Keg Issue

canuck · Post by **canuck** » Sat Mar 01, 2014 10:34 am

Gents, I have an keg issue that I wanted to bounce off of everyone. I dispense my beer in pin lock kegs that I deliver to the local pubs. I've had an issue a couple of times now that I can't seem to find out what is causing it. The issue is that the keg is pouring mostly foam. And just to give you a little background......

* I carb my beer in a brite tank and it doesn't get overcarbed
* I can switch out the keg that is pouring foam with another keg from the same batch and it pours fine at the customer's site
* The couple of kegs that have poured foam also seem to be holding pressure with no issues

I'm just at a loss as to what would cause this. It seems to be an issue with the keg itself, but I just don't know what that would be. If there was a small pinhole in the beverage dip tube, would that cause the line to pour foam? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Post by **Jimmy** » Sat Mar 01, 2014 10:38 am

Could it be that the poppet isn't being depressed far enough on those particular kegs?

whisle pig · Post by **whisle pig** » Sat Mar 01, 2014 10:43 am

I agree with Jimmy, sounds like the kegs need new poppets, the springs are probably weak.

AllanMar · Post by **AllanMar** » Sat Mar 01, 2014 10:46 am

Yea, I had this issue before and it was poppets (universal type), had to cut some of the spring off. It was fairly obvious when you attempted to push the poppet down and it had a lot of resistance.

canuck · Post by **canuck** » Sat Mar 01, 2014 10:55 am

Excellent, thanks Gents! I've made a note as to what couple of kegs have given me the issue and will check out the poppets.

Post by **LeafMan66_67** » Sat Mar 01, 2014 1:18 pm

canuck wrote:Excellent, thanks Gents! I've made a note as to what couple of kegs have given me the issue and will check out the poppets.

I number my kegs and if same keg foams up with two different beer, it gets special attention next cleaning cycle and new pieces where required.

canuck · Post by **canuck** » Sat Mar 01, 2014 3:15 pm

Numbering the kegs is an excellent idea, especially since I have about 40 of them. Thanks Derek!

Post by **mr x** » Sat Mar 01, 2014 3:17 pm

A leak (pin hole) on the liquid out tube or inside oring will blow foam on you.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4

canuck · Post by **canuck** » Sat Mar 01, 2014 3:34 pm

mr x wrote:A leak (pin hole) on the liquid out tube or inside oring will blow foam on you.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4

Thanks Rob. A pin hole in the beverage dip tube was kinda the first thing that I thought of. Swapping out dip tubes from another keg will be a good place to start.

canuck · Post by **canuck** » Sat Mar 01, 2014 5:05 pm

Replaced the entire beverage post and dip tube from a known working keg and it's still pouring foam. Hmmmmm.

Post by **mr x** » Sat Mar 01, 2014 5:23 pm

hmmmm, a pinhole leak at the base of the post where it is welded to the keg?

whisle pig · Post by **whisle pig** » Sat Mar 01, 2014 5:30 pm

Make sure that all 3 pins on the "out" are not bent , have had a keg before that got knocked over with the "out" connector attached and it bent one pin slightly. You could still put the connector on and off but caused it not to push the poppet down even and caused it to foam. Just needed to replace that out post.

dexter · Post by **dexter** » Sat Mar 01, 2014 5:35 pm

canuck wrote:Numbering the kegs is an excellent idea, especially since I have about 40 of them. Thanks Derek!

I swear by wax pencils for naming and numbering kegs and carboys.

AllanMar · Post by **AllanMar** » Sat Mar 01, 2014 6:14 pm

canuck wrote:Replaced the entire beverage post and dip tube from a known working keg and it's still pouring foam. Hmmmmm.

When I had this issue, it ended up being the gas post poppet (not sure in the logic there, but it seemed to fix it for me). Be a quick thing to try.

GuingesRock · Post by **GuingesRock** » Sat Mar 01, 2014 7:19 pm

Shane, you have to solve this one. I'm racking my brains. I sent a pm to OBK Patrick to see if he knows. He knows some way out kegging stuff.

GuingesRock · Post by **GuingesRock** » Sat Mar 01, 2014 7:26 pm

AllanMar wrote:
canuck wrote:Replaced the entire beverage post and dip tube from a known working keg and it's still pouring foam. Hmmmmm.
When I had this issue, it ended up being the gas post poppet (not sure in the logic there, but it seemed to fix it for me). Be a quick thing to try.

I've been trying to crack this one (why changing the gas poppet might be the fix), and I think I might have it (see below). Might be worth trying Alan's suggestion and changing out the gas post, it may be impeding the CO2 going into the keg leading to foaming.

Contrary to popular belief, foaming is caused by low Co2 pressure, not by high Co2 pressure. Most foaming is a result of your Co2 regulator being set under 8 lbs of pressure. Occasionally it is also caused by a partial blockage of the outlet hose or connectors.
http://www.baderbrewing.com/articles/co ... structions" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Post by **OntarioBeerkegs** » Sat Mar 01, 2014 9:06 pm

Sorry kegs are simple and this thread covers all the culprits I would think of.If the beer is freshly kegged it may be process. Does the problem go away on it's own if hook it up to gas and leave it alone for a while? Here are two issues I have seen before similar to your issue and the fix.

-Using return lines to fill kegs and the return lines are bent or poppet not depressing all the way. (do not use return lines to fill. Same hose all kegs)

-Using freshly washed (hot) kegs hot off the washer because ran out of prepped ones. (keep more kegs ready)

-The guy changing the kegs is rolling it to the fridge. Don't roll it.

Post by **Jimmy** » Tue Jan 20, 2015 7:12 pm

Had a poppet issue on a keg tonight. I fucked with it for a while and finally decided to change the poppet. All is good now. The poppet that came out looked fine, so I'm not sure what the issue was.

GuingesRock · Post by **GuingesRock** » Tue Jan 20, 2015 7:28 pm

Jimmy wrote:Had a poppet issue on a keg tonight. I fucked with it for a while and finally decided to change the poppet. All is good now. The poppet that came out looked fine, so I'm not sure what the issue was.

I'm not saying a thing

Keith · Post by **Keith** » Tue Jan 20, 2015 7:32 pm

First for everything eh Mark. Lol

Post by **Jimmy** » Tue Jan 20, 2015 7:38 pm

GuingesRock wrote:
Jimmy wrote:Had a poppet issue on a keg tonight. I fucked with it for a while and finally decided to change the poppet. All is good now. The poppet that came out looked fine, so I'm not sure what the issue was.
I'm not saying a thing

What do you mean? It was actually a factory poppet. I changed it to a universal

GuingesRock · Post by **GuingesRock** » Tue Jan 20, 2015 7:44 pm

What kind of "poppet issue?" did you spray the ceiling with beer, or lose a keg full of beer into the keezer and empty a CO2 tank to boot? or was it just a minor case of "poppet issue" this time.

Post by **Jimmy** » Tue Jan 20, 2015 7:46 pm

GuingesRock wrote:What kind of "poppet trouble" did you spray the ceiling with beer, or lose a keg full of beer into the keezer and empty a CO2 tank to boot? or was it just a minor case of "poppet trouble" this time.

Beer was foaming no matter what I tried. I forced the factory poppet out thinking it may be clogged with hops or something, but it was clean. Installed universal poppet and it worked perfect.

Post by **RubberToe** » Tue Jan 20, 2015 7:54 pm

Did you try the factory one again after messing with it?

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