cornie headspace

[Deebee]

Hi all.
The answer to this is likely dead easy but... i condition in cornies after priming with sugar.
I have found many of the beers really foamy so cut down on the priming sugar.

One of the kegs was still really foamy so i am guessing that there was too little head space.
How far should i fill a corny? I use mainly the 9 and 12litre ones.

[6470zzy]

I fill mine up to about an inch below the gas tube. I add about half the amount of sugar when priming a corny keg that I would do if I were using bottles. Its a matter of the larger head-space that you have in the keg versus what you have in a bottle.

Cheers

[Deebee]

I fill mine up to about an inch below the gas tube. I add about half the amount of sugar when priming a corny keg that I would do if I were using bottles. Its a matter of the larger head-space that you have in the keg versus what you have in a bottle.

Cheers

hi. Yes i had this discussion a short while ago when it seems i had been overpriming the keg.

So i dropped to around 35g in a 10 l cornie as opposed to the 50 i had been using. Still came out foamy though.

this could be cos i filled it up too much, then again the beer was one that was a real b'stard and took neary a month to hit FG. Could well be that it was still fermenting and got the extra sugar......

I will try cutting to 3g/l on the one i keg this evening.

thanks

[Belter]

I fill mine up to about an inch below the gas tube. I add about half the amount of sugar when priming a corny keg that I would do if I were using bottles. Its a matter of the larger head-space that you have in the keg versus what you have in a bottle.

Cheers

hi. Yes i had this discussion a short while ago when it seems i had been overpriming the keg.

So i dropped to around 35g in a 10 l cornie as opposed to the 50 i had been using. Still came out foamy though.

this could be cos i filled it up too much, then again the beer was one that was a real b'stard and took neary a month to hit FG. Could well be that it was still fermenting and got the extra sugar......

I will try cutting to 3g/l on the one i keg this evening.

thanks

I've filled above the gas tube before and not had a problem. Admittedly in a 19L Cornie. Are you lines long enough?

[6470zzy]

Belter makes a good point. How long is the liquid line that you are using? Also, what size line is it? I find that a 3/16" ID line is good for me, it has a pressure drop of 3 psi per foot. What pressure are you trying to dispense with? Too high a pressure could also be an issue with foaming.

Cheers

[Deebee]

Belter makes a good point. How long is the liquid line that you are using? Also, what size line is it? I find that a 3/16" ID line is good for me, it has a pressure drop of 3 psi per foot. What pressure are you trying to dispense with? Too high a pressure could also be an issue with foaming.

Cheers

My lines are around 9 feet or more.

I have a short 3/8 from the inpost then around 8 or so feet of 3716 before the tap.

I do not force carbonate so rely initially on the pressure in the keg. It is bloody cold here at times though .

The first variable i have gotten rid of now is the over priming with sugar, next i will drop that a little more and fill less.

As i mentioned i have a stout that appears to be overcarbonated but i know i had fermentation problems with this one so it might well have been that the fermentation had not completely finished ( it was in a room where there could be huge ( 9 degrees) temperature drops between night and day). My suspicion here is that when i primed and put it into the empty fermentation cupboard with a constant temperature that maybe the fermentation completed proerly and gave the excess gass.

I will try and draw a pint off when i get back to land and if it is still really foamy then i will do like i have done before and vent off the most part of the pressure each day.

Worked out ok in the end.

thanks for the input:9

[6470zzy]

Yes, that makes sense. You venting the keg is your best course of action.

Cheers

[SiMania]

what are the pros and cons of force carbing vs priming a cornie?

[6470zzy]

Force carbing is much quicker and I believe is the path that most people follow, I personally like the quality of carbonation that I get with the priming of the corny, I don't mind the extra time or the extra yeast at the bottom of the corny. For me, the carbonation has a smoother feel to it. Just my taste though

[big yogi]

Hi guys
I'm dispensing stout using a 19ltr cornie in a fridge at 48 deg , my psi was 11, i had filled my keg above the gas pipe, my pints are always foamy I just can't get it to cascade like when I had it in a pressurised keg using priming sugar, my head is like honeycomb. if you know what I mean

what is the best size pipe's to use for dispensing?
or any other tip would be appreciated

[6470zzy]

3/16" is what I recommend. How long a piece of liquid line do you have? Vent your keg and bring your dispensing pressure down to 10 and give it a go.

Cheers

[big yogi]

i'm using beerline of 5/16 with a lenghth of 1mtr, it only coming from the fridge to my bar which is just above.

people say that you shouls have a min length of 3 mtrs? maybe thats my problem too.

oh thanks for the reply mate