Jockey Box Questions???

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earlyd

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I recently built a jockey box and have run across a few things I need help with. The first time I used it I took it on fishing trip and bought a half-barrel of beer from a microbrewery in Ann Arbor, it worked great!!!! I then got all-full of myself and started to talk it up. This past weekend I went to a graduation party and was asked to bring my jockey box. I was so impressed with how it worked last time I could not wait to show it off. But to my surprise it worked as well and a flat tire. All I could get is foam and lots of it. I had a ¼ barrel of But Light. (Like I said I went to a party not hosted a party) I had my CO2 pressure set at 18 psi to start with and then played with it any where from 5 to 25 psi. Foam, foam and more foam. I am not sure if it was coming from the keg? I could see foam coming from the keg into the jockey box at all times. The only way I could get it to stop was to relive the keg pressure and turn off the CO2. I even tried to elevate the keg above the jockey box to create a “trap” and still lots of foam. The keg had been sitting over night and was around 60*F so I don’t think that it was too shaken up or warm. As for the jockey box it is made of two 50’ X 3/8” stainless steel coils and has two taps. The feed line to the jockey box is a piece of ¼” vinyl tubing about 5’ long and the CO2 feed line to the keg coupler is a piece of 5/16” vinyl tubing also about 5’ long. I keep the box full of ice so that the coils are covered at all times. The funny thing is that the next day I was told that the beer was pouring great. The pressure was still set at 18 psi and there was still plenty of ice left. Any Ideas on what I may need to do to not have this happen again???


Thanks,

~d
 
My guess is temperature. 60 is way too warm to pour beer. This also explains why it poured better the next day after sitting on ice for 24 hours.
 
i'm sure you did, but just to make sure did you untap and retap the keg to make sure you had a good solid seal?

i'v been to many-a parties where they needed some "assistance" tapping their beverages.
 
Te keg was not on Ice only the Jockey box. So I don't think that the temp of the keg was any cooler the next day. The ambient temp outside did not drop enough to make a difference I don't think.
 
i'm sure you did, but just to make sure did you untap and retap the keg to make sure you had a good solid seal?

i'v been to many-a parties where they needed some "assistance" tapping their beverages.

I did and I also disassembled my coupler and checked the seals there as well.
 
But Light is highly carbonated, even worse at 60F. So, even if your applied pressure is only 15 psi, the pressure of the dissolved gas is higher. Beer foam does not cool well, so the jockey box wasn't doing anything. The next day there was more head space in the keg, the dissolved gas pressure was lower and it poured nicely.
 
Let's say the beer was carbed to 2 volumes. At 70F, that's 26psi so you'll need to keep it there to maintain the original carb level. If you drop it much lower than that, a lot of CO2 will come out of solution as you're seeing. You need some resistance in the serving line after the cooling coil. What kind of tubing do you have between the coil and the faucet?
 
But Light is highly carbonated, even worse at 60F. So, even if your applied pressure is only 15 psi, the pressure of the dissolved gas is higher. Beer foam does not cool well, so the jockey box wasn't doing anything. The next day there was more head space in the keg, the dissolved gas pressure was lower and it poured nicely.

Right.

A cold jockey box does not repair foamy beer coming from a warm keg.

My guess is the warm beer was overly sensitive to movement and required a full night's rest to settle down.
 
You should have put the keg on ice. This will make the beer co2 stay in solution. Your pressure in the keg should be blead off as low as you can regulate it to pour beer. When it has finally calmed down you can reconnect the co2 and the lower pressure (Usually 8 to 10 lbs) on the regulator is all you need. Later if the pour is real slow you could raise it a pound.
 
Let's say the beer was carbed to 2 volumes. At 70F, that's 26psi so you'll need to keep it there to maintain the original carb level. If you drop it much lower than that, a lot of CO2 will come out of solution as you're seeing. You need some resistance in the serving line after the cooling coil. What kind of tubing do you have between the coil and the faucet?


I have the 3/8" stainless lubing going into a 8" to 10" piece of 3/8" braded tube. What can I use to restrict this???

~d


Also thank you to everyone for all your insight
 
No offense...but you're missing the point. Chill that keg. Warm kegs dispense foamy beer.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but is not the point of a jockey box to cool the beer in the line so you don't HAVE to ice the keg?

If you are going to ice the keg anyways, why bother with a jockey box? Just stick a picnic tap on the keg and dispense directly.
 
...If you are going to ice the keg anyways, why bother with a jockey box? Just stick a picnic tap on the keg and dispense directly.

Exactly.

Ain't no amount of below feezing copper tubing that is going to repair warm frothy beer coming out of a warm keg. Most (succesful) jockey box set ups you see at parties have the kegs on ice...cold...chilled. The jockey box is just a simple way of snazzing up the delivery system. Once step up from picnic taps.
 
Exactly.

Ain't no amount of below feezing copper tubing that is going to repair warm frothy beer coming out of a warm keg. Most (succesful) jockey box set ups you see at parties have the kegs on ice...cold...chilled. The jockey box is just a simple way of snazzing up the delivery system. Once step up from picnic taps.


+1 - that is what I have seen as well.
 
Resting definitely helps. Also, try ice water and not just ice---more contact.

I happened to be sending IMs back and forth with a professional brewer friend of mine while reading this and asked him, since he's poured many a beer through a jockey box at beer festivals. His answer: if you have a coil, the kegs need to be iced. If you have a cold plate, you can serve from warm kegs without worry as cold plates are more efficient.

And like a home draft system, the jockey box needs to be balanced...ie. the right length and diameter of tubing, the right chilling apparatus, as Bobby alluded to. Mine uses an aluminum cold plate that adds enough restriction to balance it, and it's worked great for me.

Good luck with it.

Cheers!
 
SO, I have a set up like the one described here, and although i found the forum somewhat helpful, and I know this is an old thread, I thought I would give this a bump and make a little ENCOURAGING comment to the jockey box users.

You absolutely CAN have delicious, carbonated, not foamy, beer from a warm keg! Set up your jockey box, settle your keg, make sure you have proper temperature and psi, THEN if you have problems follow these great responses from more experienced members. Don't give up on your jockey box! :-D
 
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