Is my beer line too long?

[Microphobik]

For a long time I had beer lines running off my kegs that were only about a meter long. I was just using picnic taps and the beer came out like a shot gun with a ton of foam and it took a lot of tweaking to get a nice glass of beer.

Then I learned about balancing my lines, I used one of the calculators out there and got 10 foot lines. But at the same time I also got the flow control Perlick taps.

Now even at full throttle my beer comes out quite slowly. Which is fine, But I find that instead of dealing with too much foam, I need to really poor hold the glass low and poor hard in order to make a nice head, especially on my bitters and other beers with lower carb levels. The beer comes out plenty carbonated, just very slowly; Often giving me the perception that my beer is undercarbed when in fact it's not. I've overcarbed a few times mistakenly trying to compensate.

My thinking is that I should cut my lines in half and go with about 5 feet now that I have the flow control taps. Anyone see any issues with this assumption? Has anyone ever had a similar experience? Do line levels even matter much with the flow control taps?

 

[Cyclman]

http://beersmith.com/blog/2011/07/14/keg-line-length-balancing-the-science-of-draft-beer/

 

[Microphobik]

http://beersmith.com/blog/2011/07/14/keg-line-length-balancing-the-science-of-draft-beer/

Yeah, thanks. I had read that a while back and it was those kinds of calculations that led to the 10 foot beer lines. But the results were not quite what I'm expecting. I'm wondering if because of my flow control taps it makes sense that I go shorter. Anyone else have a similar experience where despite what the calculations tell you, the lines seem too long?

I'm also wondering how the flow control taps figure into line length calculations. Do they allow you to go much shorter then you would otherwise or is there a negative to using the flow control taps to keep the foam down vs lengthening the lines?

 

[PlinyTheMiddleAged]

Microphobik,

Are you running your flow control faucets wide open? If so, you might try shortening you lines slightly until you start having to crank up your faucet control to compensate. I'll be facing the same issue soon - I ordered longer lines and a flow control nozzle at the same time. I'll find out how it goes when this stuff shows up.

Good luck!

 

[Microphobik]

Microphobik,

Are you running your flow control faucets wide open? If so, you might try shortening you lines slightly until you start having to crank up your faucet control to compensate. I'll be facing the same issue soon - I ordered longer lines and a flow control nozzle at the same time. I'll find out how it goes when this stuff shows up.

Good luck!

Yes, I have them wide open. I guess I'll just shorten the lines and see what happens. Thanks.

 

[gnef]

At wide open, you should get a good flow, even with the 10ft of line. I would recommend checking one of the faucets and shanks to make sure there is no blockage or obstruction with the flow control part of the faucet.

 

[Microphobik]

At wide open, you should get a good flow, even with the 10ft of line. I would recommend checking one of the faucets and shanks to make sure there is no blockage or obstruction with the flow control part of the faucet.

Thanks. It's happening on all of the taps so I don't think that's it. It's not coming out so slow as to seem like the line is blocked. It's just slower than I would expect and I don't get much of a head on the beer unless I pour from a dramatic distance. I basically just wondered if using shorter lines was normal/acceptable with the flow control perlicks or if people tended to stick to the charts regardless. But it sounds like I just need to do it and find out. I just thought I'd ask before I cut my lines.

 

[gnef]

with the flow control, yes, you can cut your lines a certain amount and use the flow control to dial in the restriction.

This is what I plan on doing when I move to 1/4" ID bev seal lines that won't give enough restriction.

 

[Microphobik]

with the flow control, yes, you can cut your lines a certain amount and use the flow control to dial in the restriction.

This is what I plan on doing when I move to 1/4" ID bev seal lines that won't give enough restriction.

Ok, great. Thanks. This is what I was hoping to hear

 

[gnef]

Not a problem. Just so you know, as long as your beer is carbonated to reasonable levels, 2.5 volumes or less, you can make a setup like I did, and have a direct draw tap from the keg using a connector from chi company. I have a disconnect, then adapter, and then a 650ss faucet, and it pours just fine for beers that are carbonated reasonably (beers that are way overcarbed can't be compensated for, and it will just pour foam slowly).