Keg line lengths? There are diff opinions.

[spaceyaquarius]

Noted. The rubber stopper and airlock hit the ceiling this morning bc I used my carboy as a primary fermenter (the bucket was full) and there wasn't enough head space in the 5 gallon carboy. Had to clean the ceiling. The little woman was NOT happy lol.

 

[alestateyall]

Noted. The rubber stopper and airlock hit the ceiling this morning bc I used my carboy as a primary fermenter (the bucket was full) and there wasn't enough head space in the 5 gallon carboy. Had to clean the ceiling. The little woman was NOT happy lol.

She'll be telling this story laughing at the next party y'all go to.

 

[spaceyaquarius]

Right. The vigorous fermentation lasted for around 18 hours. Put the airlock back on and moved it into a cooler room with the AC turned up. I hope the taste is ok. Will have to see.

 

[jonmohno]

I use a 1" hose of about 4 ft. for a carboy.Safer,especially for minimum headspace.

 

[mrsoltys]

The equations/calculators you're looking at are likely giving you the line length and diameter that will result in a flow rate of 1gal/min, which might be too fast depending on the serving temperature and carbonation level. You may be able to use standard 3/16" line, or 3/16" barrier line, which has even less resistance than poly line. The only downside to longer or smaller id lines is a slightly slower pour. Check out this spreadsheet, and see what the pint fill time would be using standard 3/16" vinyl lines- https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0ApGb-vIKLq7FdGtzN3BrY2xZSldORzQ2bHVVX0hzaEE#gid=0

Hey Juan,
Thanks for spreading the word on my spreadsheet on these forums! Just an FYI, I also have a blogpost that explains all the equations I used, and has a really handy javascript calculator at Thanks for linking to my spreadsheet! Just an FYI: I have a webpage that explains all the equations and has a quick little JavaScript Calculator at:
http://www.mikesoltys.com/2012/09/17/determining-proper-hose-length-for-your-kegerator/

I'm glad it's useful!

 

[spaceyaquarius]

All the way to page 4, but a lot of trouble can be avoided by just simply ordering 10 feet of 3/16" inner diameter vinyl beer line (make sure to get a thick outer wall, and Home Depot does not have it).

Then just order a Perlick Perl Flow draft beer faucet for around $45 that has the ability to adjust carbonation flowing through the beer lines. It even keeps your first pour from being all foam (if you haven't tackled the PC fan/copper tubing in your draft tower yet).

I just got one and it's completely worth the money. Why would you want to have to adjust your beer line length when you change styles of beer?

 

[nakedyeti]

I had a question about gas line length, and it appears this is the best place to post it. I currently have a 5ft gas line. My question is are there any problems having a shorter gas line as long as you have a lengthy beer line???I recently bought a 3 way manifold. And thought of cutting the gas line into sections to reach each keg. It's a very tight space. I just wanted to know if there were pros or cons.


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[day_trippr]

Gas lines can be as short or long as necessary, no worries there...

Cheers!

 

[thadius856]

Too much gas line is a pain to manage.

Too short and you might not be able to open your lid, if you have dual hinge collar and a mounted primary/secondary.

 

[nakedyeti]

Gas lines can be as short or long as necessary, no worries there...



Cheers!

Perfect!


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