[scarecrow]

Alright I'm having this issue too now. go to pour a glass and I get 3/4 of head and have to let it settle down. I checked the CO2 reg and it was reading about 15%. So I cranked it back down to 10%. Is there anything else I need to check and see what could be cause this. Fridge temp is sitting between 46 and 52. The hose length is 6ft from the reg to the splitter. then another 4ft of hose to the Keg. Coming from Keg to the Tap is also 4ft. If you need any other info let me know.

[Stevie]

Alright I'm having this issue too now. go to pour a glass and I get 3/4 of head and have to let it settle down. I checked the CO2 reg and it was reading about 15%. So I cranked it back down to 10%. Is there anything else I need to check and see what could be cause this. Fridge temp is sitting between 46 and 52. The hose length is 6ft from the reg to the splitter. then another 4ft of hose to the Keg. Coming from Keg to the Tap is also 4ft. If you need any other info let me know.

You may need to adjust two of the three variables. Beer line too short, temp too high, pressure too high. I'd start with pressure and line length if you are happy with the temp.

[scarecrow]

How long will it take for results to show?

[Stevie]

Line length? If yes, rule of thumb is 1 foot per 2 psi.

[scarecrow]

Currently it is 4ft from keg to tap and 4 ft from splitter to keg

[Stevie]

Gas line length is inconsequential, beer line length matters. From your post it doesn't sound like you are splitting your beer line. You can try lowering the pressure, but at that temp and 10psi, you would be at about 2 volumes of co2. That's on the low end of many styles. 2.5 is near average for near any style.

[scarecrow]

So at 4 ft I want to be at 8 psi. Right now I am not splitting the line with only one keg on tap.

[Stevie]

Yep, and at upper 40's you would be looking at less than 2 volumes of co2. Try lowering the temperature a bit as well. At 40° you would be at about 2.2 volumes, 50° would be about 1.8

You wouldn't want to split the beer line. I guess it could be done, but I imagine the pour quality wouldn't be good at all.

[scarecrow]

Yep, and at upper 40's you would be looking at less than 2 volumes of co2. Try lowering the temperature a bit as well. At 40° you would be at about 2.2 volumes, 50° would be about 1.8

You wouldn't want to split the beer line. I guess it could be done, but I imagine the pour quality wouldn't be good at all.

Sorry I misled you. Im not splitting the beer line. Im going to add a second keg to run off the same co2 line. So when I do add the 2nd keg I want to up the psi to 16?

[Stevie]

Nope, leave the pressure the same. the pressure will remain constant across the system.

[BeerBeacon]

From Micro-Matic Advanced Draft Training:

• Temperature is the 1st determining factor for everything else in a draught system.
• For every degree above 38⁰F, the internal keg pressure increases 1/2 lb as the CO² expands.
• 38⁰F is the most stable temperature for CO²
• At 38⁰F, most kegged beer requires 12-14 lbs. of internal keg pressure in order to keep the CO² balanced within the beer.
• With very short lines it's gonna be difficult to get enough restriction applied to the keg while also keeping your flow rate low enough that beer doesn't come flying out of your faucet... resulting in a ton of foam 
• The ideal flow rate should be 2 oz's/ sec. The best way to test this is to hook up a cleaner pot full of water to your system and pour into measuring pitcher. i.e. start stopwatch as soon as you open the valve and stop at 15. You should have 30 oz.'s of water in your pitcher.
• To adjust the flow rate while keeping the keg pressure ideal, you can utilize different diameter tubing. Tubing diameter is measured by the "I.D." (interior diameter). I'm assuming you'll be using Vinyl so I'll list the restriction measurements for each size.

• 3/16" - 3 lbs/ft
• 1/4" - 0.85 lbs/ft
• 5/16" - 0.40 lbs/ft
• 3/8" - 0.20 lbs/ft
• 1/2" - 0.025 lbs/ft

   
To sum everything up in an easy way, if you use 3/8" hose with a length of 6', you won't have a problem giving your beer the CO² it requires while still providing enough restriction to keep your flow rate to 2 oz's/ sec. So even though you don't need 6' in hose length right now, this allows for some flexibility to handle temperature changes as well as making adjustments according to your beer style.

When you extend your system to the upstairs, be sure to keep in mind that you'll have to greatly increase your pressure to account for the added lift required. 

[Thirsty_Monk]

From Micro-Matic Advanced Draft Training:

• Temperature is the 1st determining factor for everything else in a draught system.
• For every degree above 38⁰F, the internal keg pressure increases 1/2 lb as the CO² expands.
• 38⁰F is the most stable temperature for CO²
• At 38⁰F, most kegged beer requires 12-14 lbs. of internal keg pressure in order to keep the CO² balanced within the beer.
• With very short lines it's gonna be difficult to get enough restriction applied to the keg while also keeping your flow rate low enough that beer doesn't come flying out of your faucet... resulting in a ton of foam 
• The ideal flow rate should be 2 oz's/ sec. The best way to test this is to hook up a cleaner pot full of water to your system and pour into measuring pitcher. i.e. start stopwatch as soon as you open the valve and stop at 15. You should have 30 oz.'s of water in your pitcher.
• To adjust the flow rate while keeping the keg pressure ideal, you can utilize different diameter tubing. Tubing diameter is measured by the "I.D." (interior diameter). I'm assuming you'll be using Vinyl so I'll list the restriction measurements for each size.

• 3/16" - 3 lbs/ft
• 1/4" - 0.85 lbs/ft
• 5/16" - 0.40 lbs/ft
• 3/8" - 0.20 lbs/ft
• 1/2" - 0.025 lbs/ft

   
To sum everything up in an easy way, if you use 3/8" hose with a length of 6', you won't have a problem giving your beer the CO² it requires while still providing enough restriction to keep your flow rate to 2 oz's/ sec. So even though you don't need 6' in hose length right now, this allows for some flexibility to handle temperature changes as well as making adjustments according to your beer style.

When you extend your system to the upstairs, be sure to keep in mind that you'll have to greatly increase your pressure to account for the added lift required.

The 380F?

[cdemaria87]

Assuming 38.0F? Cause that's what I thought at first...

I figured out my problem. Bad gauge. Tried everything so ordered a new gauge. Old one read 4psi when unhooked. Added new turn tank on and it read 18.  Wth? It was a brand new reg. Oh well. Prefect pours now. Thank you all for the input.