Kegerator problem with foam

As far as experimenting with the temperature goes, there is really no need it has all been done for you. If you know the volumes of CO2 for the beer, and you take the temperature of the beer, you can consult a force carbonation chart. For the Danby you want to add a tower cooler to solve the first beer foam, and likely lengthen the lines.

 

Good points all...but if the unit doesn't hold a proper consistent temperature...all further points are moot.

I'd hate to see the guy buy a Perlick faucet and build a tower cooler only to discover the unit can only get down to 42°.

 

I think the Danbys can get to sub 38 based on what I've seen on the micromatic forum. The OP's Nostalgia might be a lost cause.

 

Is http://rapidswholesale.com/taylor-pocket-digital-pen-style-waterprf.html a reasonable thermometer? They're local and they also sell the perlick SS faucet, so I could pick them up and not have packages arriving home to piss off the Mrs.

Also, is anybody using the coldtower tower cooler? At $50, if it works, it would be worth it.

Also, I did more research on the Danby kegerators. Mine is not the digital thermostat version, it just has a typical fridge style dial with relative "colder" and "warmer" settings. It sounds like these might be easier to deal with for getting a temp you like.

 

Not too much to debate on the cooler. If it has a fan and a hose it will work. No need to get super high CFM, you aren't trying to make a weather system in there, just move some air.

The thermometer will be fine.

 

This is a very informative thread, very helpful. I'll throw my own foaming query in here as well, maybe someone can help me out.
I have a DIY full-sized fridge turned kegerator, set up mostly like a commercial beer tap system. Don't know the exact temp of the fridge but I'm pretty confident it's definitely below 40 degrees. The line is about 3 ft. long, and it goes from the top of the keg, dips down low, and comes back up to the faucet (which is about the level of the top of the keg. My questions are...

1. If I suspend the line along the ceiling of the fridge so that it stays elevated without dipping low to get to the faucet, will that help?
2. Should I just get a longer line regardless? 10 ft. seems to be the consensus for appropriate length.
3. If I get the longer line, what should I do with it, that is, how should i place it in the fridge? Coiled? hanging from the ceiling of the fridge? On the base?

I hope I can get some answers, this is all eye-opening stuff!

 

You cannot guess at things and take shortcuts. You need the beer temp, the volumes of CO2 and a force carbonation chart. That is how you correct foam. Suspending the line or arbitrarily adding length will not fix anything.

 

Fair enough, that's true. Pretend I'm not someone who understands the carbonation chart... I'm not homebrewing, I'm buying kegs and tapping them at home. Is there any way to know the Volume of CO2 of a given beer I didn't keg myself? Or should I find the exact temp and adjust the PSI for the style of beer I'm pouring until I find the sweet spot?
Once I do that, if I still have foaming issues, would you then recommend getting a longer line?

 

I wasn't assuming you were a home Brewer, all my advice assumed you were buying legs. Actually the volumes of CO2 is much easier to get for commercial beers, and many of the big companies use the same value across all their lines. Usually an email to the brewery for craft will get you the number, if that fails you go towards the style guidelines. You still need the temp. You can go longer which gives you a little more tolerance for not being well balanced. A carbonation chart is not hard to read and can be found on line. Two things - temp and volumes give you the pressure you need. What beer are you wrestling with currently?

 

Alright, I measured the temp, around 50 degrees in a cup of water. Obviously not ideal. I cleaned the compressor and fan on the fridge, which it needed badly (the fridge is outside, has been for about 5 years). So according to the chart, pouring an extra pale ale, i should be around 17 psi. Using the method listed in #4, I turned it up slowly until my bubbles at the coupler stopped appearing.
I guess my question now is, do I have any chance of pouring beer successfully with a temp that high? I'm assuming it's possible, because the temp scale on the carbonation chart goes that high and higher. Anyone have any good news for me?

 

Very unlikely you will pour foam free at 50. You probably don't want to drink 50 degree beer anyway. Did you turn the fridge to its coldest setting?

 

Yeah, I cranked it up. The beer is actually not an unpleasant temperature, and the temp has been dropping since I cleaned out the compressor. Guessing the gas will take some time to normalize and tomorrow after a night of not having the door opened it should get better.
One crazy idea though... The freezer works great and is pretty cold. Would it be dumb or pointless to cut a whole in the bottom of the freezer into the fridge, spreading the cold air around more?

 

This is not recommended. Background: For most refrigerators, all the cold air is initially distributed to the freezer compartment. Then a damper measures how much cold air is allocated to the fresh-food section. But the temp control setting in the fresh-food section actually controls how much the compressor runs (and ultimately the freezer temp). The logic is you want fresh food somewhere around 38-40, if you're off by five degrees people will complain about the milk/beer/soda, etc. If the freezer section is off by five degrees (i.e. from -5 to zero) it's no big deal. Here is how it all works. So don't put a sawzall to your freezer compartment, the fresh-food thermo will just cut off the compressor sooner resulting in a warmer freezer. This is assuming the compressor isn't running full time (which is another more serious problem).

A couple of cooling tips: Put a large bucket (or two) of water in your freezer section . . . let 'em freeze solid. This provides a large thermal mass of super cold solids which will minimize air loss through the seals. Try and fill the fresh-food section with liquids (more beer or buckets of water or lemonade or anything). A fridge/freezer is more efficient when it is largely full.

Typically for a fridge-with-freezer type kegerator you want to set the freezer temp setting at minimum (larger damper opening) and the fresh-food section near max . . . but monitor this closely so your beer doesn't freeze. I'm suspicious of your 50 temp reading. I would give everything about 48 hours to stabilize and measure the temp of a small container of water with a calibrated thermometer (tested in an ice slurry). Unless your fridge is nearing the end of its service life it should hit the high 30s. There is one more adjustment (coarse control) in the fridge-bag-of-tricks . . . but see how everything settles down first.

 

I can see now why that is not something I should do. I will set the freezer at a higher temp (I'm assuming that's what you mean by minimum?) which is fine because I only use the freezer for chilling glasses. I'll try the bucket thing, although I'm not totally sure I understood the explanation for that, and I'll give it a day or two to normalize. I also bought a 10 foot line because I feel like the beer is just coming out way too fast (and my lines are old and kind of gross anyway).
Thanks everyone for all the suggestions! The fridge is outside too, which I don't think I mentioned, which probably has to do with the compressor being overworked.

 

Actually just the opposite is what I recommend. Usually the setting is something dorky like A - H, you want the minimum setting for the freezer. This opens the damper the maximum amount to divert more of the cold air to the fresh-food size (your beer). Remember, the thermostat measures the fresh-food side temp to determine how much the compressor runs. This is explained in the link I posted above (Airflow&Temperature Controls). Caveat: Some new modern refrigerators have more sophisticated controls . . . but if this is an old "garage fridge" you're dealing with simple dampers.

A full fridge keeps cold more efficiently than an empty one. The interior air is always gradually escaping through the seal. As new air enters it is warm (and moist) which is not what you want. By keeping it full (ice in freezer, cold water in fridge) you minimize the amount of air that can be transferred. When you lose electricity a full fridge can last a day or two before temps get out of control . . . an empty one goes much faster.

 

LOL...you both are literally on the same page...just using different terminology.

 

Just realized that . Min/max . . . lower setting/higher temp . . . dorky settings . . . makes me want a cold pour.

 

Ah, here is when this problem is fixed with this device.
Place the probe in the refrigerator side. Set the dial to 38.
I think it will solve a lot of problems. This is a requirement for any kegerator conversion in my book.
Cheers.

 

I've read this whole thread many times over and still haven't been able to find a solution to a similar problem I've been having.

The difference for me is that I have two kegs on right now, and one pours totally fine but the other one foams. This did not happen with either of the previous two kegs I had on. I've noticed an irregularity in the coupler to keg connection that only shows when I pull the CO2 release; some air escapes from between the coupler and the keg itself. Can anybody offer some advice?

 

My guess is your foamy keg was packaged at a higher carb level, different styles of beer may have different CO2 levels which would require re-balancing (pressure/line-length). What are your two beers?

To quickly troubleshoot, move coupler A to keg B and coupler B to keg A and see how they pour. This will tell you if it's a carb-level problem or a coupler problem.