I’ve been having trouble with my serving pressure. I keep the beer in the keg at 38°F with a pressure of 11 psi to
maintain 2.5 volumes of CO2 as the beer is served…
BUT…I am using Euro Alpha faucets. These faucets have a 1-1/2" Stainless tube at the end and I think the inside diameter is smaller than a normal faucet. This choke point causes the velocity of the beer to increase and rush out quite fast sometimes causing it to over foam or de-gas the beer. If I turn down the pressure for a good pour then the beer eventually gets under carbonated.
Any advise…I already read the link on the previous thread…Can I lower the pressure at the faucet by increasing the length of the beer line? Say, 10-12 feet. Right now I’m using about 6 feet on each faucet.
These taps remind me of the classic German pils pour that would require a three or seven minute pour, depending on the establishment. The constrictor produces lots of foam and your pour technique could easily stretch into the seven minute time frame. That of course does not count the Fraulein “getting ready to start to begin to think about getting set” to start your pour. I learned to order the next one as my beer was served.
My advise would to get additional taps that will pour a western style and save the Euro Faucet to showcase your pils. I personally like my Perlicks.
it doesn’t’ have a device that restricts the flow only a slight reduction in diameter at the nozzle. I flows too fast, if I change the pressure to make a good pour then the keg goes flat.
I wish I knew how to put a pic in this post. I could add a picture so everyone could know what I’m talking about.
I recommend using 3/16" I.D. tubing with about 6ft of length. It’s always better to start with a longer line as you can always cut it shorter if need be.
“I recommend using 3/16” I.D. tubing with about 6ft of length. It’s always better to start with a longer line as you can always cut it shorter if need be.
For normal pressures I’d start out even longer than that. In theory, the length needed should be: L = (P - 6)/0.7
Where L is the length in feet and P is the pressure in psi. For 12 psi, that’s about 8.5 ft."
Is this the formula for 3/16" or does it matter if I use 1/4"?
I am using 6 foot of 3/16" now.
According to the carbonation chart on Kegerators.com, with a fridge temperature of 38 degrees needs 14 psi to give the beer a 2.7 volumes of C02. A typical American Lager needs 2.4 - 2.7 volumes.
Bluesman’s calculation of L = (P - 6) / 0.7…would be 14 -6 / 0.7= 11.5 feet of tubing
Keep using the 3/16" - you will need an even longer tube with 1/4" since it has less restriction.
At 14 psi with 3/16" tubing I would start with 10 feet. I’m not using an equation - morebeer says their 3/16" tubing has a restriction of 2.2 lbs / foot. My experience is that it is lower than that, more like 1.7-1.8 to get the pours that I want on my system. Since you can’t make it longer, you might want to start even longer than 10 feet.
Using a direct draw system there are several considerations including the static pressure of the beer or the vertical lift (height of the tap from the center of the keg).
For example…if your tap is 5ft above the center of your keg.
Static resistance from gravity = 5ft x 0.5 pounds/foot = 2.5 pounds
Applied pressure of 14.5 psi must be balanced by total system resistance. Since static resistance equals
2.5 psi, a total of 12 pounds of system resistance will be needed: Restriction = 14.5 – 2.5 = 12 pounds
To achieve this: 4 feet of 3/16” beer line (choker) @ 3 pounds per foot would give the right pressure balance of 12 pounds, but would be a shorter run than the 5 feet represented by elevation gain to the tap. So you could use a combination of larger diameter vinyl, followed by a shorter length of choker: 3.5 feet of 1/4” vinyl @ 0.85 pounds per foot = 3 pounds resistance
3 feet of 3/16” vinyl @ 3.0 pounds per foot = 9 pounds resistance
3 + 9 = 12 pounds of system resistance.
In my personal experience, I have found that 6ft of 3/16" beerline with a vertical lift of 2ft works best at 12psi and 38F
Check out this excellent draught beer qaulity manual.
The problem is that pressure drop due to the tubing isn’t all there is in the system, and making that assumption gives results that are seriously wrong, like vendors saying the pressure drop is 2 psi/ft.
3/16" ID beverage line will drop ~0.7 psi/ft; 1/4" ~0.15 psi/ft. To that you have to add the pressure drops caused by the fittings in the system. For a typical keg/faucet arrangement that seems to be around 6 psi. So that’s where the equation I posted earlier comes from. A More Accurate Approach to Draft System Balancing « SeanTerrill.com
So yes, for 3/16" tubing you’d need ~12 ft. With 1/4" tubing you’d need ~60 ft. Obviously, the 1/4" stuff is only practical in a bar setting.
2 ft of vertical rise will drop another 0.9 psi, so that’s a relatively minor concern. If you’re running lines up a floor or something then it needs to be considered, though.
all the formulas are well,and good but i would think that whatever works for you is what you should use. my kegs are at about 38* and the carbonation is 10-12 psi. i hooked a simple picnic party tap to 10 feet of 1/4" tubing from HD for about $2.69. the beer is now serving quite excellently for my tastes with a nice carbonation and fine head. i also found the info in the draft quality manual to be very helpful as far as estimating the pressure drop per foot, etc. i like keeping it simple
Did you get the pour you were looking for?
I have to say just increasing the resistance probably won’t get what you’re looking for. There’s a sweet spot that keeps CO2 in solution throughout the serving line, and when the pressure drops below that you get “breakout” which will make your beer come out slow and foamy instead of fast and foamy. It can be maddening if you aren’t aware of what’s happening.
The tube on the end ought to be about 1/4" ID if I recall, which is bigger than your serving line, right? Was the faucet new when you got it? Have you taken the faucet apart? It’s kind of tricky to get the side pieces lined up to go back together, so watch what you’re doing when you disassemble. Make sure there are no obviously damaged pieces, anything that would make a bunch of turbulence as the beer goes through. If you haven’t already, try pulling it wide open to pour, and shut it off somewhat abruptly, see if that changes the pint. I think they’re really cool looking, so hopefully you can get yours working well. I had one for a while that wouldn’t stop leaking so I gave up on it.
Re-reading your post, it sure sounds like you don’t have enough resistance. Just to be clear, you aren’t simply looking for X feet of y-diameter tubing. You need a particular amount of resistance, to bring your pressure down from 11 in the keg to about 2psi at the faucet. So the length of line is a matter of its resistance value, not how big of a hole you’re sending the beer through.
Do you know much about the serving line? Brand name and ID/OD would help.