4 keg kegerator pressure issues

[jer2eydevil88]

I got an old commercial kegerator off ebay for a steal. It was refurbished with a new compressor, 4 new couplers, 4 kill switches for the gas, two 20lb c02 tanks plus all new lines. I replaced the tap heads because they were a bit rusty (probably original) and I have been using it fairly well for the past 2 months. I do have a problem though, we want to be able to have 4 different types of beer on tap in the house and so far the pressure has been distributed equally causing lots of foam.

What would be the least expensive way to get rid of the foaming. I am sure we could do 4 different tanks but without running new hoses to each keg and having 4 c02 tanks what would you do?

On a side note how often should I clean this baby? So far we are on our 4th or 5th keg on each hookup.

[darck1]

Originally Posted by jer2eydevil88

I got an old commercial kegerator off ebay for a steal. It was refurbished with a new compressor, 4 new couplers, 4 kill switches for the gas, two 20lb c02 tanks plus all new lines. I replaced the tap heads because they were a bit rusty (probably original) and I have been using it fairly well for the past 2 months. I do have a problem though, we want to be able to have 4 different types of beer on tap in the house and so far the pressure has been distributed equally causing lots of foam.

What would be the least expensive way to get rid of the foaming. I am sure we could do 4 different tanks but without running new hoses to each keg and having 4 c02 tanks what would you do?

On a side note how often should I clean this baby? So far we are on our 4th or 5th keg on each hookup.

Are you sure that the pressure is causing the foaming? What's the beer temperature? Pour a beer, chug it. Pour a second beer. What's the temp of this beer?

You should really clean your lines after every keg. I clean mine every two weeks regardless.

What kind of beers are you dispensing? What is the pressure on your CO2?

[beerboy52]

There are two main causes of beer foaming. First and foremost is temperature. Questions for you.

Is the cooler box 38 degrees F. or below?
If so, is there a tube blowing air from the box up into the tower(s)?
Is there a fan blowing up the tube? Is it working?
Check-- Use a pitcher and open the faucet. Does it foam and then clear up? This would mean the box is cold enough, but that cold air is not getting up into the tower.

If the temperature is OK, what do you have the gas pressure set at on the regulator? CO2 should never be turned up higher than 15 psi. Turning the pressure down too low will also cause the beer to foam, as the pressure cannot suppress the gas in the beer, therefore it foams.

How log are your beer lines from the tavern head to the faucet? They should be in the neighborhood of 6 ft in length ( 3/16" line). A little too long is better than a little too short.

Lastly, check inside your tower to be sure that the line is not kinked.

You should be able to use one tank of gas for all of your beers, unless you are trying to pour a 'spinner' style of beer such as Guiness or Murphy's stout. They require a higher pressure (30 psi), therefore must be on nitogen or a nitrogen-blend gas.

The lines should probably be cleaned 2-3 times per year. Should be more, but if this is for home use it probably wouldn't happen more than this. Commercially, at least every month. You can buy a brush and keep the faucets clean yourself or purchase a manual-style cleaning bottle and solution and do them yourself.
Cleaning the lines and faucets is a health and sanitary issue where beer is concerned. The cleaner the parts are maintained, the fresher tasting the beer is. That is the ideal end product.

[jer2eydevil88]

Sorry I haven't been back in a while but life took a hold of me (mostly midterms). I forgot to mention this is a 4 keg kegerator.

I run Killians, Bud Light, Heineken, and other random Euro brews that my local store has on sale (from time to time).

I think the best way for me to answer all this is by quoting and answering some questions you had so you guys can help me.

Is the cooler box 38 degrees F. or below?

It is an old kegerator and the weather seals on the doors are worn out, I will be replacing them this year as time/money permits. Yes, to be safe we do keep the thermometer at 38 degrees F at all times.

If so, is there a tube blowing air from the box up into the tower(s)?
Is there a fan blowing up the tube? Is it working?

No there is no fan, there is a refrigeration block built into the a/c system that runs up the tower and alongside the tubing keeping the liquid in the tubes nice and chilled.

Check-- Use a pitcher and open the faucet. Does it foam and then clear up? This would mean the box is cold enough, but that cold air is not getting up into the tower.

It depends on the beer, we keep the c02 tank outside of the kegerator as the previous owner did the hosing that way. I don't know what we could do to make sure the air is getting up there cold.

If the temperature is OK, what do you have the gas pressure set at on the regulator? CO2 should never be turned up higher than 15 psi. Turning the pressure down too low will also cause the beer to foam, as the pressure cannot suppress the gas in the beer, therefore it foams.

The c02 is set at 10psi, we moved it up to 13 for a while but the foaming was worse on the Killians when we run that. We usually have two kegs of Killians and two kegs of Bud Light in the kegerator. In this instance we have two very different types of beer, what would you recommend for that kind of setup?

We have run about 16 kegs through the system as of now and we are going to run another 5 through it tonight. I will lower the temperature to 34 degrees and see if that makes a difference.

[ernestbud]

you need to add a secondary or step down regulator to serve your differant types of beer and pressures hook your higher pressure beers to the primary and then your lower pressure kegs to the secondary step down

[TAPMAN]

13- 14 lbs of pressure should be ok, I would suspect more of a temp problem if anything. While Killians should be at a higher pressure, sounds like you drink it fast enough to not have under carbonation problems. I would check the accuracy of you thermometer to make sure you are actually 38 deg.

[mctripj]

Originally Posted by jer2eydevil88

It depends on the beer, we keep the c02 tank outside of the kegerator as the previous owner did the hosing that way. I don't know what we could do to make sure the air is getting up there cold.

i think there was a little misunderstanding there. "how cold the air is in the tower" was referring to was how the tower is cooled. you explained that there is an ac block/lines that cool the tower, but i would still make sure they are cooling it properly all the way to the shanks. the co2 should be kept outside of the refer anyway. when you refrigerate the co2 it condenses and you lose capacity.