Kegerator Help Pls!

[JDOGG2]

Im new to home brewing, kegging and the whole kegerator setup but these forums have been a massive help. I do need some help with the kegerator that I have just purchased and couldnt find anything that answered this specific question.

I purchased the following:

- Kegerator (2m of line etc included, goes to -4 degrees)
- Gas bottle
- Mini regulator
- Perlicks flow control taps
- Stainless steel font

I am just about to start brewing my own beer but over the Christmas / New Year I purcahsed a keg of Carlton Draught just to share around with the boys when the drop in.

The Kegerator sits in an outdoor kitchen. The biggest issue I am having is too much froth/head. When I first picked up the Carlton drought keg I had the gas running into it for about 12 hours at 20psi. Was this the wrong thing to do?

I pour at about 10-12psi and when I pour the first beer it is full glass of froth. If I am pouring 2 or more glasses at a time its perfect and the beer is fine however if I let it sit for a few minutes the next beer that I pour is terrible again and full of froth.

Basically, every single time I pour beer after leaving the kegerator for a few minutes or more its just froth for the first pour.

I really am at a loss as to why this is happening, I thought that maybe I purchase a font fan and this will cool the beer line in the font and this may help? Is the beer line too short at 2m? Am I doing something wrong with the gas? Is the temp wrong?

Its pretty frustrating however I did know this would be a bit of trial and error.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[MastersBrewery]

8-10 psi is where I would aim for, and probably longer line ...say 3m and work your way down from there. Also if this is one of the shop bought kegerators with font ontop the beer in the line can warm up in the line inside the font, this will give you a heady beer first up. There are accessories you can buy to fix this, some of the guys with these can make better comment.
Good luck
MB

ED oops didn't read properly: with the FC Perlic line length should be of no concern. Just be sure for flow control the control is all the way down for stop and slow open till you get the right pour consistency. (some of us were using them in reverse and had very inconsistent pours)

 

[Camo1234]

When you say outdoor kitchen how hot is it getting out there?

Try taking the keg off the gas and let it pour under its own pressure until it does not come out... Then turn the gas on low (10) and see if it is still happening.

No need to worry about line lengths with the FC.... Just turn it down as low as it goes for the first pour and adjust from there.

 

[Camo1234]

Ps... Your kegerator is just like your girlfriend.... They are all the same in essence and your mates can give you tips but sometimes you just need to try different things and see what works with yours..... Eventually you'll get to know her just right!

 

[JDOGG2]

Cheers for the replies. The fridge is outdoor so it can get pretty hot. I was thinking about getting a font fan, anyone use any other methods other than the fan?

 

[Donske]

Cheers for the replies. The fridge is outdoor so it can get pretty hot. I was thinking about getting a font fan, anyone use any other methods other than the fan?

I just sacrifice a small amount of beer on really hot days, about 100ml is enough to get cold beer up to the tap.

I'll be looking at installing a font fan before next summer though, at the moment I can't trust anyone else to pour a beer, constantly cleaning out my drip tray.

 

[JDOGG2]

I just can't cop this much waste all the time. I hate throwing out the first pour.

I'll try a font fan and see how that goes.

 

[Spiesy]

The CD keg should have already been carbonated, so really you shouldn't have been adding anything above 12-psi to it (generally speaking).

I have flow controls as well, and whilst it's true that you can get a good pour with any line length by riding the FC's, it's a massive pain in the arse and I recommend balancing your keg system correctly to start with. Have a read up on "keg balancing" - it involves variables such as beer line internal diameter, height of taps from centre of keg, temperature of beer and required carbonation level. Mine now pour heaps better, for everyone - and I still have the option of using the flow control for the first pour, or any troublesome beer.

And as others have already rightly pointed out, if your font is exposed to high temperatures, you're going to have some problems with frothing on your first pour - some members have reported improvements with a font fan.

 

[nfsrcl]

I'm new to the forum, Still trying to learn the language, (I had to look up what a font is.) I see two different problems for your beer pour foam issue. First problem, if you ignore the heat issue with the font heating up, you need to balance your beer line as Spiesy suggested. I use 3/16" serving line...5mm. I'd start with around 3.5m length,You might want to start at 4m you can always shorten it if you have no foam issue and want to speed up the pour. You then need to chill the font with a fan blowing cold air from the bottom of your kegerator to the tower (Font)

 

[beerbog]

Cold keg + hot font = big head. Cool the font. There are some font coolers out there. :beerbang:

 

[mxd]

your've over carbonated your keg, search you'll see it's very common

even with flow controls taps you can set the flow to a dribble and still may have issues.

 

[raz7au]

Hey mate, i had the same issue, I had purchased some 50l commercial kegs and a kegerator,
Once connected running at 8psi, it was all just head and flowing as fast as you can imagine.
I ended up just turning off the gas and using the gas in the keg until it was too slow pouring Then connected the gas back up.
ope this helps
Rey

 

[JDOGG2]

Cheers, I'll give that a crack and see how it goes. I just purchased a font fan as well which may help..

 

[pk.sax]

Yep, if your subsequent pours are ok seems like it's the hot font/tap that is your biggest issue. Rest might be working just fine. Use the fan or flood the font if it's flood-able. Frequently used the trick to trickle the first quarter of a pint out with the perlicks flow control and then the tap chills down for good flow.