I have a beer fridge with 4 kegs currently hooked up. Parameters are 43 F with ~10 PSI and ~3 foot draft lines with picnic taps. Three of the beers pour just fine, as has been the case for (at least) most of my beers in the past. However, presently one beer foams like crazy during the pour. Here's a clue (but I don't know what it means): the line in the problematic kegs collects bubbles in the line between pours. Anyone had this problem or have any ideas what is going on? TIA! Cheers!
to me that would seem that the line with the bubbles is out of balance somehow Could.... That keg be getting colder that the others? thereby pulling in more co2 into solution while in the keg, and coming out in the line when the temp rises? can the line be getting warmer? thereby letting co2 out of solution in the line? Is that tap shank shorter or is there any other reason it would be warmer itself? How old is the fridge? could you put a small fan in it to circulate air?
Not balanced is the answer. At 43 and 10 psi you are likely undercarbing all the the beer over time, and the one beer can't even hold it's CO2 in solution. Assuming a generic 2.6-2.7 volumes of CO2 the beer is looking for more like 15 or 16 psi. How are you determining 43 degrees, air temp of the fridge?
All good ideas, but... I'm pretty sure all kegs are at the same temperature all lines are at the same temperature no tap shanks, only picnic taps inside the fridge.
My bad: the temperature is 34 F, not 43 F. Small thermometer sitting in fridge. I think it likely has something to do with something going on in the keg (or perhaps connector) that breaks out the CO2 curing the pour. I suppose I should take the connector off and take it apart to check it out.
Air temp in the fridge is not beer temp. To properly balance you need to know beer temp, and with three kegs you need to test all 3. That's where the circulation fan @ryane mentioned comes into play - get as much uniformity as possible. To get the proper temp you need to start with a room temp glass and a calibrated thermometer. Pour a beer, and immediately chug or pour off, pull a second beer into that glass. Take the liquid (not foam) temp without touching the sides of the glass. That's your starting point. Repeat with a fresh glass for the other kegs. Do you have one regulator feeding all these kegs at the same pressure? What are the three beers - all styles are not created equally and could be looking for different pressures to maintain balance.
My experience with any and refrigeration units would say otherwise, if its an old fridge with cold air coming down from the freezer you have big time cold spots, my brand new upright freezer has cold spots on the front right Dito my last comment, in fact ive seen lines freeze in onevspot but not another The only way its not a balance issue is if you have hop crap in the post or tap, swap which keg is on each tap andvsee if the problem follows the keg (do it immediately and a day or two later)
I'm starting to get into kegging and from what i read, co2 bubbles in the line mean a bad seal or bad pin/ball connectors/o-rings. For a regular keg it could be a probe washer. Any luck?
