Noob: Having trouble with foam!!

[Capndn]

Surprise, surprise. Another Guy with a Foam Question. I have a refrigerator converted into a kegerator. I have a half barrel of High Life. Running about 10 psi at 39 degrees at the tap. My problem is that when I pour the beer it comes out way too fast basically an entire glass of foam. I relieved all the pressure in the keg before turning the CO2 on, and the pressure stays at a constent 10 psi. I have read that it's supposed to be around 12 however does 2 psi really make a difference. Also the beer already shoots out like mad, with another 2 psi wouldn't it come out worse. Even with a lower setting of about 8 still has an issue with foam. What gives. Has anybody had High Life before and/or should I be using a different pressure/temp. Oh by the way 3/8" line about 4ft. long. Any suggestions would be a huge help. Beer is a terrible thing to waste!

[bfky]

Lengthen your line - beer speed is controlled by line length, not PSI. Start with 8 or 9 feet and trim it down until you have a pour speed you are comfortable with.

Is the beer coming out of the faucet foamy or is it clear and only turning into foam when it hits the glass? If the former, do the usual pressure/temp troubleshooting in all the other foam threads. If the latter, your line should fix it.

[tappa kegga bud]

3/8" line is huge for your application. Try replacing it with 3/16". If it were me, I'd get 10 feet and trim it back as necessary to get the flow speed you want at the proper temp and pressure for the beer you're serving. My system is a 6 foot vertical rise, and I read somewhere that you needed 1/4" line for any runs over 5 feet. I ended up with about 20 feet of 1/4 inch line to slow the beer down enough to be reasonable, and 1/4" < 3/8". Good Luck!!

[bfky]

Good catch, I completely glazed over the 3/8 and read it as 3/16. That would do it.

[cubby_swans]

Originally Posted by bfky

Good catch, I completely glazed over the 3/8 and read it as 3/16. That would do it.

yeah, make sure it's 3/16 Internal Diameter. If you truly have 3/8, that is your number one problem. That's like a garden hose. Even if you do have the 3/16 line, 4 feet is too short. Follow the advice of getting 7 feet of 3/16 ID and if that pours too slowly, you can trim a bit off. You do NOT want to go shorter than 5 feet.

[Capndn]

Ok first yes I misquoted the beer line size it is actually 3/16. Also I went and cut 12 ft. of beer line just for good measure. I had plenty of left over from before. After replacing the line I redialed the pressure and everything seems to be working fine. Even the beer tastes better. Thanks for all the help I recieved. I am going to give it 24 hrs yet to see if I need to make adjustments, however the line length at this moment seems to be ok! Thanks!