draft beer glycol chiller system

[levi]

Bar called complaining about foamy beer. Checked glycol chiller system out and everything seemed to be working fine. Found walkin cooler where kegs are stored at 50 degrees however. Very old equipment, so replaced evap and condensing unit. Walkin now at 40 degrees but beer still foaming and too warm at tap. Glycol pump in walkin is running and I verified that there's glycol in system but dont know if there is enough or maybe it has degraded to a point where its just not transfering heat properly. I don't usually work on these draft line systems but beer company refuses because they didn't install it. Its some kind of home made job done by previous refrigeration guy who just worked for beer. To his credit it did produce supposedly 34 degree beer at tap however and now there getting only 40 degree beer.
Any sugestions gentlemen.

[crackertech]

Here some info http://www.hvac-talk.com/vbb/showthr...ft+beer+glycol

[crackertech]

Or this one http://www.hvac-talk.com/vbb/showthr...ft+beer+glycol

[airon]

The beer in the walk-in needs to be colder 34-36 degrees preferably.
The glycol loop needs to be somewhere under 30 but this only removes heat buildup from the tap lines. Most run around 25 deg glycol temps. For real heavy use I have seen as cold as 15 degrees but thats risking line freeze when the beer is idle.
Loop chillers are not really meant to chill below the actual product temp when draught in heavy use.

[t527ed]

get your box temp down as airon said, i like to go 33-35.

check temp of glycol in system and make sure that system is working properly.

[levi]

how do you know if there is enough glycol in the system. There is one access port on the suction side of the pump inside the walk in box and another on the discharge side of the pump above the walkin cooler. Temperature of glycol at tap is 38 degrees. R22 chiller system running 20 degree evap, clear sightglass, superheat varies between 6 and 20 degrees at txv bulb, 25 degrees of subcooling, 40 degree box temp. Trying to get that down to 35 degrees but weird part is that before I installed new equipment on box it ran at 50 degrees and the chiller produced 33 degree glycol at tap

[local 832s]

Hows the air flow? 20* evap and a 40* cooler seems like air flow problem. Subcooling seems high at 25*. Is there a expansion tank on the system? Just thinking out loud.

[levi]

The 20 degree evap is on the chiller not the walkin cooler evap. I got the walkin cooler down to 38 degrees today and the beer seams to be pouring better. Just can't figure out what happened to chiller system. It used to be able to take 50 degree beer in walkin and turn it into 33 degree beer at tap. Now it just maintains the same temperature. 38 at walkin....38 at tap!

[humphreymech]

make sure your pump is working check you trunk line for hot spots and some times you can turn down the t-stat on the chiller. may need to change out glycol.