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  • foam trouble again

    Hello it seems to be every few kegs I get I have issues.
    Kenmore kegerator
    Miller lite 1/4
    Home made tower
    10 foot of 3/16th line
    Newer couple and regulator
    I just moved to new home and a week later I went and got a new keg. The first 4 or 5 days it poured great on every pour. Now I'm getting foam on the first 2 pours then it gets better. Beer temp is 38.5 and co2 is at 14

  • #2
    20141104_205631.jpgTemp was checked on 3rd glass with a calibrated thermometer. I cleaned all gear before tapping this keg. What's causing this? I'll post a few pictures. I'm not sure if pictures work. But the first glass is about 1 inch of beer and the rest foam. The second is about 3 inches of foam and the third is about 2 inches of foam. There are air pockets in the beer line right about the coupler. I'm about ready to go back to cans.

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    • #3
      I just poured 4 beers back to back and it's gets slightly better with each pour. But on the 4th pour I'm still getting over 2 inches of foam. And after about 30 min I have air pockets In beer line20141104_212342.jpg
      Last edited by KillianBoy; 11-04-2014, 07:42 PM.

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      • #4
        Jslys13,
        "I'm getting foam on the first 2 pours then it gets better" and "I just poured 4 beers back to back and it's gets slightly better with each pour" are indications of differences in temperature in kegerator and tower, try taking hose out of tower cooler and let sit for 24 hours. Pour about 6 ounces off in a separate glass, then 1st glass chug or relocate, 2nd glass check and see what temperature reads.
        KB
        BTW my read on the PSI at that temperature is 12-13 PSI, set to 14+ if you want to compensate for push. So part might be imbalance, make sure temperature is correct (calibrated and room temperature glass).
        Last edited by KillianBoy; 11-04-2014, 08:08 PM.

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        • #5
          I just took everything apart and cleaned it again. The only thing that looks like a might be a issue is the keg seal. I'll post a picture. Hopefully2014-11-04 22.41.31.jpg

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          • #6
            Jslys13,
            If foam gets better on consecutive glasses, then either temperature imbalance or PSI imbalance, it MIGHT be a slight gouge in the keg seal but if it were keg seal you would have massive foam on every single pour, every single pour, not gets better after a while.
            I'd either look at temperature or PSI, I forgot about your elevation, so 14 PSI might be too low.
            I'd take the hose out of tower cooler, up PSI to 15+ and WAIT 24 hours.
            While we wait, was there any change in ambient temperature? Did you take out check ball in coupler? What other beers did you have between the Miller Lite? How did those pour? Did you clean your lines RIGHT after it kicked? Did you leave dry and uncleaned for a time?
            KB

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            • #7
              Ok I'll give that a try. No change in ambient temp. I just now took the check ball out of the coupler when I cleaned it. I have only lgotten miller lite. I didn't clean my lines right after it kicked. It went about a month before I cleaned the lines. What I don't understand is that it poured great for 4 to 5 days now not so much. The only thing I can think of is that The kegerator temperature is not consistent. Before I moved I had the thermostat set to where beer would pour at 38 degrees. When. I stated having the issues with the Foam at the new house the first thing I did was check the beer temp. It was about 32 degrees. This was about a week and a half ago. Each night I have adjusted the temp to bring it up to 38 degrees.

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              • #8
                Jslys13,
                I assume 38-32 degree is beer temperature? If so look at difference in where unit was (stand-alone vs. built-in, garage vs. indoor, new keg vs. end of keg, etc). I have a hard time believing it is beer temperature without some sort of major differences.
                You can't let gear sit after keg kicks, clean right away, dry and store for new keg, I know beer line is hard but slightly wet is better than having beer residue sit for month.
                You have to look at the time when the foam appeared, anything drastic happen at that time? change in weather? turned thermostat? opened door?
                Could be defrost cycle is shutting compressor off when you are drinking beer, could be cold plate is iced over after 4-5 days, just look for any changes, compressor off for extended period of time, temperature of beer suddenly changes, anything.
                KB

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                • #9
                  No major changes. It's always been in the basement. What are the chances the regulator is not working right.

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                  • #10
                    Jslys13,
                    Since you moved thought it might be part of the problem, could be a bad regulator, but if it holds steady and doesn't drift it should be fine.
                    This seems to be related to your first thread, anytime you pour consecutive glasses and beer gets better and better, something is effecting the temperature of the beer as it rises to faucet, best way to see if it is your homemade tower cooler is not working is to just run circulating fan as I suggested in my first post. Double check to see if beer line isn't close to cold plate and cold plate isn't iced over heavily.
                    KB

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                    • #11
                      Ok I'll try that. I didn't part of the flash light test. I closes and opened the tap a few times and each time there are small bubbles coming from the coupler. I didn't adjust the co2 pressure at all. So is that a balance problem?

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                      • #12
                        The keg popped today. Someone talk me into getting another keg before I sell this thing. Are there store bought tower coolers that work better that would fix my problems?

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                        • #13
                          Jslys13,
                          You shouldn't worry about bubbles while/before/after pouring, this is when beer in line is in very agitated state, bubbles are normal. Flashlight test is done when keg is at rest.
                          A seller on Ebay sells a good tower cooler, don't know how good or if yours is made correctly, never said how you made it.
                          Another member took exception to me saying that he "slapped together" a tower cooler, so not to offend, don't assume that you get a fan, AC adapter, hose and box, put together and say it is a working tower cooler. Type of fan, size of hose and power, all need to be balanced, sometimes an incorrectly made tower cooler will cause more problems then it solves. Tower cooler will do 2 things circulate air and solve 1st beer foam, if you are getting 1st beer foam, tower cooler isn't working, right now just do as I suggested and see.
                          Balancing keg should be done in the first half of keg, once you get below half, temperature of the beer will fluctuate causing problems with balancing. I would replace the beer line ( I did the same thing as you, check to see if beer line is cloudy), clean right after keg kicks, set PSI at 16, run just the fan with box and see.
                          Also can you describe tower, how much it sweats?, is there insulation? Cold plate iced over massively? Are you adjusting thermostat as kegs lowers? Are you adjusting PSI as keg lowers? What size keg is your norm? What is your consumption rate?
                          KB
                          Last edited by KillianBoy; 11-05-2014, 05:15 PM.

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                          • #14
                            My tower cooler is just a home made one. 80 mm pc fan. Project box. I will try to get another keg tomorrow. I just went and took the keg out and noticed the cold plate was wet. And I know the other day it was frozen. Which makes me think that the kegerator doesn't keep a consistent temp.

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                            • #15
                              Jslys13,
                              If it is standard muffin fan, it won't compress airflow, you have to use the largest hose you can, probably widen the tower hole, make sure you have good return flow, make sure it blows directly on shank, make sure you crank back voltage (12 volts might cause too much airflow, depending on CFM of fan), make sure you have enough insulation, but not too much to impede airflow,etc. That's why I say just run fan, pour off the first spurt of beer, then you can test or drink.
                              You probably need to monitor the on/off cycle of compressor, most members have an iceberg when keg kicks, norm is a thin sheet of ice (where you can see the ribs). Might be defrost cycle shutting down the compressor so ice can melt, don't know.
                              I know it is a Kenmore but they use many kegerators which they re-brand, depending on which one, I might have a better solution for you.
                              Best to set thermostat at 3/4 of full and not touch at all for 1 full keg, don't touch at all.
                              You really need to replace beer line before hooking up new keg, this might be the source of foam.
                              No refrigerator will keep a constant/consistent temperature, they will swing 2-10 degrees (air 2-5, cold plate 5-10), thermostat controls how long the compressor stays on and goes off, not how cold the cold plate radiates or airflow is.
                              KB
                              Last edited by KillianBoy; 11-05-2014, 07:48 PM.

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