Please help

Gobabygo · Apr 23, 2017

I'm a newbie with the kegerator. I built a bar. Keg is under bar with 4" gap between kegerator and wood bar top. Getting all foam so I installed tower cooler and insulated between kegerator and bottom of wood. Still getting tons of foam. Added 6' of line inside keg. Still foam. Beer is clear inside kegerator but is hitting tower and foaming. I've tried different psi but no change. Psi is 15 now. And 39 degrees. Any help would be great. Thanks.

AlpacaBrew · Apr 23, 2017

What kind of taps do you have? Post a photo of your steup.

Gobabygo · Apr 23, 2017

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user 204491 · Apr 23, 2017

So a few things that might help...

15PSI @39F = 2.8 volumes of CO2 which is a bit too high.

Try dialing it down to 10.5PSI @39F which should get you pretty close to 2.4 volumes.

Second, I've got a few kegerators like that at work, and they are all pretty bad. Terrible temperature stratification. I'd either put a small fan at the bottom of the kegerator to help circulate the air more or get another tower chiller that has a secondary fan to circulate the air in the kegerator as well as cool the tower.

Next, due to the temperature stratification I mentioned above, having your tower cooler at the top of the kegerator is pumping air from the warmest part of the kegerator into your tower - not terribly helpful. It needs to be located down at the bottom of the kegerator where the coldest air is to have much impact.

You'll also want to see if you can do something to insulate the tower if it's not already.

Lastly, not sure how much beer line you've got now, but I'd lengthen it to 15' in addition to doing all of the above. You can then trim it back a little at a time to get it dialed in.

Please note that even with all of that, the first pour from a setup like this is almost always going to be a little foamy. Just dispense 3-4 ounces, pour it out, and then pull yourself a full glass.

Hope that helps!

doug293cz · Apr 23, 2017

Gobabygo said:
I'm a newbie with the kegerator. I built a bar. Keg is under bar with 4" gap between kegerator and wood bar top. Getting all foam so I installed tower cooler and insulated between kegerator and bottom of wood. Still getting tons of foam. Added 6' of line inside keg. Still foam. Beer is clear inside kegerator but is hitting tower and foaming. I've tried different psi but no change. Psi is 15 now. And 39 degrees. Any help would be great. Thanks.

What is the inside diameter of your beer line, and are you using standard vinyl line or some type of special line? It takes about 1 foot of standard 3/16" vinyl line per psi to provide the proper flow resistance to get reliable pours. Some of the special lines require even more length per psi. You might want to try longer lines.

Brew on :mug:

day_trippr · Apr 23, 2017

fwiw, 15 psi at 39°F would eventually equalize at 2.8 volumes of CO2.
Suitable for a hefe or other sprightly beer, but that's a fairly high carbonation level for most ales, and would require around 14-15 feet of 3/16" ID solid PVC beer line to tame...

Cheers!

Gobabygo · Apr 23, 2017

Thanks guys. I'll try adding more line. I just added yesterday so I can add more. And I am noticing a big fluctuation in temp. Kegerator was on sale from 650 to 350 so I jumped on it. I keep thinking it's the tower tho cause as I pour the beer is nice and clean going thru lines. Seems to happen when it gets outside keg. Thx everyone !!!!