New kegerator foaming problem

[gms182]

I just bought a new Avanti kegerator from best buy. I have it turned all the way cold(no temp gage). My pressure is set at 11 psi. I have a keg of Yuengling lager in there and I am getting almost all foam. I can't figure out how to get it to poor right. Please help.

[ernestbud]

what is the actual temp of the beer itself should be 38 or below

[gms182]

I believe it is but I have no way of knowing. I need to go buy a thermometer.

[ernestbud]

temperature and prssure are your biggest foaming issues the the length of line or resistence is next

[gms182]

where do I even start?

[ernestbud]

you have to be sure about your temp and then go from there otherwise you will be shooting in the dark

[Scott Zuhse]

Conduct forum searches on thermometers, temperature, correct pressure, etc. There is a wealth of information posted by numerous members on issues similar to yours. You will be amazed as to how many other posts have declared the exact same problems with the same solution everytime - actual temperature of the beer taken by a calibrated thermometer and then targeting 38F with 14 PSIG and five feet of 3/16" ID beerline.

[Acmemfg]

I had an Avanti like yours...never could get a decent glass of beer out of it. Wasted an entire 1/4 keg of Michelob. Needless to say it went back. After a series of other misadventures, I sucked it up and bought a True TDD 1, end of problem.

IMHO..the few extra (ok, MANY extra) dollars you will spend for a commercial grade unit (True, Beverage Air, Superior {which are really relabelled True and Bev Air units} or Perlick {many, many more dollars}) are worth it insomuch as the home use kegerators seem to be so tempermental.

Should you decide to keep the Avanti, I suggest you change the beer line. I recalll the hose that comes with the unit is only about 3 feet or so long. Good luck.............

[Acmemfg]

Oh...one other thing. Last week I tapped a keg of Yuengling...pure foam. temperature and pressure were spot on. Turns out there was a big tear in the rubber gasket on the keg coupler fitting. No way that keg was ever gonna pour correctly. Yuengling swapped it out...the brewery advised they have had some problems with worn out kegs and they are quickly replacing them. However there are still some bad ones out there. Check that sealing surface for nicks, cuts, or tears.

[gms182]

I am starting to get the idea that I purchased a poor quality unit. I am going to return it and buy a comercial grade system. Is a True or a Bev-air better?

[psychodad]

Originally Posted by gms182

Is a True or a Bev-air better?

Yes. But you still need to have the proper temperature, pressure, line size etc. Were it me, I'd cross all those Ts and *** all those Is before shelling out more money.

[gms182]

I returned that POS Avanti and purchased a Trur TDD-1. Now that is a real kegerator. No problems at all, poors perfect every time. Lesson learned, never go cheap when it comes to beer!

[ashman]

The Avanti is the problem. So far I have replaced the coupler, pressure guage, all lines, and added a temp regulator. All MicroMatic parts. Now I can say I finally have a perfect pour. Only took me five 1/4 kegs of Sam Adams Lager to get it right. I also bought a new faucet but it will not attach to the Avanti tower. Dont bother getting tap handles becasue the Avanti faucet has different threading. Good Luck.

[Acmemfg]

Amen to the Avanti misadventure. I replaced mine with a True; gave credibility to the old adage "You get what you pay for". I haven't had one bad pour since hooking it up..14 psi @36 degrees on a keg of Yuengling-better than the corner bar can pour. I didn't realize the Avanti had a different thread on the tap handle; guess that explains the buggered out threads on the handle I tried to install. Fortunately threaded inserts are available.

[txbd75]

Okay, I've been fighting with this unit for a while. It's a long story, but it's too late for me to return it to Best Buy. After alot of frustration calling Avanti, I finally got a few resolutions to my problem:

1. HANDLES DON'T FIT: The nice handles that you buy around the US use a standard 3/8" zx16 screw thread. HOWEVER - the Avanti beer tower has a 10mm 1.5 pitch screw thread - not a fit. After figuring this out, I went to the hardware store, paid $5.99 for a 10mm 1.5 pitch steel plug tap. This basically let me re-thread the handle to match the avanti and now it fits perfectly. It took about 5 minutes to re-thread the handle.

2. DOOR WON'T CLOSE: I put a keg into the unit and the door wouldn't close. In 2 minutes I figured out the the lower lip of the door was hitting the keg. I stuck a couple of wood shims (i.e. a small piece of would that is about 3/8" high) under each side of the keg. Now the doors closes fine. You can use about anything you want. IT TURNS OUT THAT AVANTI knows this is a common problem. They have some sort of keg platform (probably a metal shelf that 1/4" to 1/2" high) that they'll ship you for free to permanantly fix the problem. It looks like the Chinese designers never really saw an american keg.

3. TOO MUCH FOAM: This one drove me nuts through 1.5 kegs. HOWEVER I found a guy inside Avanti who actually has seen and understands their beer refrigerator! He asked me what pressure I was using. I said that I started at 11psi, since the manual said to keep it between 10 and 12psi. Since the main said excess foam could be caused by too much pressure (on one page) and then two little pressure (on another page), I'd tried everything between 8psi and 16 PSI with no solution. He interrupted me, saying something about "... that's not the problem...". He then said my clear hose that goes between the keg and to the tower was too short. He's sending me a free new hose that's longer and should fixes the problem. He said that I won't have the foam problem anymore. I don't know if he's right, but I'm waiting for the hose as I type this. I'll post when I get it. IF TRUE, again, it means that they didn't really get this working before they shipped it. However, they have free solutions that should fix it.

I'll believe the foam fix when I see it!

[sfurst]

Originally Posted by txbd75

Okay, I've been fighting with this unit for a while. It's a long story, but it's too late for me to return it to Best Buy. After alot of frustration calling Avanti, I finally got a few resolutions to my problem:

1. HANDLES DON'T FIT: The nice handles that you buy around the US use a standard 3/8" zx16 screw thread. HOWEVER - the Avanti beer tower has a 10mm 1.5 pitch screw thread - not a fit. After figuring this out, I went to the hardware store, paid $5.99 for a 10mm 1.5 pitch steel plug tap. This basically let me re-thread the handle to match the avanti and now it fits perfectly. It took about 5 minutes to re-thread the handle.

2. DOOR WON'T CLOSE: I put a keg into the unit and the door wouldn't close. In 2 minutes I figured out the the lower lip of the door was hitting the keg. I stuck a couple of wood shims (i.e. a small piece of would that is about 3/8" high) under each side of the keg. Now the doors closes fine. You can use about anything you want. IT TURNS OUT THAT AVANTI knows this is a common problem. They have some sort of keg platform (probably a metal shelf that 1/4" to 1/2" high) that they'll ship you for free to permanantly fix the problem. It looks like the Chinese designers never really saw an american keg.

3. TOO MUCH FOAM: This one drove me nuts through 1.5 kegs. HOWEVER I found a guy inside Avanti who actually has seen and understands their beer refrigerator! He asked me what pressure I was using. I said that I started at 11psi, since the manual said to keep it between 10 and 12psi. Since the main said excess foam could be caused by too much pressure (on one page) and then two little pressure (on another page), I'd tried everything between 8psi and 16 PSI with no solution. He interrupted me, saying something about "... that's not the problem...". He then said my clear hose that goes between the keg and to the tower was too short. He's sending me a free new hose that's longer and should fixes the problem. He said that I won't have the foam problem anymore. I don't know if he's right, but I'm waiting for the hose as I type this. I'll post when I get it. IF TRUE, again, it means that they didn't really get this working before they shipped it. However, they have free solutions that should fix it.

I'll believe the foam fix when I see it!

Did he say what the length of the hose needed to be?

I have an Avanti, and I'd like to try and get this one going instead of buying another system. I'm having foaming problems as well...