NovaBrew wrote:Just curious, Any reason why all 3/16 and not all 1/4?
Take a peek back at my earlier reply. The 3/16" will have much more resistance to flow than the 1/4". When you have what we call a balanced system you will have your CO2 regulator set somewhere around 10-12 psi depending on the temperature inside your kegerator. This will keep your beer at the proper carbonation level. If you try to pour the beer at that pressure, all you will get is foam.
By adjusting the length of the beer line, the internal resistance to the flow of the beer will drop the pressure at the tap down to somewhere around a pound or so, depending on how you like the pour. Most of the time it takes around 5 feet of 3/16" line to get that perfect pour. I generally advise folks to start with about 6.5' of line and give it a try. If the pour is too slow, cut off a few inches. Keep doing that until it pours the way you want it. Cut off only a little at a time. You can always cut more off, but you can't glue a piece back on. Once you get one line cut right, you can go right to that length for any other taps.
This procedure gives you a perfectly balanced system and means you don't have to change the regulator pressure and bleed the keg whenever you pour a beer. My system is balanced like this and I only touch the regulator about once a year when I need to change out the CO2 tank. There are lots of charts and formulas for figuring out the right length, but I find that tubing will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer in terms of actual internal resistance, so all that computation will do is get you into the general ballpark, but you will still need to fine tune it like I said.
Wayne
