Will a Perlick Faucet Give a Better Pour Than......

[TRainH2o]

Hi all. I currently use "party faucets" with my kegs. Why......well I was trying not to drill my fridge door in case I moved to a larger refrigerator and save a bit of the initial investment. Well I am currently out of space in my small fridge. I have a large CO2 bottle in there and 2 kegs and I am going to brew a couple of batches over the next few days.

One thing that I notice is that my beer is much foamier than I think it should be. I usually leave it set to around 8-10 psi and the beer comes out pretty forcefully. It's worse if I don't immediately make sure that the tap is completely open. I keep seeing the really smooth pours with the traditional taps on Youtube. You know the ones with just the right amount of head.

Will going with a Perlick or similar type faucet give me a better pour or do I have something else going on with my setup? Thanks as always for your thoughts.

 

[phrogpilot73]

How long is the beer line attached to your picnic tap?

 

[Yooper]

I went from picnic taps to perlick faucets, but only because they come through the door, and look nice. The pour is the same.

If you've got foaming, either you've got a temperature issue (warm lines), short lines, or overcarbed beer. It should pour just fine with a picnic tap, as long as the system is balanced.

 

[Hammy71]

Perlicks will not help a foaming issue. When you move up to a bigger fridge you'll install longer beer lines that should increase the resistance in the beer lines and curb the foaming. When ever I've used party taps I've had to dial the pressure way down. Now, when I go to a party I make sure the keg has two of these inside the out tube....

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/cure-your-short-hose-troubles-100151/

Your beer pressure can stay at the correct PSI, but the beer will come out alot slower and should reduce foaming. If your gonna stick with the party taps for now...I'd give these babies a go.

 

[sethga]

Agree w/ above posters.. your foaming problem is not related to faucet type. I used the "standard" faucets forever and had no foaming problems as a result.

I spent a lot of time on the Micromatic forums, there was a friendly gentleman there who took the time to explain the relation between temperature, pressure, and beer co2 volumes to morons like me.. Basically you just have to get your system dialed in. Mine, for example, dispenses liquid at 38F with 6 feet of beer line, and the average beers require 12-14PSI for proper dispensing

 

[TRainH2o]

My lines from the keg to the tap are 5ft. I the temp is currently 44˚F. I am asuming that the lines are at the same temperature because they are inside with the keg. Using the carbonation chart I figure I need to be around 12psi for the ales that I dispense.

If I set it to 12 psi I get a 3/4 glass of foam. I usually need to be at 8 or 10 psi, or less, and be VERY watchful that I completely open the tap at once. Dispensing the beer is part of the experience and joy of kegging. My way is not too much fun.

 

[TRainH2o]

Perlicks will not help a foaming issue. When you move up to a bigger fridge you'll install longer beer lines that should increase the resistance in the beer lines and curb the foaming. When ever I've used party taps I've had to dial the pressure way down. Now, when I go to a party I make sure the keg has two of these inside the out tube....

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/cure-your-short-hose-troubles-100151/

Your beer pressure can stay at the correct PSI, but the beer will come out alot slower and should reduce foaming. If your gonna stick with the party taps for now...I'd give these babies a go.

So these are for paint spray guns? Just making sure that I am looking at the right thing. Pretty sweet and cheap if they work. Thanks.

 

[Hammy71]

I read the thread from beginning to end and decided to buy a dozen. Hell, at that price...how can you go wrong? Arrived within a day or two...and well, they kick arse for certain applications.

 

[sethga]

My lines from the keg to the tap are 5ft. I the temp is currently 44˚F. I am asuming that the lines are at the same temperature because they are inside with the keg. Using the carbonation chart I figure I need to be around 12psi for the ales that I dispense.

If I set it to 12 psi I get a 3/4 glass of foam. I usually need to be at 8 or 10 psi, or less, and be VERY watchful that I completely open the tap at once. Dispensing the beer is part of the experience and joy of kegging. My way is not too much fun.

Your foam problem is easy... temperature is too high for that pressure if you ask me. Drop your temps down so that the beer comes out at 38F and I bet your foam problems disappear.

 

[TRainH2o]

Your foam problem is easy... temperature is too high for that pressure if you ask me. Drop your temps down so that the beer comes out at 38F and I bet your foam problems disappear.

That's what the owner of my LBS said too. I may try a combination of lower temp and the plastic inserts into the dip tube. I never think my beers are carbonated enough as it is. Maybe using both methods I can get more carbonation and keep the foam under control.

 

[sethga]

That's what the owner of my LBS said too. I may try a combination of lower temp and the plastic inserts into the dip tube. I never think my beers are carbonated enough as it is. Maybe using both methods I can get more carbonation and keep the foam under control.

It's been a long time since I spent time on micromatic's forums and had help getting my kegerator "dialed-in" so sorry for not being able to quote charts and all that jazz.. but the one guy there, Scott, had a calculator for figuring correct pressure based on dispensing temperature and co2 volume of the beer dispensing.

FWIW I have no sort of plastic insert on dip tube thingy.. just got my temp controller so that whatever comes out of the faucets is 38F, to maintain equilibrium for most beers I am at at 12PSI +2 for dispensing

 

[Shooter]

Perlicks will not help a foaming issue. When you move up to a bigger fridge you'll install longer beer lines that should increase the resistance in the beer lines and curb the foaming. When ever I've used party taps I've had to dial the pressure way down. Now, when I go to a party I make sure the keg has two of these inside the out tube....

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/cure-your-short-hose-troubles-100151/

Your beer pressure can stay at the correct PSI, but the beer will come out alot slower and should reduce foaming. If your gonna stick with the party taps for now...I'd give these babies a go.

These things work great! I use picnic taps with 5 foot lines and whenever I have a beer at 10-12 psi one of these things will tame the foam. I'm kegging an American wheat tomorrow and expect to be up at 20+ psi on that one. I plan on using two of these for that beer.