Kegerator Foaming Problem

A spot to talk general homebrew
Post Reply
kberry
Verified User
Verified User
Posts: 91
Joined: Sat May 04, 2013 5:34 pm
Name: Kevin Berryman
Location: Halifax

Kegerator Foaming Problem

Post by kberry » Tue May 21, 2013 8:50 pm

I recently purchased a kegerator. The Danby one from Costco. I set it up today and attached my ball lock, corny keg. When pouring my beer, however, all I get is foam. Previously I had been using a picnic tap with ~6 feet of 3/18 ID tubing. This was producing perfect pours. Now the system has ~5 feet of 3/16 ID tubing. In both cases I had my CO2 tank set at 10 PSI, and my pouring technique is to completely open the tap and dispense into a glass on an angle.

Does anyone have an idea what might be causing my foaming issue?

Targos
Verified User
Verified User
Posts: 16
Joined: Thu Apr 18, 2013 10:24 am
Name: Cory

Re: Kegerator Foaming Problem

Post by Targos » Tue May 21, 2013 10:25 pm

I am still trying to figure this out as well but there are lots of resources online if you search for balancing draft systems.

http://www.byo.com/stories/item/164-bal ... ed-brewing" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; look good.

User avatar
ethier.sc
Verified User
Verified User
Posts: 134
Joined: Sat May 05, 2012 10:11 am
Name: Steve Ethier
Location: Dartmouth, NS

Re: Kegerator Foaming Problem

Post by ethier.sc » Tue May 21, 2013 10:27 pm

I had a similar issue with my keezer. The problem with mine was that the beer line wasn't fully seated onto the tailpiece of the shank and that was introducing air. When you pour, does it look like there is foam in your line?

kberry
Verified User
Verified User
Posts: 91
Joined: Sat May 04, 2013 5:34 pm
Name: Kevin Berryman
Location: Halifax

Re: Kegerator Foaming Problem

Post by kberry » Tue May 21, 2013 10:34 pm

No foam in the line, just as it's coming out of the tap. I reduced the pressure from my CO2 tank to 4 PSI, bled the CO2 from the keg headspace and gave it some time to equilibrate. When I poured the next glass, there was a lot of foam at first then non-foamy beer came out. I poured another glass immediately to see if it was a temperature thing (in the tap) and the same thing happened. And again with the third glass. Now I've drank too much and still haven't resolved the problem. lol. Could it be that I just need longer tubing to allow the pressure to drop more before reaching the tap? I'm thinking of going to NG tomorrow and buying like 15 feet of tubing and seeing what happens. Do you think it may help/resolve the issue?

User avatar
mr x
Mod Award Winner
Mod Award Winner
Posts: 13764
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2010 5:30 pm
Location: Halifax/New Glasgow

Re: Kegerator Foaming Problem

Post by mr x » Wed May 22, 2013 5:14 am

Might help. What temp is the fridge?

Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk 2
At Alexander Keith's we follow the recipes first developed by the great brewmaster to the absolute letter. :wtf:

kberry
Verified User
Verified User
Posts: 91
Joined: Sat May 04, 2013 5:34 pm
Name: Kevin Berryman
Location: Halifax

Re: Kegerator Foaming Problem

Post by kberry » Wed May 22, 2013 11:47 am

Not sure what the temp is. I'll check when I'm home. I know that low temp can be a problem but would that not cause foam to appear in the tubing?

User avatar
mr x
Mod Award Winner
Mod Award Winner
Posts: 13764
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2010 5:30 pm
Location: Halifax/New Glasgow

Re: Kegerator Foaming Problem

Post by mr x » Wed May 22, 2013 12:10 pm

High temp is the problem. It can cause co2 to come out of solution at the wrong pressure. But it's been my experience that if the beer is too warm, it will blow foam out of the tap no matter what.
At Alexander Keith's we follow the recipes first developed by the great brewmaster to the absolute letter. :wtf:

User avatar
jeffsmith
Verified User
Verified User
Posts: 4922
Joined: Tue Apr 26, 2011 4:18 pm
Name: Jeff Smith
Location: Amherst, NS
Contact:

Re: Kegerator Foaming Problem

Post by jeffsmith » Wed May 22, 2013 12:32 pm

mr x wrote:High temp is the problem. It can cause co2 to come out of solution at the wrong pressure. But it's been my experience that if the beer is too warm, it will blow foam out of the tap no matter what.
Further to that, are your taps cold to the touch on the outside of the kegerator? The taps on my keezer act as sort of a heatsink and are always cold to the touch, perhaps if your taps are warm, they're causing the issue X mentioned above.

kberry
Verified User
Verified User
Posts: 91
Joined: Sat May 04, 2013 5:34 pm
Name: Kevin Berryman
Location: Halifax

Re: Kegerator Foaming Problem

Post by kberry » Wed May 22, 2013 1:58 pm

The tap was really cold to the touch, and the beer couldn't have been more than 8 deg C. It had been outside all weekend, and the temp wasn't high. It poured fine from the picnic tap when it was outside. I moved it directly from outside into the kegerator which was running.

User avatar
mr x
Mod Award Winner
Mod Award Winner
Posts: 13764
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2010 5:30 pm
Location: Halifax/New Glasgow

Re: Kegerator Foaming Problem

Post by mr x » Wed May 22, 2013 2:16 pm

Tear the tap apart.
At Alexander Keith's we follow the recipes first developed by the great brewmaster to the absolute letter. :wtf:

kberry
Verified User
Verified User
Posts: 91
Joined: Sat May 04, 2013 5:34 pm
Name: Kevin Berryman
Location: Halifax

Re: Kegerator Foaming Problem

Post by kberry » Wed May 22, 2013 3:16 pm

Well that would relieve some frustration...

kberry
Verified User
Verified User
Posts: 91
Joined: Sat May 04, 2013 5:34 pm
Name: Kevin Berryman
Location: Halifax

Re: Kegerator Foaming Problem

Post by kberry » Thu May 23, 2013 8:30 pm

Update

So I installed about 16 feet of 3/16 tubing. Now when I open the tap the full way I still get foam but if I open it halfway I get a proper pour. Could this be due to the tubing being too long now?

Thank for the help!

User avatar
jeffsmith
Verified User
Verified User
Posts: 4922
Joined: Tue Apr 26, 2011 4:18 pm
Name: Jeff Smith
Location: Amherst, NS
Contact:

Re: Kegerator Foaming Problem

Post by jeffsmith » Thu May 23, 2013 8:31 pm

Sounds odd. I still wonder if there's something going on in your tap or shank. Do you have a Perlick or standard tap?

kberry
Verified User
Verified User
Posts: 91
Joined: Sat May 04, 2013 5:34 pm
Name: Kevin Berryman
Location: Halifax

Re: Kegerator Foaming Problem

Post by kberry » Thu May 23, 2013 8:36 pm

It's a standard tap. I want to get a Perlick double tap but before I invest in that I'd like to make this setup work.

What could be wrong with the tap? I've taken it apart and inspected it. The seals all look fine. There is supposed to be a rubber gasket between the tap and where it screws onto the tower, right?

User avatar
mr x
Mod Award Winner
Mod Award Winner
Posts: 13764
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2010 5:30 pm
Location: Halifax/New Glasgow

Re: Kegerator Foaming Problem

Post by mr x » Thu May 23, 2013 8:45 pm

That's really weird. Borrow another faucet.

Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk 2
At Alexander Keith's we follow the recipes first developed by the great brewmaster to the absolute letter. :wtf:

kberry
Verified User
Verified User
Posts: 91
Joined: Sat May 04, 2013 5:34 pm
Name: Kevin Berryman
Location: Halifax

Re: Kegerator Foaming Problem

Post by kberry » Thu May 23, 2013 9:14 pm

Hmm... anyone want to loan me a faucet?

So the tubing being as long as it is shouldn't present a problem?

User avatar
mr x
Mod Award Winner
Mod Award Winner
Posts: 13764
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2010 5:30 pm
Location: Halifax/New Glasgow

Re: Kegerator Foaming Problem

Post by mr x » Thu May 23, 2013 9:18 pm

Should only cause a slow pour if anything.

Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk 2
At Alexander Keith's we follow the recipes first developed by the great brewmaster to the absolute letter. :wtf:

User avatar
ethier.sc
Verified User
Verified User
Posts: 134
Joined: Sat May 05, 2012 10:11 am
Name: Steve Ethier
Location: Dartmouth, NS

Re: Kegerator Foaming Problem

Post by ethier.sc » Thu May 23, 2013 10:04 pm

I've got two standard faucets that I'm not using right now. Just the taps though, no shanks.

kberry
Verified User
Verified User
Posts: 91
Joined: Sat May 04, 2013 5:34 pm
Name: Kevin Berryman
Location: Halifax

Re: Kegerator Foaming Problem

Post by kberry » Mon Jun 03, 2013 7:01 pm

Just to conclude this thread....

I replaced the faucet with a perlick 525 and now it works perfectly!

-Kevin

User avatar
mr x
Mod Award Winner
Mod Award Winner
Posts: 13764
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2010 5:30 pm
Location: Halifax/New Glasgow

Re: Kegerator Foaming Problem

Post by mr x » Mon Jun 03, 2013 7:06 pm

:rockin:
At Alexander Keith's we follow the recipes first developed by the great brewmaster to the absolute letter. :wtf:

Post Reply

Return to “General Homebrew Discussion”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Ahrefs [Bot] and 2 guests