# Flow Control Beer Tap



## pfitz (30/4/12)

Evening all,

I have just purchased a Flow control beer tap (fridge type).

After installation, it seems that it is only good for froth making.
I tried the brew with my gun and everything seems fine, but with the tap even wide open, half a glass of beer and half a glass of foam (you can even hear it whistling through the tap).

I suppose I should have asked here first (slow learner).

I dropped the serving presure to 40kpa, shortened the tube run, still no joy, am I wasting my time (got pretty pissed trying so not all lost).

Should I cut my losses or is there anything I could do?

Don't want to throw away $100, but will if it is a lost cause, so be it.

Looking for some suggestions I guess 

Thanks

Fitz


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## Verbyla (30/4/12)

What temp are the kegs sitting at?

What length and diameter are the beer lines?


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## pfitz (30/4/12)

Verbyla said:


> What temp are the kegs sitting at?
> 
> What length and diameter are the beer lines?




Kegs are at approx. 5 deg C.
Length is now approx 1 meter, 6mm ID (was 2 meters), tap is about 400mm above keg.

Is this what you are after?



Fitz


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## pk.sax (30/4/12)

You have to remember that the gun is cold inside the beer fridge while the tap is warm, so the question is, did you pour a few one after the other, not changing any settings.

I adjust mine by starting at the slowest and increasing flow till I start getting a bit of foam.


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## pfitz (30/4/12)

practicalfool said:


> You have to remember that the gun is cold inside the beer fridge while the tap is warm, so the question is, did you pour a few one after the other, not changing any settings.
> 
> I adjust mine by starting at the slowest and increasing flow till I start getting a bit of foam.



I checked by feel and the tap was cold.

As I said, was heading towards pissed, yep tried a few and didn't seem to make much difference, beer was good though 

I could hear it whistling through the tap, came out like a Guinness head, not all froth and bubbles but real tight head.

Fitz


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## mikec (30/4/12)

Longer line or 5mm ID, or both.


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## Verbyla (30/4/12)

When I designed my system I used this CHART to work out beer line length based on internal diameter. Based on the chart it looks like you could be a little short.

Reducing the temperature of your kegs to 2-3 degrees might also help to reduce foaming

Hope this helps


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## Fourstar (30/4/12)

For standard carbonation you want around 4M of 5mm ID line for typical carbonation 80-100kpa.

How this is effected by flow control taps, I'm not the man to answer. Alli can think is forcing beer thru 1M at standard carb is too quick.

As also noted temp differential of tap doesn't help either.


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## glenwal (1/5/12)

He has flow control taps. The whole point of having them is so you don't need 4m of beer line coiled up in the fridge.

If you close the flow control right up, how long does out take to fill a glass?

also, how far below the tap its your glass?


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## DanteHicks (1/5/12)

I don't suppose there is a leak somewere letting air in near the tap?

I don't know if a leak will cause this or not, just a guess.


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## pfitz (1/5/12)

Thanks for the replies.

I think I may have a dud tap.
During a pour it sounds the same as with my gun that I dont open fully and get a glass of foam.
I upped the serving pressure to 100 KPA, not much faster pour but more foam.

I'll check it out tonight when I get home.

Thanks all.


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## Camo1234 (1/5/12)

Fill a keg with water and run that thro0ugh the tap.... If you are still hearing some sort of hissing sound then there may be an issue with the tap but if it pours nicely with no agitation then its likely to be beer related etc.

You may have just overcarbed your keg, even for the flow control taps... I force carbed a keg a few days ago and left it on too long and even on the lowest flow I still got half a glass of foam.... reduced the serving pressure, shook the keg and released the gas valve a few times to let some excess gas out of the beer then let it sit for a day and pours perfectly now  


Good luck!


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## QldKev (1/5/12)

Fitz said:


> Thanks for the replies.
> 
> I think I may have a dud tap.
> During a pour it sounds the same as with my gun that I dont open fully and get a glass of foam.
> ...




What brand / where did you get it from. I'm wondering if there is some poor casting in the tap causing the CO2 to come out of solution. Pull the tap aprt and have a look where the beer runs, it should be smooth. 

QldKev


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## stux (1/5/12)

Also check your shank. One of my shanks has a flaw in the middle which causes foaming


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## Logman (1/5/12)

Glen W said:


> He has flow control taps. The whole point of having them is so you don't need 4m of beer line coiled up in the fridge.
> 
> If you close the flow control right up, how long does out take to fill a glass?


What he said ^^

Assume that you wound it right back to the point that no beer came out when you tried to pour?

Get the pressure to 70 or whatever you drink at, then turn the flow control lever to the point that you get no beer coming out at all when you turn the tap on - then turn the flow control lever very slowly until you get some beer coming out. Should be simple from there...


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## pfitz (1/5/12)

Guys, (and girls I suppose),

Had a look at it today before beers, hooked up my gun, great pour and flow.

Tried again with the tap with the same result as before. I have to say even with the control all the open, flow is pretty poor even at 80KPA serving pressure. 
I think this is the root of the problem, as I said at 80kpa and 1 meter of 6mm hose it still takes 15+ seconds to fill a pot (even with foam).

Even if I blow through it (breath) it seems there is not much flow. I think if the flow was better, the problems would be less.

I cant try a water only test as I dont have a spare keg to try it with until I empty one.

I bought the tap from "MyBeerShop.com.au", generally they are pretty good with fast delivery etc. and I have no complaints to date.

I dont believe the beer is over-carbed as it pours fine via the gun and if I hook up my other keg to the tap I get the same result.

Thanks to all.


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## Batz (1/5/12)

As Kev asked what brand of tap do you have?

Does your adjustment move easily and are far as you would expect? Remove the tap from the shank and see if you have more movement on the lever.

The reason I ask is because as you open the flow control the inside of the tap opens and moves towards the shank, if it fouls on the shank you are gaining nothing ie: it's not opening. I hope I've made this clear, remove the tap and try it you'll see what I'm on about.
I have seen a tap that could not be adjusted because of the shank.

Batz


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## glenwal (1/5/12)

Are you sure you have it fully open and not fully closed? 15 seconds for a pot seems extremely slow with only 1m of 6mm ID line - with such a short line it should be pouring that in a second or two since there isn't anything holding it back.

Also - how does your pouring method compare between the gun and the tap? With the gun, i imagine you are pouring onto the side of the glass? With the tap - are you holding the glass close to the tap and tilting the glass or just sitting it on a drip tray underneath?


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## QldKev (1/5/12)

Fitz said:


> <<snip>>
> 
> I bought the tap from "MyBeerShop.com.au", generally they are pretty good with fast delivery etc. and I have no complaints to date.
> 
> <<snip>>





The answer to your problem is HERE

THIS may help you fix it


QldKev


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## Maheel (1/5/12)

is it one like this ?

have a play with the screw on the front a little (near that little spring)

also the bit that the control lever slots into and goes into the side of the tap may be upside down. (rotate it 180 deg)
i would pull it apart and put it back together to see if it fixes it...


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## pfitz (1/5/12)

Batz,

I've pulled it apart and it does move, but not very far. As it is a cone shape, moving it toward the spout increases the gap and should increase the flow but it doesn't move nearly far enough.

From QldKev's post it is exactly like the one in the post he points to.
I think I will drill a new "cam" hole and give that a go or as the post suggests, throw the cone away and get 4 meters of beer line.



Fitz


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## Ross (1/5/12)

Fitz said:


> Batz,
> 
> I've pulled it apart and it does move, but not very far. As it is a cone shape, moving it toward the spout increases the gap and should increase the flow but it doesn't move nearly far enough.
> 
> ...



Just return it & get a refund!!!


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## pk.sax (2/5/12)

Something comes to mind. Do you have the lever pointing back towards the shank or forward towards you?

I think they are meant to be forward and there might be the source of restriction of the lever...


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## pfitz (2/5/12)

Well today is another day.

I think it has to go back. Pulled it apart last night and think I know what the problem is. Poor Workmanship.
Full range of the restrictor is approx 1.5mm, at fully open (restrictor), operation of the tap hits the back of the restrictor blocking the holes that pass the beer therefore poor flow and foam produced by it trying to rush around 400 corners.

I'll let you know how I go with the return.

Thanks to all for your help and ideas.

Cheers...


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## glenwal (2/5/12)

Ross said:


> Just return it & get a refund!!!



Then get your self one of these


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## QldKev (2/5/12)

Glen W said:


> Then get your self one of these




+1

Celli's are probably the best tap, but they are too expensive for my kit.

I have the perlick's from that other thread, and they rock! Smooth and a great pour every time. 


QldKev


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## trevgale (25/7/13)

I'm new to AG brewing and kegging. I have built a keezer an figured that I would use flow control taps to reduce the beer line length. I have found that they reduce the flow rate dramatically while still causing the beer to foam. I expect that this is due to the cone arrangement in my cheap $40 flow control taps, is may not be an issue with more expensive flow control taps such as the Perlick 545PC.

Anyway I thought I would share my experience, I have swapped to Perlick 525SS taps with 2.5m of 5mm flexmaster II beerlines. Anyway this has reduced my foaming problem and increased the flowrate, the only negative is a small amount of coiled beer line which can sit around the top of the keg and is not really an issue.

I also noticed the the cheap chrome plated flow control tap was stained and the chrome was removed in sections within 2 weeks of being used.

So my advice would be to forget about cheap flow control taps and trying to reduce the length of your beer lines, the length of the beer line required for a balanced system can be easily kept within a fridge or freezer and results in a better pour and flowrate. Forget the flow control taps and live with the extra beer line length and use a decent tap.


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