What could be wrong?

[boobsandbrews]

Okay here are the facts:

Vissani Kegerator 1 Month old
Thermo MOD completed
Tower cooler added-turbo fan with 4 foot tubing
1 additional turbo fan and pc fan for circulation - turbo fan off in most cases causes the ambient temp to be too low at thermo setting of 1.
Ambient temperature 29 degrees with setting at 1 of 5.
Brand new warranty replaced coupler (all parts check good)
Brand new warranty replaced regulator (all parts check good)
Brand new 8 ft beer line from MM
Bud Light 1/4 barrel steel keg



Here is the issue... On my first 1/4 of Miller lite last month I had many many issues with foam. After finishing I made mods and replaced faulty parts. I purchased a new keg yesterday. Installed the keg into the cooler to soak into recommended temperature. First thing this morning I used a party pump tap to pull out some beer to get a liquid temp. Perfect 38 degrees. I attached the kegerator coupler, turned the psi to 14, and foam! Second glass, foam. Not too mention, it seemed as though the 8 foot line had no effect on the pour speed, as opposed to the previous ******* 4.5 foot line. Does the keg need to sit attached to the C02 for a while before the pour is correct, or do I still have a damn foam issue. I have disassembled my faucet to check for problems and everything looked good. Any ideas?

[Hophead]

Not sure why you're still having foam issues but did you pump any air into the keg with the party pump or just tap and pour?

Have you calibrated the thermometer you used to measure the temp of the beer?

Does the beer coming out of the tap appear foamy or clear.

Are there any air bubbles in the beer line?

[boobsandbrews]

Not sure why you're still having foam issues but did you pump any air into the keg with the party pump or just tap and pour?

Have you calibrated the thermometer you used to measure the temp of the beer?

Does the beer coming out of the tap appear foamy or clear.

Are there any air bubbles in the beer line?

1. Yes, I did have to pump the party tap a few times to get beer to flow

2. The thermometer is iffy at times.

3. Beer from the tap is foamy for 1-2 seconds, then clear.

[Hophead]

1. Ouch. Not good but it shouldn't have too much effect since you put CO2 on it immediately. Most likely has nothing to do with your foam issues but you never want to introduce air into a keg if you can avoid it. It will significantly reduce the lifespan of the beer. Hopefully, in your case, there wasn't enough introduced to have any effect. Party pumps work OK for keg parties since the keg usually doesn't last long enough to have any effect but if you want it to last for weeks in your kegerator, don't hook up any gas but CO2.

2. You MUST get a thermometer you can rely on and then calibrate it with ice water. Beer temp is the most important reading you can take and you must know it within a degree to properly set the CO2 pressure.

3. Next time you pour a beer, try opening the tap all the way, let in run until it's clear and then start filling the glass. Once you get foam in a glass, everything you pour after that will turn to foam.

4. Any air bubbles in the beer line, especially right after pouring a beer???

[cubby_swans]

Where do you live? Your altitude above sea level affects your required pressure setting.

And I agree with hop head. Next pour, as soon as the beer turns clear, THEN start filling up your glass. Pouring beer on top of foam makes more foam. It may be that your tower cooler is not working effectively.

[boobsandbrews]

I went home for lunch. Pulled the handle and barely a trickle. The temp inisde is a bit too low. There were some fozen pockets in the beer line. I was able to move them out though and then a perfect flow. I can definitely agree about waiting until the flow is clear, then changing glasses. I will need to adjust my thermo mod a bit so that the cooler does not get quite so cold. I running around 28 degrees ambient temp on the lowest setting. The beer temp was perfect though. I am only using 2/3 of my circulation fans. I guess the only need for the third may be when using a 1/2 barrel. Doesnt bother me though, now that I was able to have a perfect pint for lunch. Now I need to make sure I can maintain a constant temp around 30-32 in the cooler. Wish me luck. Thanks gents.

[hockeypaul81]

i have my psi at 6

[Hophead]

i have my psi at 6

Confusius say...man who keep psi at 6 will soon be drinking flat beer.

[Scott Zuhse]

Confusius knows beer!

[scriptohio]

I also have the Vissani and use a refrigerator thermometer to measure air temperature but just as a quick glance reference. My air temp usually reads 20 to 25 at the top of the unit with this piece of junk thermometer. What is important is that my beer temperature is 37 degrees measured with a calibrated thermometer. The only numbers that are important is the real beer temperature. Who would not like doing a correct temperature measurement especially when it involvers drinking two beers.

[scriptohio]

Another thought, I did have my beer line freeze a bit once but it was because it was laying against the cold plate now I jut make sure it is not touching. It hasn't happened since.

[pvs6]

If I had to bet, I own this unit and learning for myself I predict your circulating fan is up on top freezing your beer line. I don't know what you mean by "Ambient temp. 29 F. other than thans the freezing point of beer. Put your fan on the bottom of the unit blowing up not only does it help to defrost the plate but won't freezzzzzze you're beer line and for god sakes crank the temp up to 34 F. if you like ice beer no lower.