I recently replaced the beer line on my keggerator, but have yet to run a beer through it till now. The temp is set to 36* and the beer line is 10ft. A lot of the math I have read says it will need to be set at almost 30psi which seems VERY high. Any words of advise or first hand knowledge from those who have that long of a draw?
I assume you are using the 10' line for added resistance and you are flowing to a tower connected to the top of the kegerator? If so that isn't really long draw and you don't need those formulas. Use the v/v and temperature to set the pressure, which will be in the 10-14 psi range depending on the beer. The temp you want to use is the beer temp of the second pour, not the set temp of the unit. I run 10' 3/16" lines and have for 4 years without an issue.
you can use 3/16" beer line, but 10' is excessive. the resistance of 10' of 3/16" line equals 30 psi. actually it is a bit less than 3 psi per foot, but for argument it is 30 psi. that is tough to balance with 100% CO2. you may want to go with 1/4" line @ 0.85 pounds resistance per foot. so 8.5 psi of resistance in the line. you will have slightly more beer to chill in the bigger ID line, but it is a small price to pay and should not matter much in any event. Cheers. edit..it should be noted that you can use 10' of 3/16" but your pours will be quite slow. since you are at your home this might not be a big deal at all. edit #2 why are you using 10' in a kegerator anyway? why the long draw?
No tower, just the faucet attached to the collar and you are correct that it's not a long draw it was pour choice of words. I was having a lot of foaming issue when I ran 4' of beer line, so I went with 10' to see if it will help. The pour seems fine, but the beer seems to come out pretty slow. I just want to make sure, so I don't end up with flat beer by running it at to low of psi.
It won't be flat, assuming your CO2 is properly set using the v/v. To get some speed back cut off line in 6" increments. Mine is a little slow, but I prefer to have it that way.
Thank you guys for the quick input. A slow pour is fine by me as long as the carbonation is correct and consistent throughout the whole keg. 30psi is what it would need to be set at to achieve this? And this wouldn't over carb the keg over time?
My suggestion is to ignore the resistance formulas, set the pressure using the temp and v/v which will likely be in the range I mentioned above. Set it to what you have done in the past to start out if you like. You will have flow and it will be foam free but slow. If you want more speed back, cut off in 6' increments until you are happy.
Erik second Dougs advice. set it at 12 psi and let it go for a while. measure the temp of the beer in the glass, first glass and then second glass shortly after. 36 is a bit cold (my preference is 36) shoot for 38 liquid temp. remember that the colder the beer, the more CO2 gas will be dissolved at a given pressure. but, why are you using 10' of line? shouldn't need to in a kegerator. makes me wonder about keeping the liquid cold. Cheers.
I'm using 10' because I was using 4' which wasn't working out. I bought a 10' so I could cut it down if need be, I figured I'd rather buy too much. The whole line sits in the keggerator, so I don't think keeping it cold is an issue. I prefer my beer on the warmer side, but I set it a little cold this time to completely avoid foam issues and see how it does.
Temperature doesn't help you avoid foam. The 10' line helps you slow the flow of a properly balanced system so the turbulence doesn't cause foam. A properly balanced system keeps the beer from going flat or being over carbonated. Do you know how to balance your system with volumes of CO2 (v/v) and the temperature to arrive at the correct pressure?
Technically I do know how to. When it comes to practicality with this keggerator I've been at a loss. I haven't had the patience to figure out the temperature discrepancies but for awhile I had the probe in the wrong spot so it would shut off prematurely. This keg is just a tad under-carbonated as well so it'll be a few days of sitting on gas before it evens out. I was more so curious to the ideas behind the 10' beer line. Thanks for all your help!
Actually, turbulence has little to do with it. One of my local watering holes consistently pours 5 second pints without foam. Loads of turbulence, but a perfect head every time. And the beer is every bit as fizzy as it should be. 10' of line simply ensures that the CO2 doesn't break out of solution in the line. 5' should do the job, but 10' is extra insurance. The downside is a slow pour, but, as was already noted, that may not be a big deal in a home bar.
But what about the 10' prevents break out? IMO the fact that the beer is moving slowly, and therefore reducing the sidewall shear between the beer and the ID of the line. Sidewall shear is turbulence.
the only thing that prevents CO2 from leaving the solution is temperature. that's it and nothing else. you can have 200' of line and every inch of beer in the line will have the same vols as the beer in the keg if the temperature is the same. if the line warms up along the way then gas will leave solution, bubbles will float to the highest point and will continue to collect until equilibrium is achieved. line diameter determines restriction. basically, try to obtain the restriction needed to balance the system with the least amount of line required. 3/16" is for practical purposes the tightest and most restrictive line that can be used. less line means less beer to keep cold, less line to stuff into a system, less loss when cleaning. the only time you would increase line diameter is when the length of the line must be long. and in those cases the line material used should be something with little resistance, something other than vinyl. and then you simply add the 3/16" choker to the end of the line to increase restriction right before the faucet. turbulence is more of a factor than one might think, for a commercial setting at least. the faucet is designed to pour at a specific rate and bartenders instinctively hold the glass a certain distance, open the faucet a certain length of time, tilt the glass just so and so on. if you go and screw with the flow rates it has an effect on all of that. a very slow pour, say 16 second pints, can make it very difficult to get proper foam on top. industry standard is 8 seconds btw. this is a system we did a while back and nailed it. couldn't get a watch to stop exactly on 8.0 again though... Cheers.
10 ft of beer line solved my problems. I drink Sam Adams most of the time and have co2 set at about 13 psi/beer temp at 37. Great pours everytime, so I have no need to trim the line any. Also using a Perlick faucet.
