PSA: Consider removing your keg tap springs

[BrewLizard]

Just had an amazing discovery – apologies to anyone who already found this obvious, but I think it could have been a bit unique*.

So I built a 3-keg keezer in about June 2020 out of a chest freezer + STC1000 + enclosure to make it wife-friendly in the living room. Initially, I feel like I got the lines balanced for 12 psi (approx. 1.6 m each for 4 mm ID). I wasn't liking how my early pours were foamy, so I'd since modified my fans to run all the time + added a second fan + 3D printed some anti-vibration mounts and directed a fan at the tap lines, etc.

Still, I'd been dissatisfied at how foamy my pours were. And I put it down to frequent keg hopping. However, since stopping keg hopping, I've still had massive foam – up to 80% of the glass. It barely changed with subsequent pours.

I had an epiphany the other day – if I open the tap fully, I see a jet of foam coming out. If I open it about 80%, it's clearer. That goes against conventional wisdom, which is to open it fully to avoid anything creating turbulent flow.

So I tried removing one of my springs, and it was MUCH better. The first pour is still a bit foamy, but once the tap itself is cool, I can pretty easily control how much head I want on the beer. And having that oh-so-crisp carbonation bite back again is amazing.

*When I ordered my parts, Kegland and Keg King were each about half out of stock. So I got much of my gear from Kegland (including springs), with other stuff (including Ultrataps) from Keg King. Maybe the problem was using an Intertap spring in an Ultratap? Though I note that Keg King sell springs that claim to work with both, which is why I assumed my Kegland one would be the same. Perhaps it was too long or too stiff, and didn't let the tap open fully.

Either way, this is one of the most exciting discoveries I've made, and if this thread helps at least one other homebrewer, then it's all worth it!

TL;DR: remove springs from your taps for [possibly] better pours.

 

[scomet]

3 different taps, all springs removed, I agree they pour much better beers;

BUT if you knock a tap by mistake or a drunk reveller fails to shut the tap off properly omg the living rooms covered in BEER…..

 

[BrewLizard]

Hahaha, this is true. However, I think if I decide I want springs back, I'll just use external tension springs between the handle and the face of the keezer. At least they will be out of the beer path.

 

[fdsaasdf]

Hahaha, this is true. However, I think if I decide I want springs back, I'll just use external tension springs between the handle and the face of the keezer. At least they will be out of the beer path.

I'm building a keezer at the moment and am looking for springs to do exactly this. Do you have any recommendations?

 

[BrewLizard]

Not specifically, but...brb

I just very crudely measured the spring constant with my kitchen scales and ruler to be about 1.8 kg/cm.

That's for a basic tap compression spring, acting axially. If you put a tension spring onto the handle somewhere, it will gain some amount of leverage, so you could (or should) use a slightly lower rated spring constant. You can calculate this based on your setup, or just start with something around 1.2–1.5 kg/cm (12–15 N/cm or 1.2–1.5 N/mm).

Had a look on the Bunnings site, but they don't list the spring constants for extension springs, I'm afraid.

 

[MHB]

Occy straps, big rubber band...
I find good quality commercial taps worth the extra, you just get so much better a pour.
I know they cost 3 or 4 times as much, but they are a once in a lifetime investment. Might be worth upgrading to a couple down the track or even hinting heavily around birthday/xmas time.
Mark

 

[Bikes beer music]

Just had an amazing discovery – apologies to anyone who already found this obvious, but I think it could have been a bit unique*.

So I built a 3-keg keezer in about June 2020 out of a chest freezer + STC1000 + enclosure to make it wife-friendly in the living room. Initially, I feel like I got the lines balanced for 12 psi (approx. 1.6 m each for 4 mm ID). I wasn't liking how my early pours were foamy, so I'd since modified my fans to run all the time + added a second fan + 3D printed some anti-vibration mounts and directed a fan at the tap lines, etc.

Still, I'd been dissatisfied at how foamy my pours were. And I put it down to frequent keg hopping. However, since stopping keg hopping, I've still had massive foam – up to 80% of the glass. It barely changed with subsequent pours.

I had an epiphany the other day – if I open the tap fully, I see a jet of foam coming out. If I open it about 80%, it's clearer. That goes against conventional wisdom, which is to open it fully to avoid anything creating turbulent flow.

So I tried removing one of my springs, and it was MUCH better. The first pour is still a bit foamy, but once the tap itself is cool, I can pretty easily control how much head I want on the beer. And having that oh-so-crisp carbonation bite back again is amazing.

*When I ordered my parts, Kegland and Keg King were each about half out of stock. So I got much of my gear from Kegland (including springs), with other stuff (including Ultrataps) from Keg King. Maybe the problem was using an Intertap spring in an Ultratap? Though I note that Keg King sell springs that claim to work with both, which is why I assumed my Kegland one would be the same. Perhaps it was too long or too stiff, and didn't let the tap open fully.

Either way, this is one of the most exciting discoveries I've made, and if this thread helps at least one other homebrewer, then it's all worth it!

TL;DR: remove springs from your taps for [possibly] better pours.

I’ve been scratching my head for weeks. Used to pour good beer with right amount of head all good. Bought some small kegs and accessories, tried new things and got confused with ultra tap inter tap keg land keg king and mixed everything up! Been getting too much head!( never thought I’d say that) for weeks. I will be looking at my springs n things right away.

 

[donald_trub]

I've got all Nukataps and springs. The springs worked OK for about a week and now no longer spring back. I don't often disassemble for cleaning (I do run cleaner through the taps frequently though), so I'm thinking about removing them entirely. Will take note of how the pour goes!