2 inches of air gap in beer line

[Awdmofo]

Hello everyone, this is my first post on this forum. Thank you for any help in advance. This is my third kegerator, im not new to them but its been 11 year so yea dont judge . Got a 1/6 barrel of Shocktop (again stop judging :P) the kegerator I bought used is a Kenmore, seems to be 5-10 years old and work ok. Got a brand new aluminum CO2 5lb tank set at 13.5-14PSI, temp seems to between 36-44 degrees. As in, when I want beer I run a fan in the kegerator which brings the temp down to the 36-37 range, but overnight without the fan going keg seems to sit around 42-45 degrees. Lately I've notice a 2 inch air gap in the line just above the coupler (brand new coupler I got from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1) I also bought a new beer line since the old one looked nasty (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1). Beer taste ok, but semi flat sometimes. This air gap is bothering me and causing massive foam for the first beer I pour, but goes away for a little while until I stop pouring for at least 30+ mins. One thing I noticed but not sure if it matters is the opening for the coupler is smaller than the one for the CO2 regulator. So I used a metal clamp to make sure the line is tight, but didn't realize I bought a different size OD when I purchased it. An help would be great thanks!

[djc]

You are unbalanced, the gap is telling you that. You need to get your temps under control and actually understand what they are. You want the beer at 38. Not 36-37 maybe 36-44. Also you cannot expect to turn on the fan when you want a beer, the beer needs to be kept at a fixed temp or you will get break out. Fan on all the time.

[Awdmofo]

You are unbalanced, the gap is telling you that. You need to get your temps under control and actually understand what they are. You want the beer at 38. Not 36-37 maybe 36-44. Also you cannot expect to turn on the fan when you want a beer, the beer needs to be kept at a fixed temp or you will get break out. Fan on all the time.

Any suggestion on which thermometer I should buy to test the beer temp? I'm wondering if my used kegerator isn't working like it should. I have been setting the temp to about 75-80% "coolest setting" and for shits and giggles I turned it up to basically 100% and it didn't seem to get any colder. As a matter of fact there is a lot of water sitting at the bottom of the kegerator and I had to mop it up. Are there places that check the Freon and functionality of these kegerators? If yes is it too expensive to fix (I paid $250 for the Kegerator) should I just sell this unit and start over with a new one?

[djc]

Any thermometer will work, just calibrate it in a glass of ice water, it should read 32 in the liquid. Check the door seals, moisture is usually a sign of warm air getting inside. You are probably going to want to look into a tower cooler to eliminate all first beer foam, they are easy to make and once you have that in place you can get rid of the fan since it will be creating circulation.

[Awdmofo]

Never heard of a Tower cooler, need to google it. I'm done with my shock top keg, cleaned out the kegerator and with the settings at about 85% "coolest setting" its finally freezing the cooling plate at the back of the kegerator. My temps according to the thermometer is about 33 degrees inside the kegerator. I think with a fan (or tower cooler) I should be good. I was looking and macgyvering a usb powered fan to be attached inside the kegerator and running 24/7 when I have a keg in it.

[djc]

33 is likely too cold, but what you really need is the beer temp. Tower coolers need to run 24/7 and the tube needs to go all the way up to the back of the shank. Freezing the cold plate does mean it is cold, but can also be a sign the door gaskets sealing well and warm air is getting in.

[Awdmofo]

Good point about the plates freezing. I'm running the small fan 24/7 and it keep the temps in the kegerator around 29-30 consistently. I got a new get of Dust Bowls Taco Truck lager, but the 1-2 inch bubbles in the lines are happening again. I'm wondering if there is something wrong with my regulator, its like 16 years old, came with the kegerator. Maybe a New one that is calibrated properly might fix it?

Any suggestions djc where to get a tower cooler?

[djc]

You can make a tower cooler, or buy on ebay or Amazon.