Too much foam when dispensing from 5l SS kegs

[KentishMan]

Hi folks,

I recently started using 5l SS kegs for dispensing, as I don‘t have a kegerator and these fit in the family fridge
I’m using a nuka tap, and a mini CO2 dispenser.
I’m also currently still performing* a secondary fermentation in the kegs, and conditioning before I cool them in the fridge.

The first keg tried (IPA), worked OK, but was just a little too foamy. But the second keg of the same batch was way worse (half a pint off foam!). Second batch seemed fine, but was a strong abv IPA, not sure if the beer abv affects things?
My latest batch is back to a full half a pint of foam again.

So I wanted to ask if you have any tips?
Not too sure if I need to add more CO2 pressure? Or less?
I have reduced the tap flow to a min, but no real difference.

Note: I normally still fill a few bottles as well as the kegs, and these seem fine.

 

[SMP Brewery]

I had a similar situation with mine, it was a while ago now but I think it was too much pressure. When I next use it I’m going to try putting a longer tube in to see if that helps.

 

[KentishMan]

Cheers, I’ve seen a few people talk about longer pipes to reduce pressure.
But thought that because they sell taps that connect direct, they should work ok.

 

[AnimatedGIF]

Cheers, I’ve seen a few people talk about longer pipes to reduce pressure.
But thought that because they sell taps that connect direct, they should work ok.

What pressure are you serving at? I imagine as has already been said you may well need to reduce the pressure.
Maybe you need to vent (pull the prv) before first connecting the mini regulator? Could be high pressure in the minikeg from the secondary fermentation. (Avoid venting when the co2 is connected as it'll just waste a cartridge)
It sounds like you have flow control taps, which I don't have experience with but have heard mixed reviews.
It can be frustrating when stuff like this happens.

 

[Dutto]

In the latest warm weather I managed to get a glass of foam from a keg!

Hooking it up to a 2ng keg showed over 10psi.

Try serving at 5psi!

 

[KentishMan]

Thanks all.
I think I managed to fix the problem

The mini dispenser is not perfect, but I was pressuring to about 10 psi, and yep I vented first, as this was about 30 psi after secondary completed.

I do have a flow control tap, but it did sit at a silly angle, due to the push fit connector.
But I managed to get a 90 degree stainless disconnect, which just happened to have its own flow control as well…
By really reducing the flow on both the disconnect and the tap, only a small trickle poured out…but doing this AND injecting low levels of CO2 at the same time poured a perfect pint

I guess by restricting at the disconnect and the tap, it is effectively making the equivalent of a thin tube for a short distance which has helped.
I make sure this works with my next batch too, but so far looks good.