flow control taps

[mfroes]

Hi,
I have my kegerator balanced with about 5m of 5mm ID lines.
and it pours perfectly wheat beers at about 25 PSI (makes it about 4 volumes of CO2 at 2 degrees C) on the regulator with regular intertap taps.
I have decided to get a flow control intertap and put in
cant seem to make it pour properly tried everything from the most opened to the most closed configuration but it just pours out foam.
As soon as i switch back to the regular intertaps, it goes back to pouring perfectly.
the idea was to have flow controls so i would not have any issues pouring and the tap seems to be doing exactly the opposite of what it should be doing.
Have tried increasing pressure on the regulator, but still comes out just foam.

What are your experiences with the intertap flow control ?
anyone have had that issue ?
any suggestions on going perlick flow control or euro flow control ?

 

[FarsideOfCrazy]

I've got 1 inter fc and I can't get a great pour. I have heard that there can be contaminents in a new tap, so pull it apart and give it a clean just to make sure.

 

[mfroes]

I've got 1 inter fc and I can't get a great pour. I have heard that there can be contaminents in a new tap, so pull it apart and give it a clean just to make sure.

pulled it apart, cleaned everything and greased all seals. no luck with the pour

 

[Kenf]

I used Intertap flow controls on my kegerator and got rubbish pours.
That is with Valpar super flex lines (5mm x 3.5 metres)
Swapped them with my normal Intertap off my Jockey box and at 5psi they work fine! The beer comes from an Ikegger 5litre keg through several metres of beer line and as long as the flow control is fully open it’s seems fine after the first pour.
I just finished a several thousand kilometre road trip with the Jockey box in the back of the car and as long as the beer was kept cold it was great!
To top up the 5 litre keg I had two 10 litre ones, which were in neoprene jackets. All kegs were chilled to near freezing in my kegerator befor I left!

 

[Dan Pratt]

i cant belive that you need 5 meters of beer line and 25psi...

Sure to achieve the 4volumes of carbonation, that should be achieved then back of that pressure for serving.

I have a 3 tap kegorator, using about 0.5m (500mm) of line from each keg to the taps and its served at 20kpa which is about 3psi ( carbonation is at 100kpa for 4days )

not sure how to solve your issue of using FCT though

 

[mfroes]

I used Intertap flow controls on my kegerator and got rubbish pours.
That is with Valpar super flex lines (5mm x 3.5 metres)
Swapped them with my normal Intertap off my Jockey box and at 5psi they work fine! The beer comes from an Ikegger 5litre keg through several metres of beer line and as long as the flow control is fully open it’s seems fine after the first pour.
I just finished a several thousand kilometre road trip with the Jockey box in the back of the car and as long as the beer was kept cold it was great!
To top up the 5 litre keg I had two 10 litre ones, which were in neoprene jackets. All kegs were chilled to near freezing in my kegerator befor I left!

surely will have to think on something to do with them.

 

[mfroes]

i cant belive that you need 5 meters of beer line and 25psi...

Sure to achieve the 4volumes of carbonation, that should be achieved then back of that pressure for serving.

I have a 3 tap kegerator, using about 0.5m (500mm) of line from each keg to the taps and its served at 20kpa which is about 3psi ( carbonation is at 100kpa for 4days )

not sure how to solve your issue of using FCT though

my kegerator has absolutely no leaks and i keep the gas on at all times. no issues on the past 2 years with it.
so i put on the pressure that the beer needs to be, as i do not want to loose co2 from the kegs. i have 5m tucked in on the side
I use barb fittings , so had to go 5mm ID and lot more line. had before 5mm with 3.5 which would pour ok regular ales, but going to high carb beers would foam as well,
but not as much as the FC tap is doing thou !

 

[malt and barley blues]

I don't think they have ever been a great success story.

 

[Tex083]

I have a FC tap and use is straight off the keg @ 10 PSI and get a great pour. This is for portable pouring not my kegerator.
Maybe the 5m of beer line is the issue. Can you try it with a short beer line? Maybe something temporary so you don’t stuff up the current pour.
Have a look at the kegland adjustable disconnects I think they are a better solution as the restriction isn’t the last thing in the system.

 

[Kenf]

surely will have to think on something to do with them.

Yep I do - I believe at higher pressures the flow control causes turbulence.
Interestingly I had an old round flow control device and it was much better.
I believe Kee said (whilst promoting the new flow control had the keg end), that he believed the tap fc caused excessive turbulence?

 

[peteru]

In my experience the Intertap Flow control taps are adequate to control the flow rate at a normal/low pressure. Or in other words, to compensate for a short beer line. They are not suitable for situations where you are trying to compensate for / control very high pressure.

The amount of restriction in the tap and the shape of the chamber will always cause foaming when you have a very large pressure differential. You'll end up with foam that collapses into flat beer.

Bottom line - Intertap flow control taps are not a good idea for highly carbonated beers.

 

[gaijin]

I've got a pair of these and found that the black nylon (I think) washers had started to go after only a year. These seals sat behind the interchangeable faucet. I removed them and the pour improved considerably. Maybe if they don't sit within the housing properly, they could protrude into the flow and cause turbulence? Anyway, take em out and see what happens. My pours have been alright since and haven't had any leaks.

 

[nathanvonbeerenstein]

Any time you try to control flow at the end point of dispensing, you’re going to get a less than ideal pour. This is the case with all FC type taps where the FC shuttle is right in the last 5cm. No matter how much line you have behind an FC tap and no matter how balanced it is you are still disrupting the laminar flow all that line has worked so hard to create. I’ve got one on my keezer just for bottle filling and the odd highly carbed beers but it is temperamental and like to be cold before it’s willing to work with me. You sort of need to have all the right ingredients for it to endure the turbulence they inherently bring to the party.
Gotta say though, I’ve got one of the new FC disconnects and they work darn well since the beer has a bit of time after the restriction to get its **** back together and settle back down before exiting the tap. I use mine right on top of the keg with a tap mounted to an mfl adapter:View attachment 114766

 

[mfroes]

anyone have any ideas on other flow control taps ?
are they all faulty like this ?

 

[moonhead]

My Intertap FC taps are hopeless as well. I don't serve with high pressure normally, but I keep the lines balanced with about 5 metres of 4mm Valpar line, the FC taps always poor hopeless. Switch the tpas around and all is good in the world. What I've taken to, with decent success, is removing the "FC" innards, leaving it an empty chamber in it's place. I've used Perlick FC taps as well, and also not been impressed. A big problem they get is getting clogged with hop matter, I suspect people will start experiencing this more and more with the popularity of NEIPAs.

 

[JDW81]

anyone have any ideas on other flow control taps ?
are they all faulty like this ?

I've got 4 perlick FC taps and am very happy with them. Never had an issue with balancing/pouring foam/flat beer/clogging with hop matter (and I've put some very hoppy beers through them). I carbonate and serve at usually 12 PSI (depending on what I've got on tap), which gives me excellent results. I haven't experimented with highly carbed beers yet (I ran my last hefe at 12 PSI and it was bloody lovely).

I've got 1-1.5m of 5mm beer line on each of them (depending on the location in the fridge) via John Guest fittings and long SS shanks in the fridge door.

They get pulled apart and lubed after every keg, and haven't missed a beat in 2 years so far. I'd buy them again/more of them if I were to upgrade my keg fridge.

Just my experience with them, obviously can't speak for others.

JD

 

[Kenf]

anyone have any ideas on other flow control taps ?
are they all faulty like this ?

I don’t think they are faulty - just their purpose is misunderstood!
Afterall the guys who used to flog them now have a better solution.
I think back to my days as a cellarman (in the days of the old 18 gallon kegs which you really did spear!) and we wouldn’t shake up a keg, spear it, hook it up to a temprite and expect it would pour perfectly first pour!

 

[fdsaasdf]

My Perlick FCs work fine, very happy with them and wish I bought more when the AUD was >1USD.

They're especially handy when serving from a jockey box or mini keg; avoid a lot of wastage and thirsty campers/travellers/revellers

 

[VicBadgery]

Interested in seeing that image. Click ==> error message. Could you re-upload?

...
Gotta say though, I’ve got one of the new FC disconnects and they work darn well since the beer has a bit of time after the restriction to get its **** back together and settle back down before exiting the tap. I use mine right on top of the keg with a tap mounted to an mfl adapter:View attachment 114766

 

[JDW81]

Has anyone used both FC and regular taps with equal success? What made it work if you did?

I wonder how much is has to do with trying to using a FC tap in a similar manner to a regular tap? I.e. do they each need a different line/serving pressure set up (I can't answer as I've only ever had FC taps).