Line Length vs. Flow Control and Proper Carbonation/Flow Rate

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tennesseean_87

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I'm new to kegging. I have my first beer on the gas for a week. I've had samples here and there. It seems I need to pour off a bit of warm beer from my tower (despite insulation and copper pipe, etc. maybe I'll leave a fan on at all times). I've got a sour saison hooked up right now that I want to have a high carbonation level (3 vol or so). Fridge is set to 42, psi needs to be around 21 to get my 3 vol (I'm at 5,500ft). I have 16ft of bev seal ultra on there and the flow control (Intertap) turned almost all the way down.

At 25psi, it has a good bit of foam (expected at this carbonation) but seems more like 1.75 volumes. When I pulled some last night at 30 psi it seemed nicely effervescent.

Would a longer line and opening up the tap help here, or are those about the same thing? Either method is going to restrict the flow rate, right? Is using the faucet to throttle the flow going to knock out CO2 or anything?

Any help or tips are appreciated.
 
I think I'm on track now. A tower cooling fan may be in my future. I have a fan that comes on when the compressor is running to push air over the coils, and I get decent (but super slow) pours.

I've looked at those. What I'm looking at right now is the effect a flow control faucet has. Both longer lines and restricted faucet would slow the flow rate and decrease foaming, right? Or would one solution work better than another? My plan with 3 taps is to have two usual-ish line lenghts (14-16') and maybe one longer line at 20' for higher carbed styles. If I swap lines from my current 16' beer line to 20', and open up the tap a bit to get the same pour, will it go any faster, or will the extra length of the new line slow it down just as much.

I guess part of my problem is that my first kegged beer is highly carbonated (3 vol) and I like my beer warmer than a lot of people serve (currently 5-5.3C).
 
Either put in a ton of line or use flow control to get resistance to deal with highest psi you can imagine having a beer at. At lower psi you'll just get slower pours. I went to 20 feet line when I was having issues a few years back and while wasteful, I've been very happy
 
Either put in a ton of line or use flow control to get resistance to deal with highest psi you can imagine having a beer at. At lower psi you'll just get slower pours. I went to 20 feet line when I was having issues a few years back and while wasteful, I've been very happy

I've got 20' of tubing and Flow Control dialed down to a trickle and still get a lot of foam (1.5" or so after pouring a full taster glass of mostly foam from the warm faucet). I'm at 40-41F and ~20psi to try to hit a high carbonation. Maybe lots of foam is just part of it at this level of carbonation. Maybe I should have dialed in a more standard carb beer first.
 
I've never used a flow-control faucet thus I can't really comment on how well they work. Some folks swear by them, though.
If you were using standard forward-seal faucets with 3/16" ID* Bev Seal Ultra and dispensing at 20 psi I would recommend 30 foot lines, vs the ~17' that Soltys' calculator recommends if using solid PVC lines.

[* I believe their 3/16" ID line is actually 1/5" ID. Combined with the slicker PET liner vs solid PVC the net resistance per foot is well below what line calculators can handle correctly]

Cheers!
 
I have flow perlick control faucets and they do not correct all evils. Better to match your lines to the expected volume/pressure then use the flow control for tweaking.

I serve at 40-42F and 12PSI, I was using abut 20ft of beer line before to get a consistent pour, but last time around I switched to Ultra Barrier Silver™ Antimicrobial and PVC Free Beer Tubing - (3/16 in ID) and was able to pour OK with only 10ft.
 
I've never used a flow-control faucet thus I can't really comment on how well they work. Some folks swear by them, though.
If you were using standard forward-seal faucets with 3/16" ID* Bev Seal Ultra and dispensing at 20 psi I would recommend 30 foot lines, vs the ~17' that Soltys' calculator recommends if using solid PVC lines.

[* I believe their 3/16" ID line is actually 1/5" ID. Combined with the slicker PET liner vs solid PVC the net resistance per foot is well below what line calculators can handle correctly]

Cheers!

Well, I won't be swapping lines soon, because my build has run my funds dry. I've got 14, 16, and 20' lines, which seems like it should be more than what the calculators are spitting out, but not as much as your recommended length. I might try backing off the CO2 a bit, because by the time I'm done pouring, so much CO2 is knocked out anyway that I'm wondering if I just adjust down to 2.75 volumes I'll still have an effervescent brew in the glass, but without the hassle of slow pours and all the CO2 escaping anyway. Does that make sense?

I have flow perlick control faucets and they do not correct all evils. Better to match your lines to the expected volume/pressure then use the flow control for tweaking.

I serve at 40-42F and 12PSI, I was using abut 20ft of beer line before to get a consistent pour, but last time around I switched to Ultra Barrier Silver™ Antimicrobial and PVC Free Beer Tubing - (3/16 in ID) and was able to pour OK with only 10ft.

This is what I was hoping to do--a few different line lengths for each tap and use the flow-control to fine-tune (this beer is on my longest line). What lines were you using before, bev-seal ultra? That seems way higher than the calculators.
 
I've got 20' of tubing and Flow Control dialed down to a trickle and still get a lot of foam (1.5" or so after pouring a full taster glass of mostly foam from the warm faucet). I'm at 40-41F and ~20psi to try to hit a high carbonation. Maybe lots of foam is just part of it at this level of carbonation. Maybe I should have dialed in a more standard carb beer first.
I find you'll always get some gas coming out of suspension in the line but the second glass will be better.
 
This is what I was hoping to do--a few different line lengths for each tap and use the flow-control to fine-tune (this beer is on my longest line). What lines were you using before, bev-seal ultra? That seems way higher than the calculators.

I believe I was using bevlex 200, I was originally using non flow control perlick faucets when I came up with that length. I started off at about 10ft but was not getting consistent results.
 
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