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Draught Line Balancing

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  • Draught Line Balancing

    Hi Guys,

    I have a Corney Keg Setup and I can't seem to get my Lines balanced to get foam free pours!

    I thought that it was the beer line that I had, so I got some from The Beer Keg, it is http://www.thebeerkeg.co.za/catalog/...per-meter.html the id is 3/8" I dropped the pressure in the keg to 10 psi and it is sitting at about 3 degrees. I left the line at about 5m long and am still getting foam.

    I can't think of anything that I have missed and am very frustrated. Any advice?

    Thanks
    bluemountainbrew.co.za



    Primary:
    Secondary: Apple & Cranberry Wine, Strawberry Wine, Mead,
    Conditioning:
    Bottled/Kegged: Black Ale/BIPA (SYSF)
    Next Up:​ ?Chocolate Peanut Butter Stout?

  • #2
    Have you checked the O-ring on your liquid out tube on keg? I had similar issues and it just poured foam. At your pressure and temp with 5 m of hose it should be adequate. Is the hose inside the fridge i.e. cold?
    I spent 90% of my money on brewing and drinking beer and the other 10% I wasted

    Comment


    • #3
      Yes, tube is in the fridge, and I have replaced all the O-rings.
      bluemountainbrew.co.za



      Primary:
      Secondary: Apple & Cranberry Wine, Strawberry Wine, Mead,
      Conditioning:
      Bottled/Kegged: Black Ale/BIPA (SYSF)
      Next Up:​ ?Chocolate Peanut Butter Stout?

      Comment


      • #4
        hi there
        I have the same problem did you get yours sorted
        Phillip

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by Cater For Me View Post
          hi there
          I have the same problem did you get yours sorted
          Phillip
          Not really, I have been using a carbonation cap to fill 2L bottles and pouring from there. To be 100% honest, I haven't really had time to troubleshoot much more than I already have done!
          bluemountainbrew.co.za



          Primary:
          Secondary: Apple & Cranberry Wine, Strawberry Wine, Mead,
          Conditioning:
          Bottled/Kegged: Black Ale/BIPA (SYSF)
          Next Up:​ ?Chocolate Peanut Butter Stout?

          Comment


          • #6
            hi there will try again phoned a dispensing company yesterday and said I must try balance the pressure so gona try 1 and half bare and close the small lever on the tap and slowly open that and see what happens. will let you know the outcome. where do you get the carbonation caps from?
            Lekker braai
            P

            Comment


            • #7
              I got them from Australia via ebay, was quite expensive to ship!
              bluemountainbrew.co.za



              Primary:
              Secondary: Apple & Cranberry Wine, Strawberry Wine, Mead,
              Conditioning:
              Bottled/Kegged: Black Ale/BIPA (SYSF)
              Next Up:​ ?Chocolate Peanut Butter Stout?

              Comment


              • #8
                Re-looking at your first post. You have 3/8 beer line (ID I assume), that is almost 10mm ID, that's like a garden hose pipe! If you google beer line balancing you will notice how high internal diameter beer line does not create enough drag or friction, see link below. Significant friction losses only really start to come into play when the beer line down is about 3/16 or about 5mm ID. For some reason this beer line is very difficult to get hold of in SA but seems the norm elsewhere. I am bringing some in and I am going to test it.

                Check out this link (note the pressure loss tables at the bottom of the sheet). Assuming your 3/8 line - according to the tables you will only loose 0.26 PSI per 10ft of line. You have 5m, this is (15ft) so you only loose ±0.4 PSI. Dropping the pressure to 10PSI is still way off the mark. If you use 3/16 line assuming 3 m (±10ft) you would loose 7.5 PSI and if you add the pressure loss from the tap and the pressure head you would be in the right ballpark and you would be at about 2 volumes CO2 (good for ales) and the line would be balanced.

                www.pjmuth.org/beerstuff/Carbonation_Table.xls



                I spent 90% of my money on brewing and drinking beer and the other 10% I wasted

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Rooster View Post
                  You have 3/8 beer line (ID I assume), that is almost 10mm ID, that's like a garden hose pipe!
                  It's not impossible that I have the measurement wrong, the Website doesn't have the measurement on it and the whole inches thing is a mess for me anyway! It fits snugly on to a 6mm barb attachment that I have fitted to my tap!
                  bluemountainbrew.co.za



                  Primary:
                  Secondary: Apple & Cranberry Wine, Strawberry Wine, Mead,
                  Conditioning:
                  Bottled/Kegged: Black Ale/BIPA (SYSF)
                  Next Up:​ ?Chocolate Peanut Butter Stout?

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I agree this inches and fractions is a messy business. The 3/8 is the OD, your line is probably a 1/4 inch, about 6mm. If you look at the Excel spreadsheet in the link. You have 10 PSI at about 2 degC (36F), that will give you about 2.4 volume CO2. If you have 5m of 1/4 or 6mm beer line you will need a flow rate of about 5 lit per minute, that is fast and if the beer hits a warm tap it will foam profusely. If you have a flow restrictor on your tap, close it and only allow a very small stream of beer to cool the tap down, once it is cold, then open the tap fully and pour very fast. That's what I do and it works well at about 10PSI and 2oC.
                    I spent 90% of my money on brewing and drinking beer and the other 10% I wasted

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Rooster View Post
                      If you have a flow restrictor on your tap, close it and only allow a very small stream of beer to cool the tap down, once it is cold, then open the tap fully and pour very fast. That's what I do and it works well at about 10PSI and 2oC.
                      Unfortunately I don't have the flow control taps! It is on my wishlist! My taps aren't mounted anywhere, so when I was doing the test, the tap was in the fridge with the line, so it should have been cold. I think the best way forward is to get the flow control taps!
                      bluemountainbrew.co.za



                      Primary:
                      Secondary: Apple & Cranberry Wine, Strawberry Wine, Mead,
                      Conditioning:
                      Bottled/Kegged: Black Ale/BIPA (SYSF)
                      Next Up:​ ?Chocolate Peanut Butter Stout?

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Or reduce the diameter of your beer line, that is the cheapest option. I am bringing some back with me but I will only be back in SA on 22 Oct if you can wait that long, I will also have the small S/steel nipple connections to slide the line onto.
                        I spent 90% of my money on brewing and drinking beer and the other 10% I wasted

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          hi there
                          I got mine sorted. Sedic from beftec was very helpful as I bought my keging stuff from them. Im only using a 1m thin tube and use the control on the tap and pushed up the co2 to about 1.8bar to balance the preasure. the control tap allowed me to pour slow and not getting al that foam. once it was cold I droped the co2 pressure and open the control tap a bit more and was working fine.
                          will def try again today and see what happens. oh and I let the oxygen out first.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Bumping the thread:

                            - does anybody have a metric formula for line length calculation?
                            - does anybody tune their beer and gas line lengths? longer for thinner beer, shorter for heavier beers?

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Not sure if i'm helping here..

                              i've seen that many of the kegs/systems are Imperial based

                              basically have to do the conversions to metric.

                              i found this usefull

                              http://beersmith.com/blog/2011/07/14...of-draft-beer/
                              Craft beer is a cool way to deny your alcohol problem.

                              Why drink something that’s just cold when you can have something this cool?


                              Craft Beer?
                              I’d Tap That!

                              Comment

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