Heres a new one... Co2 forming in line mid keg??

[DustinHickey]

Hi guys,
This is a first for me. I have 4 cornies. All usually work fine except for one... Heres the deal. During the kegs first use it poured fine for the first 1/4 or so of the keg. All of a sudden.. Nuthing but foam. Ok, so I checked the line and co2 bubbles were forming in the line at the quick disconnect. Ok, so I didnt realize this until trying multiple things to address it and spent the whole keg trying to fix it. Then, When cleaning the lines with sanitizer i noticed bubbles in the line. I figured it must be the o rings so I changed all of the o rings in the post and QD. Assumed problem fixed.

About a month later I kegged a new beer in the same keg. (QD on my lines works fine with other kegs so thats not the problem). This new beer in the same keg poured great for about the first 1/4 of the keg. (again, assumed fixed)... About 1/4 of the keg through, pours have been getting progressively foamyer... Made fun of friends for not knowing how to pour... Then poured my own and to my suprise pretty foamy... I check the lines and bam.. Foam forming at the quick disconnect... WTF??

Does anyone know why all of a sudden with two seperate beers in the same keg that foam would start forming in the lines 1/4 way through the keg?? Could there possibly be a hole in the dip tube 1/4 way down that would suck in CO2 from the headspace?? That would be crazy right?? The keg did get a good amount of use yesterday quite quickly (my friends and I drink alot) yesteday. Do you think it would be caused by excessive use?? how would bars survive??

Please let me know if anyone has any thoughts on a possible solution to this that isn't "just use another keg"..

Oh, by the way its not overcarbonated because i use the same pressure for other kegs and have never had any problems... 12 PSi or so at 40 deggres, beer lines are all balenced and normally work fine except this one keg 1/4 way or so through...

Thanks,
Dustin Hickey

 

[lschiavo]

That is strange...did you check for a hole in the dip tube? I can't think what else may cause it when only 1/4 way through.

 

[buzzkill]

did you take the keg apart to clean/inspect before you used it second time?

 

[marzsit]

are you sure the o-ring under the liquid dip tube is present and in good condition?

 

[DustinHickey]

Hi guys,
Sorry for the delay. Was busy this weekend. In response to your questions.

1) I did not look to see if there was a hole in the dip tube due to the fact that I couldnt imagine that being the problem... How would a hole get in a dip tube?? I will check when I have a chance though.

2) I did take apart the keg outlet post and changed all of the o-rings. I also looked for any obstructions and found none.

3) I changed the O-ring on the dip tube when I took the keg outlet post apart to inspect it.

That being said, aside from the crazy chance that there is a hole in my dip tube, is it possible that it could be anything else?

This one has me at a loss..

-Thanks,
Dustin Hickey

 

[TXCrash]

My money's on a hole in the diptube - probably formed by the diptube being bent and bent back or improperly cleaned at some point in the kegs prior life.

 

[buzzkill]

orrrrrrrrrrr.....the dip tube o ring..is it under the dip tube flange

 

[DustinHickey]

Thanks guys. Ill see what I can do. Buzzkill: I changed the dip tube o-ring already and it didn't seem to do anything. Also, the keg was pouring fine for the first 10 pints or so and then all of a sudden it started foaming. This is the second time with two beers this keg is doing this. I thought it was th o-ring at first but it didnt do anything. If I changed the dip tube o-ring there should be no other reason for this correct?

 

[azscoob]

While cleaning a keg last night I noticed that my dip tube has a seam down the side,so I would imagine it is possible to develop a crack or pinhole along the seam. maybe swap the diptube with another keg and see if the problem stops.

 

[beeton]

Look for a pin hole in the dip tube at the level of 1/4 removed beer height.
Head space cO2 entering tube, once liquid level drops.
Dave.

 

[DustinHickey]

Ok guys. Thanks for the input. Thats gota be what it is. Didn't know there was a seem there so couldn't understand how. I'll let you guys know what happens when I take it appart tonight.

I just hope I can do it without disturbing the beer in the keg. It's quite delicious.

 

[buzzkill]

how long have you had the keg? if you havent had it long, you may get a new dip tube out of them.

 

[DustinHickey]

Whats up guys. So I took the dip tube out, swapped with a sanitized one from another keg. Beer is pouring fine now. I put my finger over the end of the tube and blew into the other end and bam, bubbles out of a pit size hole half way down the tube. How it got there I will never know but the problem is solved. Thanks for the help and at least we know that this type of thing is possible.

-Cheers,
Dustin Hickey