Beer Pump and pressure

[wineglow]

I am primarily a draft line cleaner but will help out customers in trouble. Dinner hour on a Saturday night -- all four lines pouring foam. Someone had removed the lock over the regulators and made their own adjustments. A 10 foot run complete with FOB's, Glycol lines and beer pumps -- 8#'s pressure on kegs and 50#'s on beer pumps. Increased the keg pressure and reduced pressure on beer pumps.

Never played with pressure on beer pumps before; How do you determine correct pressure on pumps? In a quest for knowledge can you tell me what happens when a beer pump fails? Would you get foamy beer or no beer flow? Any articles I can read on beer pumps?

Any advantage of having beer pumps and FOB's on a 10 foot draw or just a super sales job.

[Scott Zuhse]

Super sales job! If the glycol system components are intact and the keg cooler has a constant temperature, the system could be set up with 100% CO2. Pumps were never designed for short systems. Nor were FOBs.

Pumps are applied to very long systems (150' plus) with extensive lifts where gas blenders are ineffective. FOBs are also designed for long systems as they eliminate a substantial amount of waste when a keg empties. FOBs are helpful in short systems such that the glass is not knocked out of the bartenders hand when the keg empties.

Determine beer temperature in the keg, set the pressures to this temp. based on its carbonation level. Possibly rebuild the lines for proper restriction to this pressure at the keg and remove the pumps.

Scott Zuhse, Instructor Micro Matic Dispense Institute

[Larry Tapper]

This sounds like a temp. change on glycol system, that's why the pressure was changed.

L. Tapper

[Scott Zuhse]

Pressure could have been changed due to numerous reasons. Glycol temperature could be an issue as well as a warm keg delivery or gas running out. Bottom line is the system provider did a huge injustice to the retailer by over specifying equipment. I agree with the glycol system but never pumps.

Scott Zuhse, Instructor Micro Matic Dispense Institute