I have been getting excessive foam from my kegs lately and am trying to figure out the source. My kegs are naturally carbed, I was using 155 grams of honey to prime which I thought was causing the kegs to be overcarbed, then moved to 75% of the honey (about 116 grams). I strain the beer going into the kegs to make sure no hop material gets in there. After filling the kegs I purge with 30psi of co2 3 times, then fill it up for a fourth time with 30 psi and set in a room temperature closet for 5-8 weeks. Kegerator set at 38 degrees, co2 is at 12psi, 10ft of 3/16" for keg lines. I try to keep the co2 off, so at the beginning of the night I open it up till no more co2 comes out then close the bottle, only opening the co2 when the pour is slow. I see foam in the lines which then turn to big bubbles after sitting a bit. With these possibly overcarbed kegs I have released all pressure 2-3 times a day and I still have the issue after doing this for a few days, it finally settles down but does not go away after I am maybe halfway though the keg(15-25% foam). I have an adjustable pour intertap faucet and sometimes even with it mostly closed it still pours mostly foam. Lines have been cleaned with BLC and tap has been taken apart and cleaned. The fast disconnect on the liquid side is old/ bought used so I was wondering if that may be causing the issue, or am I just dealing with overcarbed kegs? (Sorry for the long post but I hope all relevant information is there!)
Overcarbed kegs or other issue? (foam)
- Thread starter TkmLinus
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Don’t have the time to fully address all the issues, but one thing that jumped out at me is turning the CO2 off. There’s no need to do that and could be one reason you’re getting foam.
If your keg is over filled with CO2, keeping everything turned on won’t hurt it. Every pint you pour will slowly settle down to equilibrium until it matches your regulator.
If you’re confident that it’s over pressurized, then purge it a few times and shake it, then purge again.
Either way, once it’s all set up, keep the CO2 on all the time.
If your keg is over filled with CO2, keeping everything turned on won’t hurt it. Every pint you pour will slowly settle down to equilibrium until it matches your regulator.
If you’re confident that it’s over pressurized, then purge it a few times and shake it, then purge again.
Either way, once it’s all set up, keep the CO2 on all the time.
It’s possible the liquid dip tube o-rings could be damaged.
I had thought about this, but this has happened on 4 separate kegs. I had installed all new gaskets last November and lubed them up.
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
If possible replace the 10' of beer line with 12' of beer line. Rule of thumb is one foot per psi of serving pressure.
You can also try carbonating a keg just on CO2, without the honey. Use the two (+/-) week set and forget method. I'd also just put the kegs at 12psi when you're carbonating with honey. It also could be worth checking to see how much pressure the keg is getting up to while carbonating in the closet.
It could also be worth checking to make sure your CO2 regulator low pressure gauge is accurate.
You can also try carbonating a keg just on CO2, without the honey. Use the two (+/-) week set and forget method. I'd also just put the kegs at 12psi when you're carbonating with honey. It also could be worth checking to see how much pressure the keg is getting up to while carbonating in the closet.
It could also be worth checking to make sure your CO2 regulator low pressure gauge is accurate.
Very good points, what is the best way to check pressure inside the keg and accuracy of low pressure gauge? My kegerator can only hold 2 kegs so I prefer to carb with priming sugar, that way when a keg kicks I just swap them out and the new keg is ready to go the following day.
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
You should be able to find a guage with a fitting to connect to a gas ball lock from one of the regular vendors. Or make something up with different fittings to get there. I had one I think I bought from Williams more than a few years back.
An alternate carbonation method would be to get a corny keg carbonation lid. That will shorten the carb time from weeks to days. The instructions mention letting it sit at final pressure level (you step it up to that over a few hours) for 24 hours and test/sample. Giving it more time as needed. I've used one (cut down to fit my 3 gallon kegs, but also worked in my 6 gallon kegs) with good results. I've changed over to carbonating in fermenter now, so don't plan to use it much, if at all, moving forward. The only 'problem' using the lid is you'll probably want a secondary regulator between your gas feed and that keg. Unless you have a dual body regulator where you can feed two different pressure levels to your two kegs. I picked up a secondary just for that, which will soon be removed from my gas system inside the keezer.
An alternate carbonation method would be to get a corny keg carbonation lid. That will shorten the carb time from weeks to days. The instructions mention letting it sit at final pressure level (you step it up to that over a few hours) for 24 hours and test/sample. Giving it more time as needed. I've used one (cut down to fit my 3 gallon kegs, but also worked in my 6 gallon kegs) with good results. I've changed over to carbonating in fermenter now, so don't plan to use it much, if at all, moving forward. The only 'problem' using the lid is you'll probably want a secondary regulator between your gas feed and that keg. Unless you have a dual body regulator where you can feed two different pressure levels to your two kegs. I picked up a secondary just for that, which will soon be removed from my gas system inside the keezer.
12psi is a little high for 38F. I would set it to about 10psi and stop turning the gas off. The beer is going through a rollercoaster of head pressures and co2 will get knocked out every time it drops. What's the purpose of natural carbonation?
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
https://www.kegoutlet.com/media/uploads_ckeditor/Carbonatin-Chart.jpg12psi at 38F is at the top end of the chart.
I would always reference a chart like the linked to figure out what PSI to put the beer at.
I would always reference a chart like the linked to figure out what PSI to put the beer at.
Thanks! I'll drop the pressure, leave the gas on, and see what happens after a few days. I was turning off the gas since I was afraid of leaks.
I only have room for 2 kegs in my kegerator so I like naturally carbing while the kegs are sitting and waiting their turn(I have 4 beer kegs in rotation, second tap is dedicated for cider for the miss). I did carb up the first few kegs from the canister and I perceived a strong carbonic bite or something else that didn't agree with my palate which I have not noticed from the naturally carbed kegs(Others didn't notice but I did).
Thanks again!
Thinking back, I referenced the chart when I first set up my kegerator and had it 41 or 42 degrees. I then decided to drop it a few more degrees and never thought to adjust the pressure to compensate for the temperature drop.
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
The 'bite' is probably due to how you're at the very top end of the range for CO2 pressure at temperature.
As I had mentioned in an earlier post, you can carbonate in keg in just a few days with the carbonation lid. It's a lot more stable/reliable than the rapid/burst method.
If you're worried about CO2 leaks, you need to get that resolved. Depending on how your hoses are connected, it could be as simple as changing out clamp types. I tossed out the worm clamps years back due to how they were horrible for sealing 100% and would slip when you wanted to get them tighter. Switched to oetiker clamps and have had zero leaks. I actually used those on my glycol chiller lines when I set that up, after the butterfly (worm) clamps leaked no matter how tight I made them. I looked inside and the chiller feed from the pumps (on the inside of the barbs you connect to the fermenters) are the oetiker type. I buy the clamps at least 25 at a time from either McMaster or Amazon these days. They're also stainless steel, so less concerns there.
As I had mentioned in an earlier post, you can carbonate in keg in just a few days with the carbonation lid. It's a lot more stable/reliable than the rapid/burst method.
If you're worried about CO2 leaks, you need to get that resolved. Depending on how your hoses are connected, it could be as simple as changing out clamp types. I tossed out the worm clamps years back due to how they were horrible for sealing 100% and would slip when you wanted to get them tighter. Switched to oetiker clamps and have had zero leaks. I actually used those on my glycol chiller lines when I set that up, after the butterfly (worm) clamps leaked no matter how tight I made them. I looked inside and the chiller feed from the pumps (on the inside of the barbs you connect to the fermenters) are the oetiker type. I buy the clamps at least 25 at a time from either McMaster or Amazon these days. They're also stainless steel, so less concerns there.
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