Newbie Questions

[DarrellQ]

I just bought the Sanyo unit from COSTCO. Set it up just as the lousy directions said with the parts that came with the unit. Now, I'm reading posts here that say something about cooling the tower? What does that do? Also, read something about the beer line. Do you mean that the tubing that came hooked-up to the head unit will not dispense beer without too much foam? Maybe I had I no idea what I was getting into? Thought I could buy the $699 Sanyo kit from COSTCO and be good to go. By the way, I only want to enjoy Sierra Nevada Pale Ale at home that is as good as what I get in bars. It taste totally different out the bottle. many thanks
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[NuclearRon]

I am a newbie also. But here is the deal.. Do you need to cool the tower? Not unless you are getting a lot of warm foamy beer. To prevent this just waste a little beer before you pour of you have this problem. To Carbonate set the CO2 at 12-15psi for at least 24 hours. Then the CO2 can be reduced to around 8-10 psi to pour. The higher the pressure the faster the pour the more foam. So you need to tinker and a full keg requires a higher pressure then a empty keg to pour the beer and not foam. If you are not drinking (unheard of) then keep the pressure up to keep carbonated.
The fridge temp should be set to keep the beer at the pour around 38-40 degrees F. We are not British and keep our beer cold. Don't get me wrong I like my Guiness a little on the warm side for most.

So the first keg will take a little tinkering to get it set right but over time you may find that you want to install a tower cooler. or more then one tap. You may find that you like a little more or less foam and adjust your pressure to your liking. You may also want to increase the pressure and install a longer hose to slow the pour.

But most of all do not sweat the things some of these fanatics are doing. Sooner or later you may be a fanatic and I am slowly converting.

Enjoy your toy

Ron


Kenmore Kegerator
3 tap tower
Dual guage CO2
So far

[jumper]

You really shouldn't need to mess with the pressure once its set. For most lagers you're wanting around 13 psi from tap to finish. Setting the pressure too low will let your beer go flat after too long. If you're getting really fast pours then instead of adjusting the pressure you'll want to adjust your beer line. If your fridge is like mine (consumer grade) it came with a short length of 1/4" tubing. You'll want to replace that with about 5 feet of 3/16" tubing (or more) to give the proper resistance to tame your flow. I've gone through 2 kegs without having to touch the pressure regulator knob. If you opt to not cool your tower then just be aware that you'll have some foamy beer on the initial pour, maybe every pour depending on how often you refill. Like mentioned above, you can pour a little bit into a cup to toss out to get the warm beer out of the line and avoid pouring a whole glass of foam.

There is a lot of good info on this forum for getting the perfect beer out of your fridge without needing to bump up to a commercial unit. To control the foam try to get the beer at 38* liquid temp at around 12-14 PSI CO2. To adjust the flow rate add or subtract beer line.

[vinfamous]

i second jumper, you really do not want to mess with the psi. id see how your unit works before you start messing around. cooling the tower and adding longer line shouldnt be too much confusion, just read some posts. its kinda easy. the big thing is temperature, make sure you can get that beer constant from the keg to the faucet (using whatever sierra nevada recommends)

[ThirstyTexan]

I've had my Danby for over a year. With the Danby, first you have to make it go cold enough (discussed in other threads). Then, I opted for cooling the tower. After having done it, I think it was worth it - my first pour is now perfect. However, I used the big Dayton blower, and the combination of the motor heat and the extra load of cooling a poorly insulated tower means that compressor running time is now much higher, and it takes takes several days to cool down a fresh keg.

[NuclearRon]

Wow and I thought I was answering his question. Does he NEED to add a tower cooler? NO! IT is nice but not required and it helps with the first pour. Does he NEED a longer dispensing hose? NO! But you can keep the pressure up in the beer thus not tinkering. So to help this NEWBIE out I suggested that he enjoy his new purchase, use it as it is, not make any UPGRADES and drink beer. To do this he will have to waste a little on the first pour and he will have to adjust the pressure or have very foamy beer.

Gentlemen basic high school science, once something is saturated with gas it will not absorb any more. So if you pressurize it at 14 psi it will become saturated faster (ie I can drink sooner) then to dispense it can be lowered. Thus beer will not go FLAT when the pressure is lowered if you keep a pressure on it and you do not have leaks. So to answer the questions like I did helps this person drink beer with his new purchase, not wait 2 weeks or longer to get all the upgrades done. Maybe after the first keg he will add the tower cooler, or longer beer line. But is is still not required to enjoy a keg

Now go have another beer, I am, without a tower cooler, longer hose and unflat beer keg pressurized at 10psi

[Kpt42]

Do you need to cool the tower? Not unless you are getting a lot of warm foamy beer. To prevent this just waste a little beer before you pour of you have this problem.

Every commercial unit cools the tower. Waste a little beer ????

I replaced the beer hose on my Perlick when I got it (hose was moldy as hell, date on the compressor is 1997). I put three feet on it. Beerrolled out of there. Put six feet on now and always get 1/8" of head.

Oh and I never have more than 9-10 PSI.

[Scott Zuhse]

Tinkering and draught beer is similar to oil and water. The key to success is to know what the CO2 content in volumes of your product, the temperature of the beer (calibrated thermometer), maintain this temperature from the keg to the faucet, elevation you reside and correct PSIG to the keg to maintain gas equilibrium the life of the keg. One last critical aspect - never couple and dispense from a keg that has not acclimated to your system.

Sam Adams is around a 2.6 v/v product which requires 14 PSIG @ 38 F @ sea level. Adjust one pound up for every two degrees warmer and down for colder.

Dispensing beer where it is foamy at first will eventually lower the gas content in the keg. this may change the integrity of the product. Additionally, this results in difficulties if clear beer is dispensed on top of the foam.

[jumper]

There are a few charts floating around that will tell you where to set your pressure at for each beer, I think its typically a couple PSI over the equilibrium pressure. Once you have your temp and pressure at the right levels work from there to get the pour right. Of course you don't NEED to do anything... depends on what you find acceptable. Personally if I'm going through the trouble of having a tap at all I want it to perform like the one at the bar. Cooling the tower is simple and helps out immensly, same with replacing the beer line to give the proper restriction... it's cheap and easy.

I'd suggest playing around with it if you've already tapped a keg and when you're ready to replace it see what, if any, improvements you want to make then while you don't have to rush through it while the beer warms up. I'm not sure about the Sanyo but if its anything like the other consumer grade units you'll probably also need to mess with the thermostat in order to get a steady 38* liquid temp.