FOBs not working properly - could it be air problem instead of FOBs?

[safter]

A friend of mine replaced some old TecFlo FOBs at a pub with the Pacific Beer DFC ones because the bar manager said that he was getting foam after re-tapping each keg. (A couple of them 2-3 pitchers worth.) After about a couple of weeks, the manager complained that the FOBs weren't working and that he was still getting that much foam. Since my friend was out of town, I went to go take a look at the system and I found that he was using an air compressor to push beer in 7 lines and beer gas in 3 lines. (Pretty long [over 75 ft] glycol run, chilled taps, 35 degree cooler.)

The manager said that another newer FOB that he was testing worked fine and got no foam. (TecFlo FOB with both in and out on the bottom of the FOB) The manager told me that the beer seemed to pour slower at the very end of a keg and so he could tell just before a keg was going to blow. Do you really think that it is a FOB issue and my friend should replace the FOBs with a different model (would it make a difference)? Would the fact that he is using an air compressor instead of CO2 or nitrogen/CO2 beer gas mix be the problem? How do you think the foaming problem after re-tapping a keg should be fixed? Suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


Safter.

[Scott Zuhse]

FOBs normally are not the issue unless they need cleaning. Number one issue is normally tapping warm kegs. Your friend has much larger issues than the FOBs. With the use of an air compressor he might as well not even sell draft. What is the gas blend ratio? What are the keg PSIGs?

[Draftguy]

The older TecFlo FOB's are the only one I install. If they are not cleaned properly you will get some leakage past the O ring where the ball seats. I have had issues with the new TecFlo primarily with slow venting, leaking vents and JG fittings. The issues I have had with the DFC's are sticking floats (cleaning issue), cross threading, vent not robust and prone to failure and an inadequate FOB beer volume that will trip the FOB prematurely (the same problem exists with the MM PN PRO-MAX-1). The older style TecFlo MM PN PRO-MAX-3 is the only one I recommend and use. Alternatively, your problem may lie with a manager (or high bar back turnover) that may not know the correct procedure when using the FOB. The biggest problem I have encountered at licensees is that they will leave the knob pushed in (thereby bypassing the FOB) or will push the knob in as the very first step (rather than the last) in resetting the FOB. Make sure walk in temp is 36-38 and the beer has had time to cool to that temp. BTW, pull the plug on the air compressor. The breweries spent millions of dollars a year trying to eliminate air in beer and you are now introducing it back into the product where it will oxidize the product. Air is BAD for beer. My closest analogy would be to open up a beer, set it in the fridge and taste it several hours later. It will taste much flatter and unpalatable than the brewery fresh product. Hope this helps

[DCullender]

Get rid of the compressor, using air to push the beer is the problem. Air in the keg is allowing the beer to go flat, meaning CO2 is leaving the beer. This CO2 is forming gas bubbles, when bubbles enter FOB, FOB shuts down.