Slow pour question

[garcara]

Hello, I just setup my kegerator finally, got 2 beers kegged and in it. They are coming out really slowly. They are at 10 psi (not fully carbed yet). My beer lines are 10' long and I am guessing maybe this is an issue.

Thanks for any info.

 

[MBasile]

whats the ID of your lines? I'm thinking they should be at 5'-6' for a proper pour (assuming they are 3/16" ID). Of course, the FG of the brew also plays into it.

 

[joel4482]

I keep mine at about 12 psi with 3/16" ID and 4'-5' feet. When they are fully carbonated you will want them to come out somewhat slow or you may end up with foam instead of beer. You won't know how well your beer will pour until it is fully carbonated. I work at a brewery and I know we keep lines at about 12-13psi and some of them are over 10' long. If you are pouring out of corny kegs with homebrew the fittings could be clogged up with hops or something too. The biggest problem I have with beer pouring really slow is on very hoppy beer that I can never seem to get all the hops out of. You may have to take the fitting apart and clean them of hops and trub.

 

[garcara]

whats the ID of your lines? I'm thinking they should be at 5'-6' for a proper pour (assuming they are 3/16" ID). Of course, the FG of the brew also plays into it.

My ID is 3/16". I had read somewhere that people who use 5' lines often have foam issues so I decided to start at 10', but I wasn't sure what the benefit was of going shorter.

 

[shortyjacobs]

I push with 10-12 PSI through 10' 3/16" lines with no problems. How slow is "slow"? 10 seconds per pint? 30? 60?

My bet is clogged Diptube/post/poppet/QD...

 

[garcara]

I push with 10-12 PSI through 10' 3/16" lines with no problems. How slow is "slow"? 10 seconds per pint? 30? 60?

My bet is clogged Diptube/post/poppet/QD...

I'll have to drink a pint when I get home tonight to time it. I would be pretty surprised if it is clogged already.. Seemed like clear beer to me when it went into the keg. Maybe I am expecting the beer to poor faster than it actually will.

 

[LKABrewer]

Read this and see if it helps: http://www.iancrockett.com/brewing/info/kegbalance.shtml

 

[shortyjacobs]

I'll have to drink a pint when I get home tonight to time it. I would be pretty surprised if it is clogged already.. Seemed like clear beer to me when it went into the keg. Maybe I am expecting the beer to poor faster than it actually will.

Just a few hop flakes can clog a poppet, and it happens right away, since the junk sinks, and it's the first up the diptube when you tap a keg. 5 to 10 seconds, depending on how violent a pour you want, is normal for a pint. Mine tend to be closer to 10, since I have 10' of line and push at pretty low pressures, (10-12 PSI, sometimes 13 or 14). I then just crack the faucet at the end to produce head.

 

[Burgs]

I would try 13-14 psi.

I came from a picnic tap + shorter lines setup and was using 10 psi, but once I switched to 10" lines I had to bump my pressure up, as I was experiencing the same thing you are.

Now I carb and serve at 14 psi & 45°F - I've been much happier with my results. The most beneficial side effect to this change has also been that my beers are carbing faster as well.

 

[garcara]

I would try 13-14 psi.

I came from a picnic tap + shorter lines setup and was using 10 psi, but once I switched to 10" lines I had to bump my pressure up, as I was experiencing the same thing you are.

Now I carb and serve at 14 psi & 45°F - I've been much happier with my results. The most beneficial side effect to this change has also been that my beers are carbing faster as well.

My only issue with this is that would carbonate my beer more than I desire.. I am going to check for clogs tonight and if nothing there, shorten my lines. They are only 10' as a starting point.

 

[garcara]

Shortened my beverage tube down to 5.5' and my pour is great now. Thanks guys!

 

[Yooper]

My ID is 3/16". I had read somewhere that people who use 5' lines often have foam issues so I decided to start at 10', but I wasn't sure what the benefit was of going shorter.

My only issue with this is that would carbonate my beer more than I desire.. I am going to check for clogs tonight and if nothing there, shorten my lines. They are only 10' as a starting point.

Shortened my beverage tube down to 5.5' and my pour is great now. Thanks guys!

Darn! I was going to tell you NOT to do that. So, it's a slower pour. That's the only disadvantage to longer lines. When your beer is finally carbed up (and mine is at 12 psi at 40 degrees), or you want a beer more highly carbed, you're going to have foaming issues!

 

[garcara]

Darn! I was going to tell you NOT to do that. So, it's a slower pour. That's the only disadvantage to longer lines. When your beer is finally carbed up (and mine is at 12 psi at 40 degrees), or you want a beer more highly carbed, you're going to have foaming issues!

Well the calculators are telling me to shorten it.. I have no issue with buying more tubing to fix it if I have to later, it's a learning experience... So far so good though.

 

[KevinM]

Pretty good link in that first part. Also has the bit about averaging the 3/16 diameter line to 2 psi/ft so to get a quick calc, psi/2. At 12 psi that'd be about 6 feet.

I've had to drop my psi down to 10 for my beer until I can get to the store for more line. Even though line is inexpensive at about .70 per foot, it'd cost me more to drive for an hour, or for shipping if the only thing I buy is line. (And I'm kinda reluctant cause I *know* it'll cost me a lot more when I actually go buying stuff.)

I'd have agreed on not cutting it down yet, but it really comes down to how close your store is so you can have a variety of lengths for different psis.

 

[fvirzi]

i think this happened to my keg. how do i fix this problem and what do i do to prevent it from happening again??????