bubbles in beer line / foam out faucet

[bgiomett]

Hello All

Just got finished converting my chest freezer. Hooked up a "test pony" of miller lite. Let it sit for a couple days while I got my co2 tank filled (so it should be plenty acclimated). I hooked everything up last night and FOAM. Followed by lots and lots and lots more foam. The gl*** of water with the temperature probe is being kept between 36 and 38F. I have tried pressures ranging from 2 to 18 psi and all have the same result (just foam at different speeds). I'm using 5' of 3/16 ID beer line and 5' of 5/16" ID gas line.

Upon further inspection I noticed bubbles coming out of the coupler. I dont think its a temperature/pressure thing because no matter how high I go (~22 psi) the bubbles still go. And my temp has been steady for a couple days. I did just uncouple to check the gaskets on the coupler/keg and found this:



Would that be enough to royally screw everyhting up? The gasket on the sankey looks to be fine (it should be its brand new).

Any help would be greatly apreciated.

[jayfredweb]

I just went through the exact same experience. I noticed air bubbles coming out of the coupler after every pour, that would create a burst of air from the faucet every time I would try to pour a pint. And as we all know..., once you have foam in the pint it is hard to stop it. Upon inspection of the keg I found a similar problem to yours.

With advice from this forum I attempted to return my keg as faulty. If your retailer is good they should trade it out for you. Mine (Lee's Discount Liquor, Las Vegas) told me that it was not their problem, and that once I left the store they would not take the product back under any circumstance. At least I have a good local distributor that was willing to help a consumer out!!

Yours looks very similar to mine. Once I got the new keg hooked up, I had no problems and no air bubbles in the line.

On a side note..., can anyone tell me how this happens? The replacement keg I received, looks like a notch in black ring is beginning to form. However it is not big enough to make a difference yet!

[bgiomett]

Well I ended up getting this from a shady store (the guy rushed it out to my car and ushered me over to pay without looking at it) probably for this reason. Ah well, lesson learned. We'll see what he says when I take it back in.

[Draught Prophet]

This is becoming a growing problem here in Ontario. I think that it is caused from people jamming semi-engaged couplers into kegs or s couplers (where the coupler probe isn't flush) and nicking the seal.

If you take a faucet washer and place it over the nicked keg seal then place the coupler on, you can at least empty the keg properly as this creates a false seal.

Make sure you tell them when you return it or it becomes someone else’s problem. Any brewers who want any repeat business should change the seal.

[bgiomett]

Originally Posted by Draught Prophet

...

If you take a faucet washer and place it over the nicked keg seal then place the coupler on, you can at least empty the keg properly as this creates a false seal.
...

Could you please elaborate on this. I do not have any faucet washers on hand, but at work I deal with hydraulics quite extensively. I beleive I could find a washer that might be able to accomodate me to make sure I have all the bugs worked out and get my money's worth out of this keg.

I am guessing it would need to span from the ID of the existing gasket. How far out can it go (to the outside of the black enclosure?) and also, does it need to sit down inside the existing gasket or just on top? What is the maximum thickness I can get away with also?

Any answers would be greatly apreciated.

[Draught Prophet]

If you take a look at this faucet cutaway, you need part #8. If you have a faucet wrench, unhook the keg (very important) then remove the faucet; it's a reverse thread. You'll see the size/thickness of the washer. Most people don't have them on hand, but considering the price, I always recommend buying several of them.

[bgiomett]

ah so just use a replacement washer for the one in the faucet. I like it. Hopefully home depot will carry something similar so I dont have to wait for the mailman.

As far as unhooking the keg... I already learned a similar lesson. Dont tap a keg with the faucet open.

[bgiomett]

Well I just wanted to post an update for anyone who reads this in the future.

This was definitely the problem, and here's how I temporarily solved it.

1. I took the faucet off to flush some water through the system and check the washer to see what I needed to get.
2. While I was unpacking my cleaning kit I realized the kit came with a similar washer (a bit smaller ID)
3. With the sankey in 'tapped' position I slid the washer over the nipple that depresses the ball in the keg. It was a bit of a tight fit but i eventually got it to where it would stay.
4. Tapped the keg
5. Enjoyed my first beer =)

I tired just laying the washer over the bad one on the keg and tapping it but that did not solve the problem. I Think having it on the sankey kept it in position while the tap was spinning.

Thanks for the great idea, it saved me having to return a 3/4 full pony which I'm fairly shure I wouldnt have gotten a refund for.

[jayfredweb]

Originally Posted by bgiomett

Well I just wanted to post an update for anyone who reads this in the future.

This was definitely the problem, and here's how I temporarily solved it.

Awesome update. I wish I new about this temporary fix, before I went through the troubles of returning my keg to the distributor. I guess I'll know for next time!!