Foam Problem

[Mark Lar]

Im having a bit of foam problems when I use my kegerator. Its a tower style w/ no blower which is fine it gets high usage when it does get used. I checked Temparature its fine. I checked Co2 levels thats not the problem what I have noticed though is that bubbles are coming from the coupler on top of the keg and forming decent amounts of gas in the line. Is this normal? It takes about 10 minutes or so in between pours for enough gas to get into the lines to produce a foamy beer but that is the only thing I can pin-point for causing my foam problem.

Any input on any other thing that could be causing the foam.

P.S. Yes I cleaned the lines thoroughly.
One last detail. If I pour one beer after another there is never a problem but if it sits longer than 5 minutes or so the gas will collect enough and create a foamy next beer.

[Draught Prophet]

When you see bubbles in the line above the coupler, your applied pressure is too low. Make sure your system is balanced.

[Mark Lar]

Thanks for the help but I need it in more common terms.

Applied pressure is 13 or so PSI right now given the gauges are 100% accurate. MM says 12-14 should be fine for most American Beers so I figure Im ok.

What exactly does "Balance" your system entail? Some sort of temperature and pressure equilibrium?

Thanks in advance?

[lunkhead]

Then are you sure about your beer temp? Use a calibrated thermometer. I try to keep the Mic light I drink at 36 deg with 12 psi. If the temp rises to 38 when my kegerator goes into defrost it pours more foam. I can either raise the pressure to 14 psi to balance it or get the beer back down to 36, again to maintain balance. Warmer beer needs more pressure to keep the co2 volume at the correct level, but more pressure makes for a faster pour which can cause foam, which means a longer line to slow the pour to keep the system in balance. May I suggest http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-...-cid-2297.html

[mcrambo]

Originally Posted by Mark Lar

Im having a bit of foam problems when I use my kegerator. Its a tower style w/ no blower which is fine it gets high usage when it does get used. I checked Temparature its fine. I checked Co2 levels thats not the problem what I have noticed though is that bubbles are coming from the coupler on top of the keg and forming decent amounts of gas in the line. Is this normal? It takes about 10 minutes or so in between pours for enough gas to get into the lines to produce a foamy beer but that is the only thing I can pin-point for causing my foam problem.

Any input on any other thing that could be causing the foam.

P.S. Yes I cleaned the lines thoroughly.
One last detail. If I pour one beer after another there is never a problem but if it sits longer than 5 minutes or so the gas will collect enough and create a foamy next beer.

If you are seeing bubbles in your beer line you have a pressure problem, what you need to do is turn your co2 up a 1/4 of a turn, wait a couple of minutes and then pour of a small amount of beer and then check again to see if the bubbles are still rising. If so, turn the co2 up another 1/4 of a turn and again wait for the keg to pressurize. Then pour off some more beer and againcheck for bubbles. Keep doing this process until all bubbles are gone, then your pressure will be set perfectly based on the teperature of your beer. Good Luck!

[mcrambo]

Another thing you might want to look at is to make sure the tail pieces on your beer line are 1/4" and not 3/16" and also that your shank is also 1/4" inside diameter.

[Mark Lar]

Well the quarter turn idea worked. Its just a bit higher than I would think for pressure side. Water Temp inside he kegerator is 36-37 degrees currently. I got it up to about 15 or so and the bubles stoped coming. Though that does seem a bit high to me. Ill keep my eye on it and see how it goes.

Thanks guys.