Beer Pump Questions

[Matthew Murphy]

How do I factor in a beer pump when balancing a draft system? We have Shurflow beer pumps on a couple lines and I am curious to know how they affect the system. Also, is it possible to split the line to serve two taps (with different line lengths) after it has passed the pump? What is the best way to detemine the proper air pressure for the pumps? Trial and error?

For the most part, the system is working fine, but there are times when it acts up. I am trying to nail down the problem, either CO2 volume in the beer, or a system issue.

[Scott Zuhse]

Beer pumps are very powerful and tend to require additional restriction. Calculate as you would otherwise and then add an additional four feet of 3/16".

Yes you can supply two faucets from one pump. Calculate restriction for each run equally and apply rule above. Begin pressure in the high 20's for Sureflo and adjust up until flow rate is desired (128 oz / min.??).

How long of a system do you have and are you dispensing pitchers / high volume? If the pressure to the kegs is not ideal you will have dispensing issues with the pumps.

Scott Zuhse, Instructor Micro Matic Dispense Institute

[Matthew Murphy]

We only dispense by the pint, and the volume at its normal peak does not seem to tax the system too much. However, during our big events, we put a serious strain on the system

Currently the beer pumps provide beer from the cellar to the second floor (about a 27 run, straight up) and to the first floor in our north building (about a 100 foot horizontal run with a 10-12 foot rise). The problem is that one set of taps or the other will occasionally act up, either inconsistent flow on the 2nd floor (turned down pressure on pumps), or high pressure on the 1st (turned up the pressure). In general it runs well, the first situation preferable to the second.

I am really just trying to tune the system to determine if any fluctuations in the consistency (say a beer style or or serving line that wants to foam a lot) are from the system, or other factors such as co2 levels, grundy cooler temps, head pressure, etc. We serve all our own beer and we have dozens of styles, so there are lots of variables. However, we can can control carbonation, temp, pressure as well as most of the other variable.

As I said, its not a serious problem that results in a lot of spillage, but it would be nice to be able to eliminate it without constant trial and error when it does arise.

Also, our pumps run at about 24psi.

[Scott Zuhse]

24 psi seems to be low for this pump. Do you have any idea what resticion was built in the system (3/16" I.D. line at the tower)? Do you have access at the tower to change this?

If you have the right pressure at the pump and correct balance in the system run, the major issue you will be confronted with is if the beer you are delivering to the pumps is not degassing or over carbonated. Another condition to be aware of is if the cooling system (glycol system)is maintaining the correct beer temperature between your cellar and the towers.

Are you dispensing directly from your vessels?

Scott Zuhse, Instructor Micro Matic Dispense Institute

[Matthew Murphy]

Sorry to take so long in replying. The restriction in the 2nd floor tower is 3/16" I.D. stainless I believe the same i true for the first floor.

We dispense, mostly, from 5 ukbbl serving tanks. Sometimes we do run off a keg or two depending on the situation.

I get the inkling that splitting the lines after the beer pump, as we do, causes the issues duringtimes of high volume. Since at that point we can't individualy tune each line.

[Scott Zuhse]

Split lines are an issue only if the restriction built into each run is not the same. This is the reason for the previous question on the amount of 3/16" at each location. Since you are using one pump for two different run variables (lift, length, hardware), you must take these variables into account and build each run to have the same back pressure.

Another issue would be if your circulation system is ineffecient and incapable of maintaining temperature the length of the run. What is your glycol bath temperature?

One last consideration is your pressure to the vessels. Is this pressure assuring that no gas is breaking out of the beer as well as none is being imparted into the beer prior to the beer hitting the pumps?

Scott Zuhse, Instructor Micro Matic Dispense Institute

[Matthew Murphy]

I need to keep up with this forum more, a couple days away from the computer and time slips by.

I will have to double check on the glycol temp along the lines, but we keep the system at 32. How much it varies along the length of the run, I am not sure. I doubt it would be much, they are new lines and well insulated.

We keep all the serving tanks at 15lbs, though I am thinking of adjusting it depending on the beer. The problem is, the grundys max out at 18 or so. There is no breakout in the tank.

After some experience this weekend with a beer that I over-carbonated, I think the system is balanced fairly well for most of our beers, except for the fact that it can't handle any more than 2.55 volumes in the beer. Any more and the beer foams pretty well when pouring. We usually carbonate all our beers at 2.47 (that was calculated for the old system, but it works on the new one as well for most of the beers. The new system threw in a plethora of new variables. Differing materials, split lines and new lengths), sometimes a little more for the lagers.

I get the feeling that since there are so many variables, the whole system might not run perfectly, but being able to dial it in quickly when there is an issue would be nice.

Thank you for your help, Mr. Zuhse.