Corny keg foam

[Raize]

So I've got a corny keg that's been at 10PSI at room temperature for a couple of weeks.
Attached a tap with TWENTY FEET of 0.212" ID beer line and tried to pour. It filled a glass with foam in under five seconds.

This should have been more than enough beer line to drop 10PSI. What the [censored] is going on? These kegs are pissing me off more and more every time I try to use them.

[woblylegs]

i would say its the temp. chill the keg and you should be good to go.

[Raize]

Room temperature is 14 degrees in my house so it's already quite chilly.

Does chilling the keg have any effect other than to decrease the amount of pressure I need to achieve the same level of carbonation?

Ijust dropped the pressure to 8 PSI and held the tap and glass at 2 metres above the keg when pouring and got 50% foam and 50% beer.

I can't believe that with a 20 foot line I can barely serve at 8PSI...

[woblylegs]

temp certainly affects the foaming. when the kegs chilled the beer absorbs co2 and you get less foaming. before i had the my beer fridge i was having the same problems. now my cornies are in my fridge beer serves fine and i have it set at 4psi

[Fil]

check out a kegging chart, http://www.kegerators.com/articles/carb ... -chart.php

for serving at 14C you will want a much lower serving pressure imho, crank the gas pressure down as low as you can on your reg (2-4psi), vent the keg and pour..

the relatively hi temp and low serving pressure will result in some condition loss over time, if it becomes noticable during the 'life' of the keg just up the pressure again to recondition before dropping the pressure and venting again to serve..

with a keg in this situation you may need to vent the keg to disperse excess pressure before each pouring session (once per day)

My kegs sit without temp control which means serving is way more dynamic than it would be if they were sat at a constant optimum temp, its very do-able but does need a bit more input from you managing the situation, come summer i need to employ a shelf chiller as 20c ambient temps and above are a real pita.. but at 14c it should be more than manageable..

[Raize]

I can serve perfectly through a picnic tap with 3 feet of 3/8 tubing by venting the keg.

I really wanted to be able to set the keg at a certain pressure then just leave it without any loss of condition and be able to pull a pint whenever I want.

According to the online calculators I'll need about 20PSI of pressure for 2.2vol of CO2 at room temperature or about 10PSI if I refrigerate.

[Fil]

set and forget isnt possible when the keg is sat at ambient temps which will fluctuate..
the fluctuations in temp are whats going to upset that particular apple cart, but i would suggest a simple vent prior to serving with a nominal gas pressure is hardly worth mentioning as hassle..

in the op 0.212" line is mentioned thats not 5/16" or 3/16" so im flummoxed as to what that is??

Afaik Standard line bigger than 3/16" has little restriction effect under 20m. ith internal diameter of 3/16" line is less than 1/16" (judged by eye)..

at 14C the level of condition you can expect to maintain in a keg is going to be slightly less than your average cask ale stored at Uk Pub cellar temps 11-13C

you can set the pressure at 20psi and fit a length of 25feet of microline, it will take an age to pour a pint and a slightly warm glass a speck of dust or even looking at it the wrong way will still set off a foam out if stored at 14C... that level of saturation isnt maintainable @ room temps and atmospheric pressures,

[Raize]

The hassle of the venting isn't what concerns me, it's more:
1. If you're only having a pint or two at a time the amount of CO2 wasted on re-pressurising after venting can really add up especially if the keg is nearing empty.
2. I've read that venting causes loss of hop aromas.
3. I've read that venting causes the keg to foam internally which will reduce the head retention.

The 0.212" ID line is some Valpar 5/16" OD MDP line. I was expecting 3/16" ID but this is what I got.

[Dads_Ale]

I would get some 3/16 line

[Raize]

More weirdness. I left the keg outside overnight and it chilled to 9C.
Tried serving again today (with 10PSI pressure on it from my Co2 regulator - which previously caused a glass of foam) and got barely any head at all.

I guess I need to rig up a keezer for further testing.

[Fil]

The hassle of the venting isn't what concerns me, it's more:
1. If you're only having a pint or two at a time the amount of CO2 wasted on re-pressurising after venting can really add up especially if the keg is nearing empty.
2. I've read that venting causes loss of hop aromas.
3. I've read that venting causes the keg to foam internally which will reduce the head retention.

The 0.212" ID line is some Valpar 5/16" OD MDP line. I was expecting 3/16" ID but this is what I got.

1) with 3 kegs online and having to vent each 1 before an evenings pouring a standard gas bottle has lasted over 18 months, tho i have dropped more than one bottle in the past due to a dodgy reg tap and my error in not checking..

2) possibly not noticed it myself tho the malty hoppy smell of a vent can be nice.

3) the vent isnt a hard on/off thing creating a huge drop in pressure more gradual and only vent till you hear the reg hiss more gas in .. so your not dropping below the serving pressure set just to it.. ive never had foam out of the prv..

with kegs @ ambient temps the equilibrium of temp, pressure, and absorbed co2 is dynamic and venting the keg is the cheap method of keeping on top of that. you could also look at antifobbing controllers but i suspect a keg vent would still be necessary to normalise serving pressure.

[Malthead]

I would stick to 3/16 line this should reduce the amount of foam

[Jonnyconga]

+1 for 3/16 and cooling 3/16- doesn't sound that different to 5/16 but it makes a massive difference.
I sell party taps that have 3m of 3/16 and they pour a perfect pint from 15PSI beer (all be it cooled).
Venting isn't sustainable long term IMHO.

[Raize]

It seems in the end that it was bad pouring technique causing this. I wasn't opening the tap fully instantly. Even the smallest delay appears to have the effect of "priming" the glass with a bit of foam which then caused all the other beer to foam too.

Now I can pour a glass with NO head (but plenty of fizz - although strangely it's not visible, you only feel it when drinking) at 14C and 20PSI through my 20 foot line.

[IronBlue]

Yep, type of tap makes a big difference too.

I found that Dalex-type flow-restrictor taps foamed a lot compared to Dalex free-flow taps which are much better, which is kind of counter-intuitive until you realise what is going on...

Best taps I've found for not foaming are American-style stainless taps (Perlick etc), I now run just 18 inches of 3/16 line from a 10psi keg at 10deg. No foaming at all, and a much faster flow rate.