Long beer line problem

[Cestrian]

When I have 2m of 3/16 line on the keg in the utility room, no problems, but my new set up has 15m of 3/8 beer line from my keg to my tap and I am really struggling to get this set up right. The keg is at ambient temp in the garage and I was dispensing at about 15-20psi (have tried several pressures), and there was a lot of foam. So I put 2m of 3/16 line on between the keg and the 3/8 line. This was better, but I can see in the long 3/8 beer line, air (or CO2) pockets developing between pulling pints. When I pour the next pint, its fine for a few seconds, then froth, fine then froth as these gas pockets come through. Tried moving the 2m of 8/16 beer line to the dispense end. It was better but still the same problem.

Any ideas? They must have similar distances from cellar to tap in pubs and bars. Can't quite work it out.

 

[DavidDetroit]

I thought you were going to talk about pubs and getting in to get a beer--about that I was curious.
Your kegging science just seems like magic to me.

 

[thegrantickle]

I would say it's most likely a temperature issue. CO2 will escape very quickly in a long length of line at ambient temp.

3/8 line has hardly any resistance to stop the beer fobbing. Based on 15PSI and 3/8" line, you would need about 104m of line. If you can drop the temp significantly, you can lower the pressure and thus the length of line needed to calm it down. I would probably go tor a whole length of 3/16th line from keg to tap, to be honest. It may pour a bit slower but you will have a lot less waste.

Check this article out for the maths on it, it's helped me in the past:
http://www.mikesoltys.com/2012/09/17/determining-proper-hose-length-for-your-kegerator/
Hope this helps

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

The 2m length of 3/16 at the tap end should be OK I think.

I see you’ve tried several pressures but have you allowed time for the carbonation of the beer to reach equilibrium at the new lower level? If you just turn down the pressure from the bottle without bleeding gas from the keg, you’ll need to pour several pints before the system is again in balance at the lower pressure.

You could try this…Turn the pressure down maybe 2psi and disconnect the gas from the keg. Release the pressure (or a lot of it) from the keg to allow excess CO2 in the beer to escape into the head space in the keg. Reconnect the gas and you should hear gas going into the keg - if not, disconnect the gas feed and bleed gas from the keg again.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

I just checked my setup. I have a keg of Pilsner carbonated to 18psi, a 4m run of 3/8 to my cooler, a 4m run of 3/8 back from the cooler, an in-line reducer to a 1.2m run of 3/16 to my tap. I also have a control-flow tap so can adjust the flow on the fly if necessary - it usually is for the first pint. Here’s a bit of footage of the pour…

 

[user 43495]

I recall managing a pub years ago where the beer lines ran underneath the catering kitchen. This caused eternal fobbing problems. I'd suggest using a King keg and simply go and fetch your beer. It might not look as funky but you won't waste beer!