Bubbles In Gas Line

[SerLung]

hey - not sure how much info needed for assistance! please ask if needed.

beer in keg - after a while (30 mins) some of the beer that in in the line goes backinto the keg, meaning thatmy next pour splutters until the line is full (1/3 of a schooner)
using 2 meters of line into a hand gun.

thoughts?

 

[Droughtmaster]

hey - not sure how much info needed for assistance! please ask if needed.

beer in keg - after a while (30 mins) some of the beer that in in the line goes backinto the keg, meaning thatmy next pour splutters until the line is full (1/3 of a schooner)
using 2 meters of line into a hand gun.

thoughts?

is the beer in your gas line or is there gas in ya beer line ?
temp and gas pressure settings would make it easier to work out whats going on

 

[SerLung]

sorry realised the wrong title. its the beer line that is bubbly.
4 kegs on the line, pressure just under 50
fridge temp about 4ish degrees.

 

[Droughtmaster]

sorry realised the wrong title. its the beer line that is bubbly.
4 kegs on the line, pressure just under 50
fridge temp about 4ish degrees.

have to ask 50 what psi ,kpa,
i am guessing u have 4 kegs hooked up to a single regulator ?
as they will all eventualy settle out at the same pressure

 

[SerLung]

yep 4 kegs 1 reg
50 kpa

 

[Droughtmaster]

yep 4 kegs 1 reg
50 kpa

not to sure what that pressure is as my regulator is in PSI and BAR if u can find a comparison chart somewhere i have mine set on 12 psi and the temp is set at 3C i get a nice creamy head and a nice pouring beer .
having said that every system is diferent, but that should give ya somewhere to start with pressures ect,
i am guessing that this system has just been set up ??
has it been set up for long ? has it poured ok b4 ? or is it a new system ?
anyone else ?

 

[wombil]

50kpa=7psi

 

[wombil]

I run at 70 kpa,works for me.
First thing I would do is spray soapy water over everything and check for leaks.Right back to the regulator or non return valve.

 

[crd0902]

If your loosing pressure in the beer line I would say that it may have a leak. Also I have read something about co2 coming out of solution when it warms up and causes bubbles in the lines. My first pour I always pour a little bit into a container to clear the line and also if I haven't poured a beer for about 20 minutes otherwise I'll end up with a squirt of foam.

 

[kymba]

or maybe your keg/s is overcarbed? how do you gas them up?

 

[QldKev]

Have a read of this thread and see if it helps.

Where did you get the 50kpa rule from?

 

[Nossil]

I used to get bubbles in my beer line.
It was because I force carbed (cold keg @ 300kpa for 24 hours then leave regulator at around 80-90kpa for a few days) and because my beer line was too wide (6mm) and too short (2meters) i turned the regulator down to around 50kpa (after the beer was fully carbed) so beer wouldn't shoot out of the tap.

This meant that the pressure being sent from the regulator to the keg was lower than what was in the keg, which resulted in CO2 escaping from the beer in the beer line and a nice spurt of froth from the tap which is what you're experiencing.

Thanks to the helpful ppl on this forum it was suggested not to decrease the serving pressure, instead keep it at what I want my beer carbonated at (say 80-90kpa) and increase the length and reduce the ID of my beer line. Problem solved!

 

[GalBrew]

I used to get bubbles in my beer line.
It was because I force carbed (cold keg @ 300kpa for 24 hours then leave regulator at around 80-90kpa for a few days) and because my beer line was too wide (6mm) and too short (2meters) i turned the regulator down to around 50kpa (after the beer was fully carbed) so beer wouldn't shoot out of the tap.

This meant that the pressure being sent from the regulator to the keg was lower than what was in the keg, which resulted in CO2 escaping from the beer in the beer line and a nice spurt of froth from the tap which is what you're experiencing.

Thanks to the helpful ppl on this forum it was suggested not to decrease the serving pressure, instead keep it at what I want my beer carbonated at (say 80-90kpa) and increase the length and reduce the ID of my beer line. Problem solved!

You could very well have a leak. I have a leaky keg which still has beer in it (and needs to be fixed) and everytime I pour, little bubbles form in the beer line causing a massive amount of head to form. This does not happen on other non-leaky kegs.

 

[QldKev]

You could very well have a leak. I have a leaky keg which still has beer in it (and needs to be fixed) and everytime I pour, little bubbles form in the beer line causing a massive amount of head to form. This does not happen on other non-leaky kegs.

Your kegs are pressurized with CO2. If they leak, they would allow CO2 to escape, not draw air in....

QldKev

 

[pcmfisher]

Simple really.
You do not have enough serving pressure to keep the co2 in solution.
Either your keg is over carbed or your serving pressure is too low.

 

[Ross]

Simple really.
You do not have enough serving pressure to keep the co2 in solution.
Either your keg is over carbed or your serving pressure is too low.

Wow, a really sensible, simple answer amongst some shocking replies.... Might copy this for future pasting, as this question in it's many guises gets asked all the time


Cheers Ross

 

[Sammus]

I think it's temperature related. I've always had a fully balanced keg system, carbing at serving pressure etc, and have always had gas in my beer lines. What happens is that because the taps are exposed, they obviously not at fridge temperature. Hence nor is the beer sitting in them, or in the line behind them. solubility of CO2 decreases at temperature of the liquid increases, so CO2 comes out of the slightly warmer beer around the tap, and sits as a bubble at the top of the line, waiting to give you a dollop of foam on your next pour

 

[Sam England]

Just to complicate things for Ross, how warm is your tap and line.

I have the same issue on my rig with the first pour of the day especially in Summer due to the tap and the first bit of beer warming up and CO2 coming out of solution. (ie can't dissolve as much CO2 in the warmer beer). It's also the highest point on my system, so any bubbles that don't redissolve will rise to the highest point giving the jet of CO2 with the first pour. No issues with subsequent pours unless it's 40deg in the garage!! I run around 7-8PSI, but only carb under pouring pressure.

Cheers,

BB

Edit: Beaten by Sammus

 

[SerLung]

Simple really.
You do not have enough serving pressure to keep the co2 in solution.
Either your keg is over carbed or your serving pressure is too low.

yep thanks. this makes sense. ok, so the keg is over carbed... how do i bring it back?

(thanks to all the other posters, there are no leaks, plus being a hand gun, the entire tap and line is in the chest fridge)

 

[crd0902]

Never done it but pretty sure if you disconnect the lines and burp the keg every couple hrs over a day or so it will drop the carbonation. Hope that's not one of the shocking answers but someone will say if it's wrong.