Beer Forum

djatwill · #1 (**permalink**) 10-26-2006, 12:30 PM

I have a full size Haier Kegerator that came with all parts I am using. I have the temperature set to its lowest. My thermometer sitting on top of the keg reads about 40-45 degrees. My PSI is set around 14. When I pour, the first beer comes out all foam but then every other beer afterwards comes out perfect. Anyone know what would cause this?

darck1 · #2 (**permalink**) 10-26-2006, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by djatwill

I have a full size Haier Kegerator that came with all parts I am using. I have the temperature set to its lowest. My thermometer sitting on top of the keg reads about 40-45 degrees. My PSI is set around 14. When I pour, the first beer comes out all foam but then every other beer afterwards comes out perfect. Anyone know what would cause this?

40-45 degrees is a pretty big temperature fluctuation. Is the thermometer in a glass of water? Your temperature should be around 38F. Use Scott's "chug test". Pour a beer. Chug it. Pour a second beer. Take the temp of that beer.

It could also be that the tower is warm. Some people have had success with having a small 12v fan blowing cold air up into the tower.

Myself? I'd take the kegerator back and say "The thermostat in this thing is completely effed up".

jayfredweb · #3 (**permalink**) 10-26-2006, 12:45 PM

First off..., I'm not a pro at this!

I had the same problem at first with my True kegerator. Now 40-45 degrees sound kind of warm to me. It doesn't sound right that, this is as cold as it gets.

I determined that my problem was primarily a teperature problem. My kegerator was maintaining 36-38 degrees at the keg, but the beer lines would warm up to close to 53-56 degrees at the dispense point (at the faucets). I installed an additional blower to force more cold air into the tower. With this installation I have been able to maintain the temperature in the tower at 43-45 degrees (a minimal temperature loss). I still get foam on the initial pour, but it is minimal. I believe this just to be because of the little bit of stale beer in the tip of the faucet. Once you get foam it hard to stop it. I either use a second glass to collect the first initial foam to discard, or I just have to have patience when pouring my first glass. Without waste, I have to pour twice on the first glass.

I hope this helps...

djatwill · #4 (**permalink**) 10-26-2006, 01:11 PM

I purchased it very cheap at a scratch/dent so unfortuantely I can't return it. A little more then the price of the kegerator parts themselves cost. May be I will have a fridge repair man look at it.

As for the fan does Micro Matic sell this? If not do you have a URL/part# of the fan you are using?

Thanks.

jayfredweb · #5 (**permalink**) 10-26-2006, 01:20 PM

http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-...pid-2C782.html

I'm the kind of guy that want's to do things right the first time. This blower I think retails for $70, plus the price of the bracket and tubing. I just figured that if I was going to be spending $180 on a 5 gallon keg of chimay, I wanted to maintain the temperature the best I could. My kegerator came with it's own blower, but the original setup was a single tap tower. It wasn't made to work with the custom setup I built.

YOU NEED TO GET THAT TEMPERATURE PROBLEM FIXED BEFORE ANYTHING!!! Don't waste your money on a blower, if you can't get that temperature down to at least 38 degrees!!

darck1 · #6 (**permalink**) 10-26-2006, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jayfredweb

http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-...pid-2C782.html

I'm the kind of guy that want's to do things right the first time. This blower I think retails for $70, plus the price of the bracket and tubing. I just figured that if I was going to be spending $180 on a 5 gallon keg of chimay, I wanted to maintain the temperature the best I could. My kegerator came with it's own blower, but the original setup was a single tap tower. It wasn't made to work with the custom setup I built.

YOU NEED TO GET THAT TEMPERATURE PROBLEM FIXED BEFORE ANYTHING!!! Don't waste your money on a blower, if you can't get that temperature down to at least 38 degrees!!

I'm with Jay on this, if you're gonna do it... why not do it perfect? I'm not actually using a "kegerator" as such. I bought all my parts separate and converted a chest freezer, mounted a tower on my bar and put an air-cool system in. Used a math formula to calculate exact line diameter and length.

I don't have a part number or anything for the fan that people have used. I've just heard that mounting a small 12v fan from radioshack (like the kind of fan you see in a PC) that blows up into the tower can sometimes help.

I think buying the blower for a kegerator is a little overkill since the distance isn't really that long up to the tower.

BeanTownBrew · #7 (**permalink**) 10-26-2006, 02:41 PM

It has been my experience that getting one foamy beer is very common. I have had my kegerator for about 5 years and the first beer is always foamy then it settles down and pours nice. I think one beer is a very small sacrifice. I converted my fridge into a kegerator so all the lines and the tank are in the fridge and stay cold...34 degrees. I still get a foamy beer on the first pour of the day and then it's fine.

beerman8 · #8 (**permalink**) 10-29-2006, 07:30 AM

I have been in the beer business all my life and continue to see, at every bar I go into, the bartender pouring beer down the drain every time they pull a beer. This is because the faucet head sits in a warm room.Unless you have a cooling coil around the faucet shank this will continue to happen especialy in a tower. If I remember correctly, there is a small hole at the top of the tower. This is to allow any warm air, that rises into the tower, every time you open the door, to bleed off. Also the spout on the faucet will dry out. My keg sits outside my house in a shed beside my patio. during the summers in Arizona it gets pretty hot. I found that if I give my tap a quick spirt to moisten the faucet spout, and then pull a beer it seem to settle down. I recently bought a few spout covers from Micromatic to initially keep any bar flys out of my spout. It also keeps my spout wet now and my first beer is not foamy. An added benefit.
They are not expensive and do a good job. Just don't forget to take it off when you pull your first beer, as I do on occassion.
enjoy
beerman8

Draught Prophet · #9 (**permalink**) 10-29-2006, 08:18 AM

Don't waste any beer. There are brands out there that tell bartenders to "flush the lines"; to sacrifice the first few warm, foamy ounces in the name of quality. I think the reason they say that is to sell more kegs; the account gets a lower yield, they'll order more. Brilliant when you think about it. There is no need to waste any beer.

Here's a quick trick to solve the first foam issue; take a glass packed with ice and fill with water. Bury the faucet into this ice bath for about 30 seconds. This will "quick chill" the faucet and the beer in it. Dump out the ice bath and fill that chilled glass with beer.

jayfredweb · #10 (**permalink**) 11-01-2006, 09:29 AM

It is amazing how much better my beer pours when the temperature outside the kegerator is in the low 40's. I placed my kegerator on the back porch (instead of in my garage), and I said good bye to foam on the first pour!! I still get foam during the day, when the temperature reaches into the 70's though. It's too bad I don't feel comfortable keeping it out there year-round.