Did I have it all wrong this whole time?!?!

[Higgins]

Pressure this, resistance that. I thought I had it locked but now as I spend yet another night reading over all the beer posts (women just don't understand how that could possibly be interesting eh?)
I've come to realize I may have been thinking all wrong.

My thought was:
Mixed gas is set to say 22PSI
Okay now we need to build our line resistance to that.
Say with:
4' lift= 2#
20' 3/8 = 1.5#
Hey that means we need 6' of 3/16 = 18#
to get to 21.5 PSI

Buuuuuuuuttttttttttt...........
Nitrogen is an inert gas correct so do I really need to resist it?
Does it act the same way as CO2 hence needing to still only build resistance to 14PSI?
Am I overthinking this or did I have it right in the first place?
Also why would you need nitrogen mix in the first place if by these calculations you could have a tap 200' away from the keg at 4' high and still not be over the 14PSI mark in resistance.
Is blended gas only really needed for extreme long distances and/or vertical rises?
Yikes.
Lastly at what point are we splitting hairs for resistance. Say 1 keg has an extra distance of 10' from the another keg. At .064 that's only .64PSI difference, is this worth factoring in. What point does it make a difference to the pouring quality?
sigh...

[mctripj]

too much thinking, or not enough drinking?
just kidding.
so, from what i understand, nitrogen is mainly used as agent to help push the beer over long distances so that you dont overcarbonate the beer by having the pressure too high. this is because the beer doesnt absorb nitrogen the same way it does co2.
for direct draw systems, you shouldnt have nitrogen in the mix unless you are pouring a nitrogen beer, i.e. guiness or bare knuckle stout. and even a system as short as the one you are describing, (by the way: how is it cooled and what are your temps?) if it is just domestics or even most micros, then i would build it to 14# and just use co2.
ok, so you have:

Originally Posted by Higgins

4' lift= 2#
20' 3/8 = 1.5#
Hey that means we need 6' of 3/16 = 18#
to get to 21.5 PSI

from all i have read on here, there are 2 different resistances given for 3/16ID line. what has worked for me in my calculations and the systems i have built is 2# resistance per foot of 3/16ID line. just kinda makes sense to me because of only having 5' of 3/16ID from shank to coupler when building direct draws in kegerators.
thus, the 6' of 3/16 would give you 12# +3.5# for altitude and your 3/8ID= 15.5# total resistance the way you have it described. the pressure you have it set at now would be way too high. so if you are having trouble with it now, drop your pressure down to around 15-16 and see what happens.
i may be wrong about something here, but thats my guess.

[razzmatazz]

In response to the above posts, in my limited experience I have (1) only heard of 3/16 " vinyl to be 3 lbs/ per foot, and (2) that using blended gas is beneficial not only in long distance runs but also in any situation where the product is'nt going to be dispensed (emptied) within 3-5 days, as any more than that on a 100 % CO2 system will result in over AND/OR under carbonation. Using a blender, you can fine tune your carbonation levels and maintain that beers correct CO2 volume throughout the life of the keg. Any bar that does'nt empty their kegs within that 3-5 day period would benefeit from a blender. This is my first post, so anybody please feel free to correct me if I am wrong!

[TAPMAN]

I agree with mctripj on the 2lbs/ft for 316 hose. Ihave seen 3lbs, and 2.2 lbs. and through experience, I have found that 2.2 is closer. It is better to over restrict than to under restrict. Tapman