Has any one had trouble bottling from keg with blichman beer gun?

[itsbarleytime]

I bottled 5 gal and it seemed like towards the end of the keg the carbonation was a little on the flat side. Anyone have advice?

 

[jmcquesten]

I bottled 5 gal and it seemed like towards the end of the keg the carbonation was a little on the flat side. Anyone have advice?

Yes. Get a 25 ft length of 3/16" beer line (longer is better). Then when filling bottles, leave the pressure set at what you serve it at and DON'T PURGE the keg before filling. You want the pressure to remain at the serving pressure, but in order to do that, you need a really long line. Also, always make sure the beer is carbonated to your liking before filling bottles. You should be able to fill a pint glass from the beer gun and get the same quality pour that you get from your faucets.

1. Long line (really long)
2. Don't lower the pressure
3. Do NOT purge or release pressure from keg.
4. Fill bottle till all foam runs out.
5. Cap each bottle immediately after filling.

 

[itsbarleytime]

Cool beans, I will try that many thanks to you brother.

 

[jmcquesten]

Cool beans, I will try that many thanks to you brother.

No problem. It should definitely help. You'll read all kinds of things like lower the pressure to 0-2 psi, purge keg, and freeze the bottles. I tried them all. The long line slows the beer down enough to minimize foam while maintaining the carbonation at the serving pressure (10-18 psi). Freezing the bottles made little difference for me and releasing the pressure in the keg causes a foamy mess because the CO2 rushes into the headspace out of the beer.

 

[TravelingLight]

No problem. It should definitely help. You'll read all kinds of things like lower the pressure to 0-2 psi, purge keg, and freeze the bottles. I tried them all. The long line slows the beer down enough to minimize foam while maintaining the carbonation at the serving pressure (10-18 psi). Freezing the bottles made little difference for me and releasing the pressure in the keg causes a foamy mess because the CO2 rushes into the headspace out of the beer.

Excellent advice thank you. I hadn't even thought of lengthening the line. But that would be so much easier than dialing down my regulator, purging the keg, etc. I've got at least 100' of 3/16 line laying around and I'm bottling some this weekend so I'll definitely give it a shot.

Also, does it matter the configuration of the tubing? Meaning, if I had 25' or more, but it's coiled up (so I don't have bev tubing extending all through my house) it still accomplishes the same thing right? Stupid question, but sometimes I'm, well, stupid.

 

[jmcquesten]

Excellent advice thank you. I hadn't even thought of lengthening the line. But that would be so much easier than dialing down my regulator, purging the keg, etc. I've got at least 100' of 3/16 line laying around and I'm bottling some this weekend so I'll definitely give it a shot.

Also, does it matter the configuration of the tubing? Meaning, if I had 25' or more, but it's coiled up (so I don't have bev tubing extending all through my house) it still accomplishes the same thing right? Stupid question, but sometimes I'm, well, stupid.

No, the line can absolutely be coiled up. Mine is coiled and zip tied. I make sure to flush the line with some starsan when done bottling. Obviously with a longer line it will take longer to fill the bottles, but it's worth it. I recently scored a really good score in a competition with beers that I beerguned. This method works really well.

Note: there will still be some foam, but not nearly as much and the beer will stay carbonated.

I'd like to hear how this works for anyone who tries it.

 

[TravelingLight]

No, the line can absolutely be coiled up. Mine is coiled and zip tied. I make sure to flush the line with some starsan when done bottling. Obviously with a longer line it will take longer to fill the bottles, but it's worth it. I recently scored a really good score in a competition with beers that I beerguned. This method works really well.

Note: there will still be some foam, but not nearly as much and the beer will stay carbonated.

I'd like to hear how this works for anyone who tries it.

Awesome. I'll be doing it this weekend and will report back.

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

I know its random and you didn't ask but I figured I'd throw it out there. Check out this set up for the Beergun I recommend it to anyone who has one... http://imgur.com/a/2fQ22
It makes things a whole lot simpler and don't have to keep it so tied into your system all the time.

 

[TravelingLight]

I know its random and you didn't ask but I figured I'd throw it out there. Check out this set up for the Beergun I recommend it to anyone who has one... http://imgur.com/a/2fQ22
It makes things a whole lot simpler and don't have to keep it so tied into your system all the time.

I like this. Just so I'm looking at it correctly...in the last picture, the red hose, that's the main gas line coming off the regulator, correct? So it feeds into that tee fitting which is split to feed the beer gun and the keg, right? I like this especially since I quit using my splitter manifold when I figured out it apparently has a leak. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

Yes and yes

 

[jmcquesten]

I know its random and you didn't ask but I figured I'd throw it out there. Check out this set up for the Beergun I recommend it to anyone who has one... http://imgur.com/a/2fQ22
It makes things a whole lot simpler and don't have to keep it so tied into your system all the time.

That is a nice little fitting. I actually have a 5 lb backup tank with regulator and 2 way tee to achieve the same thing. It's handy being able to take the keg, tank/regulator, and beer gun to the kitchen to bottle over the sink and use the counter space. I do have an auxiliary line coming off one of my 4 secondary regulators, but I use that mainly for purging kegs now that I have an extra tank and regulator.

 

[mbbransc]

I keep a 2nd CO2 canister too, with a dual manifold. I use it for all sorts of things other than the BeerGun; keep pressure on conical while cold crashing, pushing beer from conical to keg, carbing up beer before going into kegorator, and of course, a backup when my primary CO2 canister runs dry. Great investment.

For the BeerGun, I only use 10' of 3/16" hose and don't have any issues. I've never experienced 'flat beer' by the time I got to the bottom of a keg. I have to wonder if your beer was fully carbed before you start. I generally give my beer at least 2wks on gas before bottling. I've had several 40pt+ beers I've bottled off kegs. BeerGun was another great investment.

Cheers!

 

[TravelingLight]

I keep a 2nd CO2 canister too, with a dual manifold. I use it for all sorts of things other than the BeerGun; keep pressure on conical while cold crashing, pushing beer from conical to keg, carbing up beer before going into kegorator, and of course, a backup when my primary CO2 canister runs dry. Great investment.

For the BeerGun, I only use 10' of 3/16" hose and don't have any issues. I've never experienced 'flat beer' by the time I got to the bottom of a keg. I have to wonder if your beer was fully carbed before you start. I generally give my beer at least 2wks on gas before bottling. I've had several 40pt+ beers I've bottled off kegs. BeerGun was another great investment.

Cheers!

When using 10' of line with the gun, do you keep it at serving pressure or dial it down?

 

[mbbransc]

When using 10' of line with the gun, do you keep it at serving pressure or dial it down?

Dial it down. I have the second CO2 canister and regulator so it's no problem. Release pressure on the keg and the gun and keg will be under the same pressure.

 

[55x11]

Dial it down. I have the second CO2 canister and regulator so it's no problem. Release pressure on the keg and the gun and keg will be under the same pressure.

I am not sure I understand the purpose of having the same pressure on keg and the gun.

Beer gun has CO2 line for purging the bottles (that pressure could be fairly high, say 10-20 psi), and it also has beer line that is going to be pushed by CO2 (that pressure could be fairly low, so that the beer comes out slowly without much agitation - could be 2-8 psi, say - depends on temperature and line resistance/length etc.).

I see no reason for those two pressures to be equal.

I sorta see the original point of using long line - if you back off the serving pressure in the keg, you will start losing CO2 to the headspace, however, just like carbonation, this process is relatively slow (this is also why it takes a while to come back down in carbonation in over-carbed kegs). It takes many hours to lose carbonation, unless your beer is agitated. So dialing serving/carbing pressure down, say from 8 psi (at 35F or maybe 11 psi at 40F - to achieve ~2.5 volumes of CO2) to say 2-3 psi (if you have very short line), then filling some bottles, then increasing serving pressure back to 8 psi should work just fine and not lose much of the carbonation. Just like opening a bottle of beer but letting it sit for a while (while cold), will eventually lose carbonation, but will not happen immediately.

Also, 25' of 3/16" line, which should provide about 2.5-3 psi/ft resistance, means you will lose 62-75 psi in this long line, which is overkill. Are you sure it's not 1/4" or 5/16"?

 

[jmcquesten]

I am not sure I understand the purpose of having the same pressure on keg and the gun.

Beer gun has CO2 line for purging the bottles (that pressure could be fairly high, say 10-20 psi), and it also has beer line that is going to be pushed by CO2 (that pressure could be fairly low, so that the beer comes out slowly without much agitation - could be 2-8 psi, say - depends on temperature and line resistance/length etc.).

I see no reason for those two pressures to be equal.

I sorta see the original point of using long line - if you back off the serving pressure in the keg, you will start losing CO2 to the headspace, however, just like carbonation, this process is relatively slow (this is also why it takes a while to come back down in carbonation in over-carbed kegs). It takes many hours to lose carbonation, unless your beer is agitated. So dialing serving/carbing pressure down, say from 8 psi (at 35F or maybe 11 psi at 40F - to achieve ~2.5 volumes of CO2) to say 2-3 psi (if you have very short line), then filling some bottles, then increasing serving pressure back to 8 psi should work just fine and not lose much of the carbonation. Just like opening a bottle of beer but letting it sit for a while (while cold), will eventually lose carbonation, but will not happen immediately.

Also, 25' of 3/16" line, which should provide about 2.5-3 psi/ft resistance, means you will lose 62-75 psi in this long line, which is overkill. Are you sure it's not 1/4" or 5/16"?

You are correct that it doesn't matter that the purge gas pressure is equal to the keg pressure. The fitting that was linked will get you equal pressure because it's a tee, but it's not necessary for them to be equal.

As far as the line length being 25 ft, it doesn't need to be quite that long but 15 - 20 ft of line should have you covered for even the high carbonated styles. The only downside of using 25 ft is that it slows down the fill even more, which cuts down on the foam even more. If you use mikesoltys.com line length calculator for balancing lines, the long line for the beer gun makes sense, and it works. If people are having issues with the common setup, this can help them. I personally could not get a good bottle fill at 2 - 5 psi, but I also serve my beers between 12 and 18 psi, so there's a bigger pressure differential. In my experience, purging the keg immediately starts foam coming through my faucet or beergun.

 

[TravelingLight]

Well, my plan went to sheet last night. I was planning on trying to 25' of tube at serving pressure. Got everything setup and bottles sanitized and chilled, etc. Hooked it all up and when I popped the BLQD on the liquid out post it started seeping a fair amount of beer from the bottom of the BLQD down the side of the keg. Ok, not a good seal. Pull it off and shove down on there. No go. So apparently this BLQD is effed up. Long story longer, I had to go back to my short hose (because it had a working BLQD on it and I didn't feel like switching them out) and filling at low pressure. I'll try it again next time with a working BLQD!

Side bar...since I've got various QDs lying around, the one that I tried to use last night that was screwed up, I don't know if I've ever used that one before. Can these things be broken down to see what the problem is? I assume it's something with the poppet thing inside of it. Didn't know if it was worth breaking down to check it or just toss it and get more. I swear, when you're kegging you can NEVER have enough: quick disconnects, worm clamps, and various diameter hoses. I want to stockpile QDs and hoses.

 

[k1ngl1ves]

What pressure is your beer set to? Mine are typically around 12psi. I use 11ft of 3/16 beer line for my beergun. I freeze the bottles first, and never have to dial back the pressure.

Rule of thumb is 1ft for every #, then go cut back to desired pour/fill rate. 25ft seems crazy long for 3/16 standard line. Ultra line will need to be long though...

 

[mbbransc]

Well, my plan went to sheet last night. I was planning on trying to 25' of tube at serving pressure. Got everything setup and bottles sanitized and chilled, etc. Hooked it all up and when I popped the BLQD on the liquid out post it started seeping a fair amount of beer from the bottom of the BLQD down the side of the keg. Ok, not a good seal. Pull it off and shove down on there. No go. So apparently this BLQD is effed up. Long story longer, I had to go back to my short hose (because it had a working BLQD on it and I didn't feel like switching them out) and filling at low pressure. I'll try it again next time with a working BLQD!

Side bar...since I've got various QDs lying around, the one that I tried to use last night that was screwed up, I don't know if I've ever used that one before. Can these things be broken down to see what the problem is? I assume it's something with the poppet thing inside of it. Didn't know if it was worth breaking down to check it or just toss it and get more. I swear, when you're kegging you can NEVER have enough: quick disconnects, worm clamps, and various diameter hoses. I want to stockpile QDs and hoses.

You talking about one of these?

Yes, you can break them down and clean them, although it's a bit of a pain to get them back together. I usually just soak them in Oxyclean when ever I have a batch made.

BTW, you can swap those things out in about 10 seconds next time one is giving you problems.

 

[TravelingLight]

You talking about one of these?

Yes, you can break them down and clean them, although it's a bit of a pain to get them back together. I usually just soak them in Oxyclean when ever I have a batch made.

BTW, you can swap those things out in about 10 seconds next time one is giving you problems.

Yeah, well...one of them had the flare, the other had a barb. And the one I needed to remove the hose was reeeeally rammed on there, it was almost midnight already and I was ready to catch some shut eye. I may take it apart just to see if I can figure out what's wrong with it. If I can't get it back together right I'll just toss it. Thanks.

 

[CA_Mouse]

I know its random and you didn't ask but I figured I'd throw it out there. Check out this set up for the Beergun I recommend it to anyone who has one... http://imgur.com/a/2fQ22
It makes things a whole lot simpler and don't have to keep it so tied into your system all the time.

This is interesting... I may have to try this soon and see if it makes much difference on my bottles.