Jockey Box Cold Plate Line Balancing

[storunner13]

Hey all, I'm looking for some help to balance beer lines on a jockey box. I'm going to be replacing the lines with EVABarrier tubing, and am looking for insight.

Assuming I'm pouring with kegs at 40F and up to 50F, with carbonation at 2.7, I'll need to be pushing beer with at least 20PSI to avoid foam in the lines. How much 4mm internal EVABarrier tubing should I use to balance? The goal here is minimizing foam. I'm thinking 10' of the 4mm tubing would be sufficient. What else should I be considering?

This is going through a 6 product plate chiller, if that makes a difference.

 

[cactusgarrett]

The stated resistance of the 4mm EVABarrier is 2.8 pounds per foot. That equates to just over 7ft of tubing for 20psi. Jockey boxes are fickle sometimes, though. I was getting foam the first time I used mine and it was counterintuitive - my pressure was set too low and once i increased the pressure to above what I thought it should be, I was getting good pours. I would think 10' is a good start point. Cut one, try it, then adjust as necessary. DON'T cut all six to match what you think it should be without a test. (ask me how i know).

 

[storunner13]

The stated resistance of the 4mm EVABarrier is 2.8 pounds per foot. That equates to just over 7ft of tubing for 20psi. Jockey boxes are fickle sometimes, though. I was getting foam the first time I used mine and it was counterintuitive - my pressure was set too low and once i increased the pressure to above what I thought it should be, I was getting good pours. I would think 10' is a good start point. Cut one, try it, then adjust as necessary. DON'T cut all six to match what you think it should be without a test. (ask me how i know).

Alright. That process makes sense. I understand that the head pressure at least has to be high enough at the ambient temperature (in the beer line) and dissolved CO2 level to keep CO2 in solution. Which could definitely be a higher than 50F. I'll just have to tried to set up the right conditions for testing. Getting some insulation for the lines might help a bit to keep things cooler between pours. And great advice about trying one at a time. Doing all 6 at once is definitely something I would do too.....

Also tagging @Bobby_M -- I know you have some knowledge of jockey box line balancing. If you have any advice, I'm all ears.