Beer is coming out of the faucet foamy

[Duffman D]

First of all, my setup:

Keg is New Belgium Blue Paddle Pilsner
Temp is around 35 (air and liquid measurements), but fluctuates a bit as kegerator is in my garage and the temp outside the kegerator varies wildly
Pressure is 17 PSI (as recommended by brewery)
8 ft 3/16" beer line
Elevation is about 6000 ft.
Kegerator is built out of a normal fridge on bottom, freezer on top layout

The problem I'm having is that the beer is already a little foamy as it comes out of the faucet, and I end up with about a half a glass of foam. If I turn the pressure way down, the beer comes out clear, but then I end up with gaps in the beer line and the keg won't stay carbonated appropriately if I leave it that way. I always turn the faucet on quickly and completely.

Does anyone have any ideas about what might be going on? Is it a problem that my kegerator is in my garage where the temp fluctuates so much? Any help would be appreciated!

[kegoman]

i guess if the recommended psi is 17 that may well be correct but everything i have read is to keep the psi between 12-14. you could try dialing down the psi. the temp is recommended at 38 deg. and i also like my beer to come out colder. your beer run is longer than mine whick is the standard 5ft of hose the kegorators come with but a person i met in the kego business recommends no less than a run of 12ft. now he has been doing this for quite some time now and i am going to increase my run.
good luck hope i have given you some ideas .....

[Duffman D]

Thanks for the response. Maybe I'll try to lengthen the beer line more. I also have a buddy who's in the biz--he's the brewmaster at a brew pub. Unfortunately he wasn't much help because at the brew pub he deals with much longer, fatter beer lines and didn't have any experience with kegerators. He helped me drink a lot of foamy beer though!

Cheers!