Why foam now??

[weave5dog]

I bought a kenmore kegger about a month or so ago. Had a dogfish head ipa on tap, no prbolems after the initial startup. The i went to a miller 1/4, again no problem 8 psi and just enough foam. Now i put in miller 1/2 and all i am getting is foam. My temp is around 39 degrees, as before and the psi is around 8, like before. The only thing i can think of is that then half stands too high and there is the ample clearance that was there for the 1/4?? It doesnt look kinked... I am running the standard equip that came with it. do i need to increase my hose size? After my initial sucess, i am a little dishearted..

[TheSlavik]

Have you checked the actual liquid temp that is coming out of the faucet? The larger kegs take longer to cool due to more fluid.

[monkey710]

Miller Lite should be kept at 38 degrees and 14psi. At 39 degrees you should still be about 14psi. You are foaming since the beer is underpressurized allowing the CO2 to come out of solution. If you keep it like this, eventually your foam will lower as the beer flattens.

Raise the pressure and see what happens.

[weave5dog]

ok i am cranking it as cold as it can go and i have the co2 @ 14. i poured a glass, all foam. Will this eventually subside as the co2 pressure gets back up to where it should be?? thank u for the help, i touch base tomorrow and let u know where we stand..

[weave5dog]

ok, left it at 14psi for the nigh, first pour today 90 %foam...do i need a longer hose or something... i have the one that came with the kenmore standard. looks like 4 feet, this is the first 1/2 i used, i did 1/4 and sixtels before... Could it be something with the half??

[Scott Zuhse]

Evaluate the raised inner most ring on the keg valve (part of the keg) that surrounds the stainless ball to determine if there is any cuts, gouges or tears.

[weave5dog]

i read that post from earlier and it looked comparable to my my 1/4 i just finished. i think tomorrow i am going to get some hose, seems like 12 to 15 feet do the trick. any other ideas?? thanks steve!

[Scott Zuhse]

Why do you want to install longer line? Slow foam / fast foam! What is the difference?

There is something else going on and it has nothing to do with the line length. Are you certain that the beer temperature is 39 F? Calibrated thermometer? No leaks?Etc.

[Dirtbag]

How does it pour when it pours?
Does it spit at you when you first open the tap?
Does it seem like it pours with too much force and the beer hitting the glass is causeing the foam?
Or is the pour very slow?
If you pour off enough can you get a good pint?

I think you should get a little longer beer line, move it out to 5 or 5.5 feet of 3/16 ID, and keep the pressure higher than 8, maybe around 12 in general.

[Scott Zuhse]

Recheck your temperature with a calibrated thermometer and report. There is no sense in adjusting beer line until you know what you are working with in terms of temperature - thus correct PSIG.

Then worry about how fast or slow you desire your flow speed to be.

[weave5dog]

ok, im back...38 degreees out of the tap

[Scott Zuhse]

Pressure leaks?

[cubby_swans]

Originally Posted by weave5dog

I bought a kenmore kegger about a month or so ago. Had a dogfish head ipa on tap, no prbolems after the initial startup. The i went to a miller 1/4, again no problem 8 psi and just enough foam. Now i put in miller 1/2 and all i am getting is foam. My temp is around 39 degrees, as before and the psi is around 8, like before. The only thing i can think of is that then half stands too high and there is the ample clearance that was there for the 1/4?? It doesnt look kinked... I am running the standard equip that came with it. do i need to increase my hose size? After my initial sucess, i am a little dishearted..

No offense intended, but how in the world did you go from Dogfish Head IPA to Miller? That's like going from a ribeye steak to a salisbury steak.

[weave5dog]

cubby tell me about it, i am wait for the slim miller quarters so i can run both... miller is my everyday beer... if ii drank dogfish head everyday, i'd be in trouble and poor!...



its weird every pout(not just my first of the day) i get a "burp" for a lack of a better word then foam... its less than half glass clear and the foam is thick...like shaving cream...

[weave5dog]

i turned the pressure down to 2.5 and the foam has decrease to 75%... i have a kenmore kegger (new) and it seems to only get down to 40*... do i need to defrost or something??? i froze a keg a few weeks back..

[bonefish]

I think it's over carbonated. I get the same problem when the beer gets too cold. To resolve, I turn off CO2, bleed some pressure out of the keg, manually or by drinking. Takes a day or two. Then reset CO2 and try again.
SEAN

[lunkhead]

Originally Posted by weave5dog

i turned the pressure down to 2.5 and the foam has decrease to 75%... i have a kenmore kegger (new) and it seems to only get down to 40*... do i need to defrost or something??? i froze a keg a few weeks back..

If the beer temp is 40f using a calibrated thermometer into the glass this may be to warm. Otherwise it sounds like co2 may be leaking into the beer at the tap based on the beginning of your post. Did you check the gaskets on the tap and keg?

[weave5dog]

think we have it figured out... i went to a local guy and it was the rubber gasket on the coupler(the small one). I guess i put it on upside down...i didnt even know there was a right side up!!!!

now after this i need to learn how to cool that tower...i hate losing all that beer to foam!!

[weave5dog]

OK I DIDNT HAVE IT FIGURED OUT!!!

Took the keg back to my distributor, there was a lil more than half of a hhalf left. I puored most of it im my yard as foam!!! but the new half in, gave it 10 minutes, PERFECT POUR. It was the sob'in keg the whole time. I cranked this keg up to 10psi, i usually pour at 5 to 8..