Question about beer line length

[chemmie]

Hello. This is a great forum. Between here and BeerAdvocate, it should be simple to get a home keg up and running for anyone.

I am going to be tapping my second keg of beer tonight. It's Lost Coast Great White.

The first keg I tried, I had some problems with and I don't think I ever really got them figured out.
I think my problem is that the tail piece (where the beer shoots out) of my shank is too big. I can only fit a 3/8" tube on there. With a 3/8" tube, I would need about 50 feet or so! The beer came out WAY too quickly.
I'm going back to where I bought the shank to get a 3/16" tail piece tonight and some 3/16" tubing.

Okay, that's my background.

I think I read in another thread that the only thing that determines beer flow is the tube length/width? I should always have my pressure set to whatever is the optimum pressure, then change the line if it is too fast coming out?

I just wanted to confirm this because I have seen a lot of people with the same kinds of problems with their beer dispensing too quickly.
Thank you.

Also, does anyone know the optimum PSI for a 5Gal keg of Lost Coast Great White at about 36-38 degrees?

[Scott Zuhse]

Ask the brewer if they know what the carbonation level of their beer is in volumes. This will help determine the optimum pressure based on the temperature. Yes indeed you control the flow speed of the beer with the tubing ID and length.

Scott Zuhse, Instructor Micro Matic Dispense Institute