[turbojimmy]

Believe it or not, after doing research here I decided to buy an Avanti BD6000 beer dispenser. It seemed like the relatively low cost of entry, plus around $200 in other parts could make it a fairly decent unit. I was able to haggle with the PC Richard guy to get him well below the cost of online vendors plus they have a $20 rebate on them. I bought a 5-year extended warranty on it, too.

I've ordered the Johnson Controls digital temp control, 5' beer line, longer CO2 hose and a cleaning kit.

I have the usual problems with it. Small changes in the temperature knob causes wild swings in temps. Beer hose is too short. Beer hose leaks. Coupler is sticky. Door won't close unless you push down on it to allow it to clear the bottom of the keg.

In the 48 hours I've owned this thing I've learned a lot about the nuances of temperature and gas pressure control. It amazes me that you can buy a keg and rent an air-pump tap, pump it some random number of pumps and get a decent cup of beer but with this contraption all I get is foam. I learned that it takes a VERY long time for the kegerator to bring the temp of the keg down to the target of 38 degrees (the Bud keg seemed to be in the mid-high 40 degree range when I brought it home). Now that it's stable, temps are between 38 and 40 degrees with the Avanti hardware. I'm using a digital temp gauge with a probe to monitor the temps and it seems to be doing okay.

I'm having a large party tomorrow and I'm wondering if there's a way to get a fairly decent pour out of this thing as I await my 'upgrade' parts. I'm really just concerned with getting liquid rather than foam out of it. I'm willing to sacrifice quality for foam reduction. Since temp is steady, should I reduce gas pressure? Again, I have a keg of Bud in it.

Also, is there a limit on the length of the gas line? It's 5/16" diameter and I'd like to get hose long enough to set the CO2 cylinder beside the unit rather than hang it on the back. Hanging it on the back adds considerable depth to the whole arrangement and I'd like to build it into my bar (even though it says it's a 'stand alone' unit).

TIA,
Jim