Wife needs advice please!

[jbaysurfer]

Set your psi appropriate for the temperature of your fridge/cabinet. This table will tell you all you need to know:
http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php

The beer lines might be shorter then I'd have cut them, but I wouldn't cut new ones. You can probably balance your system using that chart. You're 100% right that you're going to get a little foam from any keg that has recently been moved around. After about 24 hours they tend to settle out and foam less.

 

[DrunkleJon]

Nice work! I like the 420 on the fridge! code for? lol

I think those are the beers on tap. 420 being Sweetwater 420

 

[nerdling1]

Looks great. Well done. Looks to me from the first picture that you possibly may not have the pressure completely balanced. Maybe another 1-2 psi looks like it would match the carbonation of the current kegs (though just by pouring the pressure will even itself out eventually) and stop bubbles from forming in the lines between pours. Let me guess, its only the first pour that even has foam? Besides, beer is supposed to have head anyway (except for BMC products) so I think you did great.

I have actually discovered after two days that there are a lot of bubbles in the lines and a slow pour now. So will increasing the carbonation from 10-11 do the trick? I have looked at a few older threads discussing this but I didn't really find a consensus!

 

[nerdling1]

Thanks for the chart, I am going to check that out. Yes 420 is for the beer beer is my worst vice- that and medieval fantasy books

 

[DrunkleJon]

Well, I find that with most commercial kegs 12 psi on the regulator is not too much, usually it seems to be too little. 13-14 may be better. I would up it by 1 psi, pour a beer to get the gas out of the line and let sit then check the lines for bubbles. lather, rinse and repeat until no more gas comes out of solution and you hit equilibrium where beer stays in the lines. It all depends on what temperature you keep the kegerator though. Most commercial brews are carbonated at around 2.6 volumes. Use a chart like the one found here http://www.draft-beer-made-easy.com/support-files/carbchart.pdf to balance the serving pressure on the regulator to the temperature of your kegerator. 13-14 may be more appropriate for you all.

Slow pours... Yes, that can be caused by too low of pressure on the regulator. You are leaving it on pressure right? Also, you want a beer to pour more slowly than you see done at bars, You want a pour to be 30 seconds to a minute to pour a beer. That way you do not knock all of the carbonation out of solution. This is the reason for the longer beer serving lines. They slow down the beer so that it maintains carbonation pressure and pours slow enough that it does not pour as a foamy mess.

Also, I must add the obligatory, Do you have a sister?

 

[nerdling1]

Sorry, I don't have a sister! I think it goes back to my dad who had me skinning deer with him in elementary school- he instilled in me the attitude that if you want something done, do it yourself

This is actually embarrassing to admit but after re- examining my co2 attachments, I actually had the air turned off! Mine go 180 degrees and so I flipped them all the way when I turned it on, but they should stay at six o'clock. Didn't realize that. Now it is perfect. Great pour, minimal foam, nice and cold. Hubby loves it!

 

[DrunkleJon]

Damn. Well, what can you do?

No worries. If you, in your first build and experience with kegerators made one that is well balanced and only having one small hiccup you did great. He is a lucky man. Cheers! Now to introduce him to homebrewing if he doesn't already. Or, we can get you into it so that it always stays full. All of us are doing it. You know you wanna.

 

[Melana]

Plenty of us girls out there that do it.