Slow pour normal or do I have something wrong?

[GreenDragon]

How fast should kegged homebrew come out of the tap? Should it be close to regular keg speeds?

Mine pours very slowly. I get just a little stream out of the tap. The beer tastes good, and it's even carbed well but it takes 30-50 seconds to pour a pint.

I have a 5/8th C02 line and 3/8th beer line. Both have been replaced (I was using non-food grade originally). I have also replace the faucet (I upgraded to a perlick). I run 10ft of the beer line. The C02 canister sits outside the fridge. I have torn the keg apart and cleaned/reseated everything. I've done 2 batches through it now and some sanitized water, all poured slowly.

My ideas: Somehow it's the shank causing the back up or my regulator dials are off and I'm not pushing as much pressure as I think I am (but the beer is VERY well carbed so I don't think this is the issue)

 

[beach]

I think your beer line is the issue. I use 7' of 3/16 ID beer line (11 psi @ 37*F) and my pour is very nice: quick & a nice foamy head. The 3/16 line will give you the additional resistance you need to keep the CO2 in suspension and the shorter length will speed the pour. There are beer line calculators online that will help you balance your system. Just do a google search and a number of them should pop up.

Beach

 

[Bobby_M]

Something doesn't sound right. 3/8" beer line would shoot beer out like a fire hose. Are you measuring the ID or OD?

 

[GreenDragon]

I shouldn't post before drinking coffee. That was supposed to be 5/16 gas line and 3/16 beer line.

 

[Bobby_M]

Certainly the temp of the beer and regulator pressure is relevant information. If you're running cold with a psi under 10, I'd say the line is too long.

 

[GreenDragon]

Running 11psi currently for the brown ale (which is actually a bit to high for the volume I want) the porter I ran 13psi.

I'm not sure on the temp.. I really need to get a refridge temperature gauge. I'm guessing around 40-45F but that's just a guess.

The weird thing is it's carbed almost perfectly, just a very slow pour.

 

[Yooper]

Running 11psi currently for the brown ale (which is actually a bit to high for the volume I want) the porter I ran 13psi.

I'm not sure on the temp.. I really need to get a refridge temperature gauge. I'm guessing around 40-45F but that's just a guess.

The weird thing is it's carbed almost perfectly, just a very slow pour.

Well, you can try shortening your lines. But if the ONLY thing wrong is that it takes 10 seconds longer to pour a pint, I'd be inclined to leave it be.

 

[Bobby_M]

First I'd make sure the dip tubes aren't completely bottomed out on the floor of the keg causing a 98% blockage to flow. It's unlikely but possible. After that, I'd cut a foot off the serving line and time it again. For giggles, I'd pump the pressure to 15psi to see what sort of pouring difference you have. If it's much faster but still manageable, shorted the lines a bit.

I still use 8-10' serving lines but mostly because I run about 38F in the summer and 43F in the winter. I also serve fruit lambics at 3 volumes etc.... so I deal with the slower pours on the lower pressure beers so that I don't have to change out lines constantly.

 

[wildwest450]

I'm a proponent of shorter lines, BUT, if your setup pours well, leave it be. If it aint broke don't fix it.


_

 

[Changeduser123]

Does this happen with all your kegs ?
I know that beer from one of my kegs, because of a capricious poppet, will pour very slowly. But it is carbed like I want to, so it is not a big deal.

I'm a proponent of shorter lines, BUT, if your setup pours well, leave it be. If it aint broke don't fix it.

+1

 

[GreenDragon]

I currently only have 1 keg. When I tore it apart and cleaned it everything looked good. The beer tube was strait and had enough room at the bottom. I'm ordering a second keg when we get back from vacation so I'll be able to rule the keg out in a week or two.

 

[Malichaidog]

Did you ever figure this out? I have the same issue good carbonation, no foam, serving out of a keezer 38 degrees, 7.5 gas and beer lines perlick faucets, pressure set 12psi just seems like a slow pour no big deal just wondering why?

 

[gnef]

Check for obstructions in the dip tube, poppet valve, quick disconnect, tubing, etc. If you trust your pressure gauge, and know the predicted speed of the pour for your line length and rise to your faucet, there is something blocking the flow.

Sometimes I find that hops have clogged part of the dip tube or the poppet valve. Just start changing things out to isolate the problem.