I have a dedicated fridge to keep my kegs in. Since my wife wouldn’t let me drill holes in the door I had to go with the picnic tap setup. The only issue is my beer is spraying foam out of the tap like a firehose. I had it set at 8 psi. When I disconnect and purge the head space and let sit I get a nice pour. As soon as the CO2 is hooked back up it’s back to firehose. It’s been a few weeks now and I’ve tried purging and having the beer off CO2 for days at a time. Nothing seems to be helping. Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated.
Picnic tap foam issues
- Thread starter CBurgles
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cooper
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How long is your line? I was having that issue with my 5 foot line, as soon as I bumped it up to 10 feet I no longer had an issue.
12 feet of 3/16" ID beverage line on each keg should fix that at 8-12 psi pressure.
Make sure the picnic taps have a secure place to hang from or rest on. If one gets caught somewhere and opens up when you close the door, your wife will be wishing you had taps on the door...
Make sure the picnic taps have a secure place to hang from or rest on. If one gets caught somewhere and opens up when you close the door, your wife will be wishing you had taps on the door...
I bet the small o-ring under the Out dip tube flange is missing or damaged.
Classic symptoms...
Cheers!
Classic symptoms...
Cheers!
...of excessive foaming?
Batteman87
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Concur with the proper beer line length/size. ALSO would check the ball lock part of the keg/o-ring. Mine had the same symptoms with foam and killing the carbonation by the time it got to the glass and settled. Had to fix the ring and popet. I’ve had a regulator go bad and would amp up the pressure no matter what I had it set to. Simple check would be If you have another tap you know that works and swap to see if it’s just that tap is bad. Good luck.
I really just want to convince her to let me drill holes in the damn thing and put in flow control taps. But if I need to get longer line I will.
Seems like the common response I’m getting. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to do that so I don’t have to wait longer to get a goood pour
...of excessive foaming?
Of blowing/spitting foam, absolutely. If that particular o-ring is not doing its job perfectly (or if it's missing entirely) it will allow CO2 under pressure to be injected into the beer stream at the Out post. One could observe that directly if the line is clear - the foam starts right at the disconnect. Clearly not a simple carbonation vs resistance thing.
Those last two sentences are key. With essentially zero head space pressure there's no foam, but as soon as there is CO2 pressure, Foam City...
Cheers!
I’ve read a few other things saying to check the poppets and disconnects and o rings also. I was hoping not to have to check them because it’s my first time kegging and don’t know my way around dis and re assembling.
Oh, I see now. Thanks for the clarification!
It makes me wonder, though, wouldn't that "leak / CO2 bypass" also result in losing CO2 through that post and draining the tank over time?
If the objection of having taps on the door is an esthetic reason, you could probably rig up real taps inside, in the space above the kegs. You'll lose a little cold when tapping a pint with the door open, but you don't have those 3-5 stainless cold sinks sticking out 24/7 either.
sounds like you don't have a 7-10ft line? here's what i use and on morebeer's site they say how much restriction it provides..."Technical Specifications: 1/2" Outer Diameter. 1/4" line provides .65 lbs of restriction per foot. Ideally pounds of resistance should equal pounds of applied pressure. 1/4" line holds 1/3 of an ounce per foot. Made from PVC."
so for 8 psi it would be at least 12' feet of line....you want resistance to equal serving pressure...they usually tell you how much resistance the tubing has where you buy it...
You definitely don't want 1/4" ID beverage line, even less resistance than 3/16", which is tricky enough to balance.
I use Bev Seal Ultra 235 PE line that's 0.20" ID (a little wider than 3/16") and lined with PET. That line is so slick, I use 18' per tap. Easy to clean though, and doesn't absorb beer or oxygen. I keep em all coiled up with a zip tie.
Now that 235 line cannot connect directly to a picnic tap, but there's a half decent way to do it using a John Guest adapter.
A missing o-ring would leak, but one that is nicked at the flange could still seal the post to the riser.
This is not an uncommon failure mode...
Cheers!
David SEMich
Active Member
Have you thought of putting taps through the side of the fridge? I use 3-gallon kegs and you can still use the top shelf and drawers. Wife was suprised she hadn't completely lost the fridge.
Oh it’s not about losing the fridge. It’s an old one that was left at our house by the previous owners. It’s “my dedicated beer” fridge”. But she doesn’t trust me to drill through it my self. I think she’s worried I’ll screw up somehow and then we’ll have to spend more money on a new one.
It’s more not being trusted to Through the fridge and install myself
You can pick up used fridges (and freezers) for free or little money off CraigsList. Make sure they work though... Some can be pretty modern and darn good looking, because of kitchen remodeling fads.
cooper
Well-Known Member
Do you use anything to seal the hole after drilling through everything or does the tap itself seal it up enough to not worry about? I like the idea.
Going through the side is a lot more risky vs through the front.
There are no cooling coils in the door, so providing you can make a clean hole with a holesaw, there is not a lot that can go wrong. If it's a brewing fridge in the garage, I'd just go ahead and do it while she's out. Different story if it's the main house fridge.
There are no cooling coils in the door, so providing you can make a clean hole with a holesaw, there is not a lot that can go wrong. If it's a brewing fridge in the garage, I'd just go ahead and do it while she's out. Different story if it's the main house fridge.
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Rather than going down the road of your marital trust issues.....
Drilling a fridge door is a no-brainer. Frankly, it sounds like she needs more information. I'm sure collectively here at HBT we can appease her fears.
Some fridges have non-removable shelving on the inside of the door. In that case drill a small pilot hole from the back to the front. Other than tap placement (measure twice / drill once) it's pretty easy to drill a hole for your tap shanks.
To gain extra space inside, for more kegs, that door panel with shelves can usually be removed, although you may need to use the 1-2" off the edges to grip the rubber seal.
That way I have space for 5 (real) ball lock kegs in my upright freezer. With the shelf door panel, there's only space for 3.
Actually, one can leave the top shelves in place, above the kegs.
When you got your kegs did you take them apart and clean everything before putting it into service?
Sounds like you need longer beer lines, but you should open your tap fully when pouring, trying to restrict the flow can make things worst.
