ScrewyBrewer wrote:
Thank you for sharing! I just looked in the brew room and I found two lengths of 5/16 OD x 3/16 ID vinyl tubing just a few inches short of ten foot long to get me started. The serving tubing I have now is 7/16 OD x 5/16 ID and it's only six feet long. Tonight's as good a night as any to make the change since both corny kegs are carbed and ready to drink.
Nice. Assuming your keg temps are in the 38-40 degree range, 12 psi at 10 feet should give you a nice pour and eliminate the need to bleed off head pressure and then drop the psi to serve.
FWIW, my lines are 7/16" OD but I wouldn't think that the OD would affect anything. I know that some types of tubing do provide a bit difference resistance so there's a fudge factor in that 10 feet but it's a good rule of thumb/place to start.
Well, I just discovered that my CO2 bottle seems to be empty. After only two kegs. I know I had a leak when I connected Keg 1, but I figured I fixed it within a day. Maybe it leaked way more than I thought. I'm sure it was okay after that first day, since things were regulated pretty well.
Unless I have a faulty regulator, but I don't think so.
Fortunately, I have Friday off, and I can replace it then, which is good, because I have another fiver to keg this weekend.
I've shut everything down, so I have to wonder what I should do about the keg I've got in there now. Because of the low pressure, I don't know if it's empty or not. I drew a pint when I got home tonight, and it just dribbled out, so I figured the keg was empty, but after checking the pressure (or lack thereof), I just don't know.
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Dave soap testing for leaks is highly recommended for new setups, even after re-tightening connections initially go back over them all a week or so later and repeat until you stop all the leaks. It's a common issue I know I've been there myself but once all the connections are good you won't have to worry much as the setup ages.
Ron, I've replaced my 5/16 ID tubing with 9.5 feet of 3/16 ID vinyl tubing and the flow is good, a lot slower, although the beer is foaming as quickly as it leaves the beer out post. I've set the refrigerator to 36 degrees overnight and will do a test pour again tomorrow. I'm not giving up, this is the year I get the system balanced no matter what the cost. I agree the outside diameter of the tubing has nothing to do with the serving pressure as you've pointed out.
My Co2 regulator is nearly four years old and for some reason when I got it back after lending it out, it now takes a pair of pliers to adjust the pressure screw instead of just a screw driver. Time will tell if it needs replacing too, but I've got another full corny keg carbed with it to 12-15 psi to play around with yet.
ScrewyBrewer wrote:Ron, I've replaced my 5/16 ID tubing with 9.5 feet of 3/16 ID vinyl tubing and the flow is good, a lot slower, although the beer is foaming as quickly as it leaves the beer out post.
Are yous saying that it's foaming in the line just outside of the actual post on the keg? So it's foaming all the way through the line?
Happy to say after trimming the serving line down to nine feet long and tapping a fresh keg the foaming is gone.
I plan to fill a two liter growler and take it with me to happy hour over at the clubhouse tonight. Who knows I may even share a glass or three while I'm there. So happy to not have to fiddle with the regulator anymore, finally got a balanced system!
I ended up treating myself to a new Co2 regulator the other day. The old one has some salvageable parts on it but the pressure adjusting screw was just so hard to turn with pliers I was afraid it'd snap off if kept using it. I've used gas regulators for years and typically a newb would puncture the diaphragm by turning the adjusting screw in too much. But I've never had the screw lock up before, I'm thinking it somehow got cross threaded?
Interesting thread, thanks. My first keg is on it's way (slowly). I have a batch ready to package. I plan to try the quicker method, mostly because I'm kegging to reduce the wait. I'm starting with a small 2.5gal keg, which will fit easily in my small fridge. I certainly will not finish the keg in a week, so it will have some time to condition. I respect everyone's methods and experience. But if I were going to wait a month, I'd just bottle.
Making beer and stew for the Zombie Apocalypse.
Never mind, there it is.
Once you rack the beer into the keg and put it on gas, it shouldn't take a month. I think some of us are conditioning our kegs at room temp just because the kegerator is full and it's sitting out. If your plan is to rack and chill immediately you should be roughly 80% carbed in a week with the set-and-forget-method, and fully carbed in about 10 days.
Of course, if you go the shake/burst carb method you could be drinking beer in a matter of hours or days.
Brew's Choice. But let us know how it goes either way!
One problem with the crank-n-shake method is you can get inconsistent results. At least that has been my experience. Now I will spit in about 15 psi at room temperature and let it sit, adding a squirt at standard pressure from time to time until the current keg is kicked. I then swap at dispensing pressure and rock here and there for 2-3 days and have found it is usually good to go a day after (to get the foaming down from the rocking).
Silverleaf Vineyard & Winery / Old Mission Hops Exchange / Porchside Vineyard / The North York Brewing Company
Thanks. As my keg still hasn't arrived, I bottled my latest batch. So, I have plenty of time to consider methods. I think that if I burst carb with poor results, I can adjust after. There is a thread on HBT about fixing over-carbonation.
Making beer and stew for the Zombie Apocalypse.
Never mind, there it is.
