I’m fairly new to kegging. In fact, I’m only on my third keg. I’ve got all three hooked up and under about 8 PSI with 6 feet of 3/16 tubing on each. Temp is around 40 F. I’m getting tons of foam from my IPA, but not my porter or brown. After a few pulls, it usually dies down. None of them are over carbed.
What am I doing wrong?
Does the tap that foam, foam if you run the other 2 kegs through it?
Or the one keg that foam, does it foam on the other 2?
[quote=“Nighthawk”]Does the tap that foam, foam if you run the other 2 kegs through it?
Or the one keg that foam, does it foam on the other 2?[/quote]
I will check after work. What would be wrong with the faucet that causes it to produce excess foam? Plus, after a couple of full pulls, the beer comes out just fine.
Did you keghop or perhaps leave a bit of sediment in the beer when you racked to the keg? Loose hop particles can cause foaming if they stick in the poppet.
Or you could have some sort of air leak in the line or fitting. The point is to determine if it is the keg or the line causing the problem
Or you could have some sort of air leak in the line or fitting. The point is to determine if it is the keg or the line causing the problem[/quote]
If I had an air leak I’d be losing CO2 rapidly, right? My gage suggests that I’m not. This is the first beer I’ve dry hopped - not in the keg - and I may have picked up “extras” when I racked to the keg. Is there a way to clean poppet without affecting the beer?
[quote=“micahkoll”]Is there a way to clean poppet without affecting the beer?[/quote]Release the pressure and lock the quick-release open, remove the beer connector, then use a wrench to remove the post. Push the poppet out of the post and rinse everything out.
I’ll give it a shot. As far as my line length and PSI, I’m about right, right?
[quote=“micahkoll”]
I’ll give it a shot. As far as my line length and PSI, I’m about right, right?[/quote]
If your beers flow good, then your set up is balanced. Each set up is going to be different. PSI, temp and line length determines if you get a good pour.
1st try switching the kegs. Determine if it’s the keg or the faucet.
If the faucet, disassemble and clean.
Because is stops foaming after a couple of pours I am leaning that the keg is overcarbonated. Disconnect the gas line and pour the beer. After a few pints, 6+, the CO2 will come out of solution enough that you can attach the gas line.
40 degrees is rather warm. I keep mine between 25 and 27 on the Ranco. Colder temp will reduce the foam. Also not knowing the beer types - the same temp / pressure may not be suitable for all 3 types of beer. My kegerator has a dual pressure regulator for just this reason. This fall I will have sparkling hard cider at the same time as a stout. The same pressure would never work.
I tried keeping it closer to 34 degrees, but the tap lines froze. How are you setting it at 25 degrees and not freezing everything?
First of all, temp readings on gauges and controllers are relative. But - Keep your beer lines away from the evap coil. My coil is on the back wall of the K. My sensor from my Ranco is dangling from the top of the K to about 8" off the bottom.
some of the shanks are milled from each end, leaving imperfections that could catch crap, take a look through your shanks next time you disassemble.
I had a similar problem and found the cause. See my last post in this thread:
http://forum.northernbrewer.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=108831
Not to say that this is the cause of your problems, but it might be. In my situation, the gas was getting around the o-ring on the dip tube, between the ring and the tube, so I was only loosing CO2 into the serving line, causing lots of foam.
