Foamy beer from Bev-Air Kegerator

[shawnco67]

I recently purchased a used Bev-Air kegerator BM23. I am a noob to all the part of this kegerator/draft beer stuff (except for the drinking part) so here's what I did.

Excited about my new purchase, ran to the Left Hand brewery and bought a 1/4 barrel of Sawtooth ale (yippee!).

Got it home (about a 20min drive) and waited about 1hour for it to settle in the kegerator. Not able to wait any longer, I followed some instructions on how to tap and set regulator. That seemed to go ok, but I get foamy beer. If I pour a pint I get about 1/5 beer. As I watch the beer pour to fill my growler, I can see it starts foamy, then it goes to beer and then intermittently turns to foam. On a long pour such as 1/2 gallon, it seems like it would clear itself up if it was the hose.

I thought maybe it was the hour I let it settle, maybe I should have waited longer?

Three weeks later, it's still foamy. The temp is 36 degrees (glass of water in kegerator with thermometer), pressure anywhere from 10-14psi generates tons of foam (I probably only get about 1/5 of a glass of beer), the hose is about 4.5' long and looks to be 3/16" I.D. and I cleaned it twice with a MicroMatic beer cleaner, the kegerator has a hose to blow cold air into the tower.

What would you try next? Should I just wait for the next keg? Replace the hose? Replace the faucet? Coupler? Is it possible the CO2 is leaking into the hose and super carbonating as it pours? <--noob question

Any suggestions? Questions?

Thanks,

Shawn

[Donbecker]

Shawn, check the rubber seals, you want no nicks in them.

How much are you pouring at a time? Mine seems to be foamy for the first couple then it clears up.

[shawnco67]

Thanks for the response.

The seals I have checked are:

two on the coupler (there is a small one and a big one on the bottom parts 7 and 11 if you go to the replacement parts tab on the link). I did not disassemble and check any others (if there are others). The coupler is a twist kind like this one:
http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-...pid-FT86P.html

(could it be the rubber washer between the beer line and the coupler?, I'm not sure if I am using the right one because it was used and I just kinda pieced together the parts.)

I am usually pouring two glasses at a time (me and my wife) and the first glass is almost no beer and the second glass is about 1/5 beer. After we finish our beers and go for another one, it is the same story (only about 15-20 minutes later because the first beer was really only a half of a beer by the time the foam settles.)

The beer tastes fine and is not flat or overly carbonated. Just foamy as it comes out.

[Donbecker]

Try pouring the first 2-3 into a pitcher, then try pouring a couple glasses.

[shawnco67]

It's a little early in the day to do this.

If the beer comes out better after pouring a pitcher, what do you think the problem might be?

Another note: It seems like the beer comes out awfully fast. It's hard to tell the actual flow rate because it is so foamy, but the beer seems to come out really fast. Could I need a longer hose? It's about 4.5' long as is, would 6" make much of a difference?

[ernestbud]

what size line are you running? if it is 1/4 or 5/16 you don't have enough resistence. if you are using 3/16 and at bout 4.5 to 5' you should be bout right it should pour at around 2oz per second

[shawnco67]

The best I can tell it is 3/16" line (with my tape measure). There isn't any print on the hose that says the size. The hose just says:

TPI EXCELON RNT-1065 PVC 120 DEGREES MAX NSF 51

It's hard to tell. The O.D. is 7/16" fer sure. Looking at the MM site, the O.D. of 3/16" line IS in fact, 7/16".

As I was measuring the line, I noticed that air bubbles were forming in the line. Isn't this caused by low pressure? My pressure is at 12 psi, I am at 5280 feet above sea level (if that matters).

[Beer Dr]

Key word here is used beverage air. Sounds like some one changed the beer line with a vinyl line from a hardware store. The outside diameter will be 7/16" but the wall thickness is different. If you change the line to 5" of 3/16" ID beverage tubing meant for beer this will solve your problem

[pokey]

Originally Posted by Beer Dr

Key word here is used beverage air. Sounds like some one changed the beer line with a vinyl line from a hardware store. The outside diameter will be 7/16" but the wall thickness is different. If you change the line to 5" of 3/16" ID beverage tubing meant for beer this will solve your problem

I think you mean 5'. (five feet)

On a side note, wish Left Hand hadn't discontinued Tabernash.

[shawnco67]

The guy I bought it from did say he bought a new hose. Luckily, the hose is the cheapest fix anyways, good place to start.

I will try it. Thanks for the help.

Yes, too bad about Tabernash. Seriously though, Sawtooth is great. I debated about me and my wife getting through a 1/4 of it without getting sick of it, but it's really a great taste that goes with almost anything (chicken wings, steak, chili dip etc.) and the barrel is getting light already.

[pokey]

Originally Posted by shawnco67

Yes, too bad about Tabernash. Seriously though, Sawtooth is great. I debated about me and my wife getting through a 1/4 of it without getting sick of it, but it's really a great taste that goes with almost anything (chicken wings, steak, chili dip etc.) and the barrel is getting light already.

Yea I tried the Sawtooth in the bottle and wasn't terribly enthused. The draft is probably much better. I used to go to the Tabernash brewery when it was located just north of Coors Field in the Denargo Market (12+ years ago). Have fond memories of that place, it was just a hole-in-the-wall in an industrial park. The Weiss and Dunkleweiss from the tasting room was out of this world. Actually it was all good. They really loved what they were brewing and you could taste it. We used to buy Dr. Pepper & Coke 2 ltr. bottles and dump 'em and fill them up with Their Munich beer(dark) and bring them into the Rockies games. Good times!

Anyhoo, hope you get your foam problem under control.

[shawnco67]

Already ordered the hose.

Sawtooth in the bottle is definitely different. I had it in the bottle and thought "hmm...this isn't that great, not bad, but not great". Then I got it on tap at a little restaurant and I thought, "Holy geez, I needs me a keg o' dis!".

You ever make it up to Longmont to the Pump House? Have you tried their Copper Ale? They have some excellent beers. I don't think they bottle any of it so you probably have to make the trip up north to get it.

[Beer Dr]

OOPS, 5', early in the AM sorry!

[TAPMAN]

An hour is not enough time for the keg to be brought back to temp. Target temp of liquid (beer) should be 38. If the hose is 3/16 id, 5' is right, 4.5 shouldn't be that much of a problem. 12lbs should be OK, provided that you drink the keg fast enough, you shouldn't have problems flat beer at the bottom of the keg. Also depends on the carbonation level of the beer. Tapman

[shawnco67]

Ok, back again. My foam issue is much better than before, however, it's still not fixed.

I bought a 5' long 3/16 line from MicroMatic and installed it. The first beer is a mostly foam (better than before) and the second beer is almost perfect.

After drinking the beers, the second trip to kegerator gets the same thing. The first beer is mostly foam and the second beer is pretty good. Then the next time they'll both be all foam. I'm going nuts. What could it be?

I am north of Denver so my altitude is about 5000 feet. Should I have the pressure higher with a longer hose? Do I need 6' hose?

I was at a halloween party and the guy there had a Bev air (same as mine except in much better shape) and the thing worked perfect. He said he keeps his pressure at 15psi but he was unsure of the hose length.

I am currently trying 15 psi, the beer temp is exactly 38 degrees and it is a 5' long 3/16" hose with a tower (short shank, not sure of the length, but pretty short).

Anybody who solves this for me, I will drink one frosty cold one for you.

Thanks.

[darck1]

Originally Posted by shawnco67

Ok, back again. My foam issue is much better than before, however, it's still not fixed.

I bought a 5' long 3/16 line from MicroMatic and installed it. The first beer is a mostly foam (better than before) and the second beer is almost perfect.

After drinking the beers, the second trip to kegerator gets the same thing. The first beer is mostly foam and the second beer is pretty good. Then the next time they'll both be all foam. I'm going nuts. What could it be?

I am north of Denver so my altitude is about 5000 feet. Should I have the pressure higher with a longer hose? Do I need 6' hose?

I was at a halloween party and the guy there had a Bev air (same as mine except in much better shape) and the thing worked perfect. He said he keeps his pressure at 15psi but he was unsure of the hose length.

I am currently trying 15 psi, the beer temp is exactly 38 degrees and it is a 5' long 3/16" hose with a tower (short shank, not sure of the length, but pretty short).

Anybody who solves this for me, I will drink one frosty cold one for you.

Thanks.

I think I read somewhere that you should add a pound of pressure for every 2000 feet above sea level. That would make 2.5 pounds for you so probably an ideal pressure would be 16.5PSI. The 1.5 extra pressure would be 6 extra inches of 3/16th.

HOWEVER! From what you're saying, it sounds like a temp issue. Maybe your faucet is hot? Try putting cold air into your tower.

[shawnco67]

The kegerator has a hose that blows cold air into the tower. The tower is cold to the touch.

I would agree with the tower idea, except it seems to completely lose it's mind after pouring a couple beers. Meaning, I'll get a good one, then a bad one, then another bad one, then a good one. It just has no clue what it's doing (or maybe it's me).

Another issue I'm having (I might make this a new thread) is that the pressure keeps varying. I just reset it this morning. I did the following:

1. Shut off tank.
2. Bled pressure from keg from coupler.
3. Closed line valve (the one on the regulator).
4. Unscrewed the regulator adjustment.
5. Turned the tank on all the way.
6. Pressure was at about 8psi, so I turned the screw on the regulator until it creeped up to 15 psi.
7. Waited about 1 minute and the pressure was still 15psi.
8. I opened the regulator valve and listened to all the co2 go into the keg, pressure stayed at exactly 15 psi.
9. I went upstairs to get a cup of coffee and make some toast.
10. Checked the pressure, and it was up at 16.5 psi.

I have been messing with the stinking pressure for a week. If it got too high, I would adjust the screw (without bleeding the line or anything, I would just adjust the screw) to get it right and then I would come back later and it would be too low. So again, I would adjust the screw and fix it only to find it too high again later.

Am I doing it wrong or is my regulator hosed?

I don't know if this is important or not but my co2 line has a little plastic thingy in-line that says "If ruptured, replace primary regulator and this device". Anybody know what this thing is?

[ernestbud]

if the pressure is always climbing then you have a bad regulator

[co2beerpong]

i have an older kegerator that i have recently acquired and am having foam issues also. it holds 2 kegs and the co2 tank in it with a tower on top and 3 faucits on the tower. i can only get it down to about 42 to 44 degrees and the co2 goes through a distribution manifold to feed co2 to both kegs with one tank. the tower is a decent hight above the kegs and it doesn't seem to get very cold in the tower. from what i have read on a couple different forums the 5' of 3/16 line seems pretty standard but i wondering if i need more pressure for 2 kegs and if i need more length in hose because of the higher temp and high level of tower. any sugestions

[shawnco67]

Hi co2beerpong,

The best thing to do for the foam and the freshness of your beer is to get the temp down. After much research I found one temperature was recommended over and over-- 38 degrees is the magic number for the temp and 15 psi for pressure. My foam issues were caused by too big of a line and a faulty regulator. Once I replaced the two, she pours pretty decent. My first beer for the evening is still really foamy, but after you get that out of the way, life is pretty good.

I had another issue after a few months where the evaporator fan went out on me. The cooler was still working but the fan that circulates the air through the kegerator and the tower was not working. That keg went bad in about 3 days without the circulation.

Work on the temp before you start doing anything else.

Shawn

[Scott Zuhse]

Before messing with pressure always check for pressure leaks. If there is a pressure drop in the system, the diaphragm in the regulator will always be moving whereas it will be very difficult for the regulator to perform. The pointer on the low pressure gauge will not stay in one area.

Perform a search on "Leak Test" on the forum. Tons of posts.

Have you contacted Left Hand and asked them what there carbonation level in volumes is in the Sawtooth?

If it is around 2.5 and with 38 degree beer temperature at your elevation, 15 PSIG should be where you want to be. The five feet of 3/16" will result in around a 120 oz. / min. flow speed.

Sea level is regarded as 1- 1000' feet. Start you elevation adjustments above 1000'.