Help with my kegerator?

Review the other threads here on foam. You need to understand balancing your system using an accurate temperature ( calibrated thermometer on the second pour), volumes of CO2 for the particular beer, and line length to slow the flow if needed (usually 7 or 8 ft). To correct first beer foam you will need a tower cooler. A four second beer is too quick, even bars don't pour that fast. You should focus on pouring a good beer.

 

Doug you should just have this statement copied every time you log onto BA for the amount of times you have to post this you could just hit paste... To bad you can't have a signature line on this forum . That would be a good one for ya.

 

That would be nice and easy.

 

too many variables.

you will need to know the exact pressure at the regulator, the exact temperature, the exact line length, for starters.

since you have been all over with the applied pressure your keg is most definitely out of balance. too much dissolved CO2 in the beer and now its all screwy. this is a common mistake so don't feel bad. any adjustments take a day or so to become noticeable. when you jack up the pressure you get a fast pour immediately. then your beer gets overcarbed in a few hours and turns to foam. so you turn it down. now it pours slow and foamy. tomorrow it goes flat. so you turn it up to a different pressure, and so on. then you find BA and end your post with HELP!

also, don't aim for a 4 second pour. it's not likely. not if you want a decent pour anyway.
read up and get back to us.
Cheers.

 

It's been suggested that a pint should take x seconds in a properly balanced system. FWIW, that's my lowest priority. But I don't make money pouring beer quickly. If I can consistently pour a perfect pint, I don't care if it takes 4 seconds or 40 (though I have my limits). You can always finesse a head in the glass if that becomes a problem. Thus, lines that are too long (according to the charts) are far less troublesome than lines that are too short. Err on the side of too long.

 

Mike's advice is spot on.

FWIW the industry standard for pouring velocity is 2oz/sec, so in theory (and only in theory) a US pint should take 8 seconds to dispense.

That being said, erring on slightly longer lines is spot on. It's infinitely easier to remove line length as opposed to adding to it.

 

unless you are a bar, why sweat 4 extra seconds to pour the beer properly?

8.0 seconds, couldn't time it again if we tried.
note that we short pour one finger as well.
the technical term is "dead nuts".
Cheers.

 

We have been trying to tell you how. You need to understand balance, how to properly take the beer temperature, and the relationship to applied pressure and volumes of CO2. A tower without a cooler will give you first beer foam, but beer after beer is a balance issue. All the people here who have answered you know what to do and how to get you there but you have been a bit light on details and haven't answered very quickly with anything of substance.

 

In going back to the original post information; critical is 1) how you are taking the beer temp 2) PSI range given of 13-16 is fairly wide, which suggests your not sure what it actually is.

I've seen vols of co2 for this beer at 2.6 & 2.7. So at 38 degrees, co2 PSI should be right around 13. Set it on a number and know what it is. Dials can be tricky- be sure you know what it is at.

Leave the keg sit overnight and do a beer temp test. Get a decent calibrated digital temp probe. Pour first beer in room temp glass. Dump it (Pour it in a pitcher for later drinkin). If this first glass is foam- very good chance your tower is not getting cooled properly. Immediately fill up the 2nd glass and take the beer temp. Try and keep probe from touching side of glass. Is temp 38 degrees? And co2 pressure at 13 psi? Is the 2nd glass all foam? Is it pouring very slowly? You should not be pouring a very slow beer at 13 psi with 5ft of beer line (How long is the beer line?). With 10 ft of beer line, flow gets quite a bit slower.

So provide:
co2 pressure
beer temp
beer line length
1st draw foamy?
2nd draw still foamy?
time to fill 16 oz beer

 

That's the ticket Jeff, you learned quick! To the OP, get longer beer line on order while you are getting the answers to the questions. You may be able to get close, but you won't get rid of foam with 5' lines.

 

I have a real decent kegerator (Bev-Air BM-23) and it also came with 5 ft of beer line. But I could only set the co2 pressure at around 9 or 10 psi. And this is with a new, decent co2 regulator. With the extra beer line, I can easily adjust co2 for the proper pressure. Without it, I was not balanced. Many people who don't know any better may just choose to ignore the actual psi setting and go with what pours well, but that is NOT how to balance your system.

Curious; you first said your co2 setting was 13-16 psi and pouring slow, foamy beer (I'm thinking faulty regulator). Now it is 8-10 psi. Did you change it?

 

Of course your buddy didn't have issues. Nobody has issues, especially with stuff they sell. And "cranking the shit outta the CO2" is dopey - it would cause wild pours and over carb the beer which would lead to even wilder pours. You need to focus on what you've got and understand the concept behind it. There is no such thing as a 4 second pour and cranking the shit outta the CO2. All that tells me is you don't get it despite all of your reading on the topic.

 

I was trying to explain to some guy the other day that he needs more than 2-3lb psi to dispense his coors light(shit had to be dripping out of faucet at that psi rate). His response is that the beer gets to foamy. Some people don't understand the logic. You can explain till your blue in the face and they will continue with what they know since they are the experts at everything!!

 

Good luck.
Enjoy a glass of foam for me, I'll have a beer for you.