problem with diptube???

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brewmasterpa

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well i have kegged my first batch. heres what ive done. i cooled the keg overnight, then i performed the shake carbonation method for 30 minutes
keg was 48 degrees and its a porter. i used 15 psi of co2 pressure. i then took off the gas and put it in the fridge overnight. then i purged the tank and tapped it. tap pressure was 7 psi. heres the problem. everytime i pour, i get massive foaming and it seems to kill the carbonation in the beer. im not sure where the excess gas is coming from because the dip tube draws from the bottom of the keg so i shouldnt have any gas in the pour right??? so im wondering if i have a bad poppet, or a poor seal on the dip tube, or a bad seal on the valve. i dunno, any input would be great.
 
the gas line from the bottle goes to a splitter, its about 2 feet initially, then about 4 or 5
feet from the manifold to the keg. the liquid line is about 3 feet long.
 
You definitely have too short of a liquid line. figure about 1ft of 3/16id tubing per 2lbs of pressure. if you serve at 10-12, that's a minimum of 5-6 feet.

You could have overcarbed your beer as well. if changing the line length doesn't fix it, you should probably let it sit at serving pressure for a few days to stabilize the pressure.
 
agreed. If your beer lines sit outside the kegerator (ie. beer tower), the warming could also be responsible. Min 5 feet usually for beerlines. Go on micromatic.com and order more tubing
 
It could very well be overcarbed, too, if you shook it for 30 minutes. You can try pulling the pressure relief valve several times, and see if it loses some of the foaming. If you've ever opened a can of shaken soda, you know what I mean.
 
It really sounds like you might still be over carbonated a little. I have used short lines with picnic taps and get the appropriate amount of foam every time. If I force carbonate and then try to pour a beer that's when the excessive foaming starts.
 
ok, i think i got it. my keg was at 48 because it was in the same fridge as a lager i was finishing. all my lines are in the fridge, no temperature change in the line, my carbonation turns out to be perfect. the problem was the temp. i kegged the lager because it was done, carbonated the lager, then cooled the fridge to 36 and let them settle overnight. next day purged and tapped at 6 psi. perfect pour, perfect carbonation. thanks anyway guys!!!:mug:
 
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