectly.


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[BrokenBrew]

Thanks, but that's not it. I've already checked the poppets on both kegs. They're both fine.

 

[HumulusHead]

Hmm I don't know the answer to this but I think I'm having the same problem!

2 of my kegs pour much quicker than my third keg.

I've been trouble shooting for quite a while and actually recently gave up. The one that pours at the pace I like only needs 4 feet of hose while my quicker kegs pour too fast with 10 feet of hose. Mind boggling! I've troubleshot everything from the difference in hose material to a possible difference between shank sizes and a possible faulty regulator. None of that seems to be the case!

I'm now convinced I have 2 firestone kegs. Can't wait to get home on Friday and check.

I know that Firestone has different thread sizes or whatever, but do you think the dip tubes from your other keg would fit in your firestone keg?


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[Ravenshead]

What ever it is, it's not because they say "firestone" on them. If I recall, Firestone made a lot of the cornies out there and the only differences are the threads on the posts. That's not something that would change flow rates.

FYI: I found this in another thread:

Firestone V Challenger, Firestone VI Challenger, Firestone Super Challenger
Gas 9/16"-18
Liquid 5/8" -18

Cornelius Spartan & Super Champion
Gas 19/32" - 18
Liquid 19/32" - 18

Cornelius R (pin lock)
Gas 19/32" - 18 (2-pin)
Liquid 19/32" - 18 (3-pin)

John Wood 85, Firestone Challenger
Gas 11/16" - 18
Liquid 3/4" - 18

Firestone A, Firestone R, John Wood RA, John Wood RC (pin lock)
Liquid 9/16" - 18 (2-pin)
Gas 9/16" - 18 (3-pin)They're no different than the rest of them other than the stamp.

 

[BrokenBrew]

Thanks Ravenshead.

I saw that post also, but it doesn't really help either. I have the Firestone V Challenger.

The real problem is that the dip tube in these has a much bigger internal diameter than the Cornelius kegs. I've tried switching them, but the Firestone leaks if I do.

The only thing I can think of is getting bigger epoxy mixers to put in the dip tubes. I know there are different sizes, I just don't know if they have a size that will fit the larger dip tubes in the Firestones. I'll have to get an accurate measurement when that keg is empty.

I was hoping someone had an easy fix.

 

[Bobby_M]

First, is the 15' of line 3/16" ID or 1/4"?

Measure the ID of those diptubes and get some PE tubing with that OD and shove it down into the diptube. This stuff is sold at home depot as icemaker tubing.

 

[Ravenshead]

Well, you learn something new every day. I just looked at my collection and I have one Firestone VI Challenger and it does have a bigger tube than my "name brand" cornies. I usually control my dispensing pressures individually so I never noticed.

If you want to keep using the same pressure for all of your kegs, you'll need to increase drag somehow. A longer or narrower line would work as would Bobby M's suggestion of a PE liner to reduce the ID if you can find the right size. I haven't played with the epoxy mixers but an see how they would work.

 

[BrokenBrew]

One of my Firestones finally blew. I measured the ID of the dip tube - it's 3/8". The other kegs have dip tubes with an ID of of 5/16". Apparently that makes enough difference that the beer just gets around the epoxy mixers I put in the dip tubes.

Grainger has 3/8" mixing tubes. I'm going to buy some of those, and see if that makes a difference.