Kegerator Setup - Carbination & Balancing

[neo__04]

Hey all,

Posted a few tops relating to overcarbing my kegs etc, but I think probably my system isnt balanced either which wouldnt be helping.

I put the details into the keg balancing system excel spreadsheet and it came up with my beer line of 19m.... What the??
Serving at about 5 degrees, and beer tap is about 1/2 meter from centre of top of keg, and it tells me 19m lenght for beer line. Surely thats not correct.

I'm using 5mm Barfell beer line. If anyone could give me some guidance on balancing this properly, that would be great.

Thanks heaps

 

[Brewme]

When I first got my kegerator, I did a fair bit of reading about about connections.

The guy at the LHBS told me I should have 2 metres of beer line. Some suggest about 4 metres.

My 2nd kegerator came with two 1 metre hoses with fittings...1 for each tap.

Once I carbonate the beer, it pours nicely.

But if the beer is over carbonated, you will get froth. No matter how long the hose is. IMO.

I have 2 hoses at 2.4 metres long and 2 hoses at 1 metre long. They do the same job. They are the standard 5mm type.

Reduce your dispensing pressure. You don't need to fill a glass in 2 seconds. Slow it down and give it a burst of gas when it starts to trickle. You'll be good for another 3-4 glasses providing the beer is not over carbonated. Even if it is, pour the beer into a jug and wait for it to settle and pour from there 'till some of the carbonation in the keg is exhausted.

There's so much mumbo jumbo hype written about hose lengths, diameters, distances from keg to tap etc, etc, etc.

With a bit of trial and error, I got my system working perfectly.

Persevere and you'll be pulling a perfect beer.

Xmas cheers

 

[haysie]

OP.. Neo
That best source of information to get what you paid for working, would be the supplier. 19 mtrs aint right.

 

[neo__04]

I build the kegerator myself, so I am the supplier, and i got no idea. lol. I have 2 taps, both with 2 meters of beer line on them, serving at about 80kpa.
Maybe ive just massively overcarbed the kegs, I'll work on that and see how i got.

 

[scott_penno]

No offence, but I suspect the issue may be the use of the balancing spreadsheet. I've just put in 5oC, 2.5vol, 0.5m above center of keg and 3/16" ID (closest to 5mm) and it spits out somewhere between 1.13m and 1.24m.

sap.

 

[goomboogo]

Neo, I think Haysie means, ask the person you purchased the beer line from.

 

[kierent]

I'd have to agree that in my experience the biggest cause of froth was over carbonated beer not length of line. having said that I have 2m of beer line which is what most people say to start at. I have stopped carbonating the quick way (crank to 50psi, lay the keg on it's side and shake for a min)- now I keg the beer and leave it in the fridge at about 15psi for 4-5 days then down to 8psi for serving. I haven't had frothy beer since. Yes you have to be a bit more patient and if I ever need a keg carbed in a hurry I'll probably still use the quick way, but the slow way seems to work much better.

Try relieving the pressure in the keg a few times a day to let the keg go flat then carb it back up the slow way and see if that helps.