Foaming help

[acmx16]

I am kegging my first batch and I have excessive foam I am using 5/16 line for my out I forced carbonated at 21 psi at room temp for 24 hrs however I did shake it around moving it around. Did doing this over carbonate it or are my lines too big? I tried a 3/16 line and got no flow at 10 psi serving pressure. Does line length matter because I think I'm going to go to the middle and get 1/4 inch line or did I simply just over carbonate it and if so how do I solve this problem?

 

[LLBeanJ]

5/16 ID? If so, that's too large and will likely be foam city with anything but flat beer. 10-12' of 3/16 ID is ideal. If that's what you had and had no flow at 10 psi, that needs to be troubleshot first, as you should have had flow. Perhaps your regulator is reading incorrectly.

Edit: Are you trying to serve at room temp or is it cold now?

 

[JuanMoore]

There must have been something wrong when you tried the 3/16" line. Try it again and see if it works. Maybe the coupler/QD wasn't fully engaged when you tried it the first time.

 

[trboyden]

Length does seem to be a key factor. I had shorter lines of both sizes and had issues with foaming. I then found a thread that recommended 7ft. or longer and changed my lines, and now I am good.

 

[acmx16]

I was testing at room temp, as my temp controller was delivered yet, however I just got it and am bringing it down to serving temp I also found that I was drawing a lot of sediment from the bottom an I think this May be a determining factor, I racked twice and ran it through a filter bag so it kinda upsets me that I have a sediment problem I think in going to try longer lines and also cut a half inch off my dip tube so that it will just draw beer and no sediment. Will be purchasing line tomorrow.

 

[LLBeanJ]

Well, serving a keg at room temp will always be a challenge. Not saying it's impossible, but a challenge nonetheless. So, yeah, chill that keg, put on the longer 3/16 line and give it another go. If you still have issues with no flow, come on back and we'll try to help you with that.

 

[Yooper]

I was testing at room temp, as my temp controller was delivered yet, however I just got it and am bringing it down to serving temp I also found that I was drawing a lot of sediment from the bottom an I think this May be a determining factor, I racked twice and ran it through a filter bag so it kinda upsets me that I have a sediment problem I think in going to try longer lines and also cut a half inch off my dip tube so that it will just draw beer and no sediment. Will be purchasing line tomorrow.

Don't worry- try to relax. The reason for the sediment isn't a problem- it's just that gravity causes bigger particles to settle. Shaking/rolling the keg is a big contributor to that, plus it contributes to foaming.

Once you let the keg sit still, you can pour three ounces from the tap, and discard it, and the rest of the beer will be sediment free if you don't shake it or move it around.

I don't know what "ran it through a filter bag" means, but hopefully you didn't oxidize the beer that way. Gravity and time work great, and will do just as good as anything to clear the beer, as yeast is microscopic and goes right through everything anyway (except .5 micron filters set up for sterile filtration).

 

[acmx16]

Update I lengthened the lines and used 1/4 in lines this seemed to help a lot I am now pouring great beer thanks all for the help.