Stopped by my LHBS this afternoon and picked up a few more parts to get my keg system setup. I got threaded disconnects gas with a 5/16" barb and the beverage with a 1/4" barb. They didn’t have a 3/16" barb but said with some hot water and some force I could get the tubing on the barb. I got 5 ft of 5/16" ID red thick wall gas tubing and 5 ft of 3/16" ID thick wall tubing. I know I might have to adjust the length of the beverage line to reduce foaming. Should I get a 3/16" swivel barb instead of forcing it on the 1/4" barb?
They didn’t have any oetiker clamps on hand so I ran to Mcmaster Carr and picked up some clamps from some numbers I found on an old post on another forum. I can’t seem to find a cross reference between clamp sizing and what NB lists for clamp size 145 for beverage and 170 for gas. The ones I bought appear to be oetiker brand clamps with metric numbers on them.
Part # 52545K51 (16700010)
(13.3 on them)
Clamp ID Range
-Inch 27/64" to 17/32"
-mm 10.8 to 13.3
Part # 52545K27 (16700006)
Clamp ID Range
(10.5 on them)
-Inch 11/32" to 13/32"
-mm 8.8 to 10.5
Since I take stuff apart, I found thru brew hardware they have smooth piece that comes in contact with the hose, as opposed to the slotted style. I’ve only mangled oekiter clamps… kinda fun!! Sneezles61
You’ll be fine with the 1/4" barb. In fact, it will help stop any leaks. As @uncdeo said, dip the tubing in boiling water and the barb will slip right in.
Five feet of beer line may not be long enough. It wasn’t for my setup. I had to start with 10’ and ended up at 8’ to balance it. It’s still kind of a slow pour but I’d rather have that than foam.