New here. Been trying to solve a foam problem over the last couple of days. I have a Haier kegerator. I have had the unit for almost three years now, and have only had one other serious foam problem. But, now I am getting 90% foam with each pour. A little background. For over two years, I thought I had a co2 leak because my PSI would never read higher than three lbs./sq. inch. But, the kegerator operated perfectly and I never had any issues. So, when the current foam problem started, I came to this website and read that one must have their kegerator's PSI set at 10 PSI at a minimum. I then learned my regulator had an adjust screw and I adjusted my the pressure into the keg to 10 PSIs. I instantly learned yesterday that I did not have a co2 leaking problem. However, I get home from work and go straight to my kegerator to pour a fresh one, and foam shoots out at seemingly 100 mph. So, I turned off the co2 and began draining foam out of the keg. Also, I turned the pressure down to around 4 PSI. Finally, I was able to get 1/2 beer and 1/2 foam. What can I do to fix this issue? My beer line is only about 2.5 feet, but this has never been a problem in the past.
My first suspicion is a bad gauge on the regulator - a not at all uncommon problem. You're putting more CO2 into the beer than the gauge indicates. Fortunately, a replacement gauge is cheap ($5-$10) and easy to change. At this point, the beer is likely overcarbed. You'll need to disconnect the gas and release the pressure every now and then over a period of a few days. Eventually, it will settle down. Note that pouring beer using the pressure that's building up in the headspace as the beer outgasses will help in this effort . This, of course, assumes that the problem is, indeed, a bad gauge.
turn your regulator back down to 3 psi. Like Mike said, it is likely a bad gauge. But you can live with it. I suspect your beer is not balanced. That is to say, you could be doing better than 2.5 feet of choker. It is hard to imagine any circumstance where you would be maintaining the appropriate amount of carbonation in your kegs with an applied pressure that is working with so little choker. But if you are satisfied with the pour that is all that matters. I do not advocate changing because it's not what others have. You should know that pressure changes made to the beer require a few hours at least before anything happens. Burp the keg with the gas off now and again to speed up the release of excess CO2. Cheers.
