Beer Line

DandyMason · January 17, 2012, 09:40:43 AM

Hey Jake, how did the swap between the 1/4 inch and 3/16 inch go? Im getting pretty fed up with my 5 feet of 1/4 inch set up and probably will be looking to get about 42 feet of 3/16 inch hose here soon. Same deal as you though, would be looking for 7/16 inch OD.

Kyle · January 17, 2012, 11:04:46 AM

I used 1/4 inch for a while, and the foam was a problem, especially for wheat beers (high CO2).

With my setup, I get great pours virtually every time (except right at the end of the keg) from 12' on regular line, 15' on high CO2 (wheat beers) line of the thick-walled, 3/16" beverage line, and Perlick taps on the end. I serve at 11psi and about 2/3 of the way through the wheat beer keg, I'll give it one quick blast of CO2 at 30 psi and let it sit overnight if the carbonation seems inadequate, but usually its fine. I also have a second secondary regulator to mitigate the need for the blast of CO2, but haven't put it in the newest configuration of the kegerator yet.

DandyMason · January 17, 2012, 11:19:29 AM

Yeah one thing I could really use is a secondary regulator.

The 1/4 inch beer line is definitely getting annoying. Im just not looking forward to having to swap the line in my towers, thinking it could be quite a hassel. But the pours are pretty awful right now so it should be worth it

Kyle · January 17, 2012, 11:26:44 AM

well, you could always build a tower out of wood

Jake · January 17, 2012, 01:29:38 PM

Yea it is totally worth your time to change it up. I used 8 feet of 3/16 for each one, and I wish I used 10 for a little bit of a slower pour. I got my line from Simgo and I believe it was around 60-65 bucks with shipping to my door. Well worth it but a real pain in the ass to switch I found. Not a lot of wiggle room in those dual towers.

DandyMason · January 17, 2012, 01:37:18 PM

Yeah switching them up is going to suck.. Ill look into Simgo... Also might order it from Ihomebrewing.com since I need a few other things.

Kyle · January 17, 2012, 01:43:09 PM

Before I built my own tower out of wood, I found the best way to swap hoses in the metal ones was to disassemble the faucet shank, put the stuff that goes on the inside of the tower (hose clamp, nut, washer) over the hose, while holding it so that stuff doesn't fall down into the tower. Then push the hose through the faucet hole, assemble, insert in tower, loosely place nut and washer, tighten hose clamp, tighten the other stuff. PIA, but it works.

DandyMason · January 17, 2012, 03:41:22 PM

Sounds like a good plan to me, Thanks