Problem With Keg Line

[vh_202]

Hi guys im all pretty new to this and still fine tuning the setup really but i am having some trouble with the line from my keg to the beer tap i have.
The line continuously gets a build up of air in the tap end after say half an hour of not being used. I would like to fix this. at first i thought that the tap must not be sealing properly somewhere and checked out all the seals/o-rings but nothing appears to be wrong with them except for maybe a little piece missing from where the snaplock fitting is.
The tap is this Andale one Link
after viewing the parts breakdown i was wondering if it could be the spring that needs replacing.
Any help would be appreciated aas not only does it introduce infection it makes me waste beer

 

[Jye]

Hi vh_202,

It probably isn't a leak, since the keg and lines are under pressure if you had a leak beer would be coming out of it. It sounds like the co2 is coming out of the beer and sitting in the lines. You will find this gives you a lot of foam when you pour a beer, either just let it sit or pour and chuck a few hundred ml.

Jye
:beer:

 

[FNQ Bunyip]

I think you will find that its CO2 coming out of solution. Not Air .
A presserised system would be hard pushed to suck air in .
Maybe the temp just behind the tap is a few degrees higher than the temp of the beer in the keg , thus causing the CO2 to separate. Maybe insulate the beer line from keg to tap , or install a computer type fan in your keg fridge so that its all the same temp...

Hope that helps :beer:

 

[bindi]

Love that link, check those fonts out

 

[FNQ Bunyip]

beat me jye. im to slow typing.. lol

Cheers

 

[vh_202]

so this sort of amount of gas in the line is normal?
Pic

Because it seems like an awful amount even though i can understand that the gas would be coming out due to the drop in temp. would this be forcing the beer that is already in the line to drop back into the keg? because the line is full of beer before this happens.

insulating it sounds like a good idea. only problem is then i wouldnt be able to see wether it was still happening......

 

[GMK]

it can also be that u have gassed the keg at a high pressure and you are pouring at too low a prsure for the CO2 that is in solution.

ie - gas at 300kpa and pour at 100 kpa = 200kpa difference - the beer will want equilibrium - hence co2 comes out of solution.
Also depends on size and length of beer line.
If it is 4mm and 3-5 meters long you get a greater presure drop over the line so the pouring presure can be greater = greater presure keeping the co2 in solution.
4mm line is way better than 6mm line.

Slotions;
1/ Goto 4mm and increase line length.
2/ Decrease gassing pressure and increase pouring pressure aim for gassing at 150-200kpa nd pour at 100-150kpa
3/ With the Andale Pull down tap , you can adjust the pour - just open the handle a wee bit - u will hear teh bubbles in the line come out of the tap. When u cant hear the sound of the bubbles anymore - open tap fully.
This will reduce the amount of foam in the glass and give you a better pour.

Hope this all makes sense and helps

 

[GMK]

so this sort of amount of gas in the line is normal?
Pic

Because it seems like an awful amount even though i can understand that the gas would be coming out due to the drop in temp. would this be forcing the beer that is already in the line to drop back into the keg? because the line is full of beer before this happens.

insulating it sounds like a good idea. only problem is then i wouldnt be able to see wether it was still happening......

[post="104562"][/post]​

No - that is way too much....

 

[PistolPatch]

I'm pretty sure that it won't be your tap. I'm having a guess here but it may be that air is being sucked in at the keg end when you pour. I vaguely remember something weird like this happening years ago in my pub days - no leaks but air was getting sucked in.

If you have a spare liquid connector you could try that first and if the problem persists, try a new post on your next keg though I really doubt the post would be the problem.

I know this sounds weird, as you'd think it would leak if the above was the case. It's just one of those things where there is enough pressure to seal the leak when you are not pouring.

Cheers
PP