How do I Calculate the Size & Length of a Beer Line?

Proper tubing to connect beer lines to a keg and flow hardware is essential.

When hooking up your home beer keg, a staple of every man's dream home, you just need a few basic math skills in order to secure the tubing properly. Calculating the size and length of a beer line is as simple as figuring out the volume of a cylinder and the circumference of a circle. Does this Spark an idea?

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Instructions

- 1
  
  Wrap a piece of thread once around the head of the beer notch on top of the keg. This is where the tube should attach snugly to pull beer into the line towards the draw hardware. Pinch the thread where the end meets itself again. This is the circumference of the keg head. Keep the thread pinched at the measured spot and lay it across a ruler to get the precise measurement for your tubing. Beer line tubing is sold by the interior diameter, so whichever hose matches the measurement you made for your keg's beer notch is the right size for you.
- 2
  
  Figure out the diameter of the tubing by dividing the circumference by pi (approximately 3.14). You can calculate the volume of your tubing by also measuring the length of the entire tube. Punch the tube's diameter into the calculator. Multiply the diameter times the diameter. Multiply that number by the length of the tube and then multiply your new number times pi. Divide that number by 4 and you will have the volume of your beer line tube.
- 3
  
  Set the PSI and lower your keg temperature to 38 degrees Fahrenheit. Search within the beer information that was included in your keg purchase to determine the ideal PSI for that specific beer's carbonation by volume. If you are more than 1,000 feet above sea level, go up one PSI for every elevation of 1000 feet. Figuring out the proper length for your beer line depends on the carbonation of the beer, the temperature and the altitude.
- 4
  
  Add the ideal pressure, plus 5 and divide by the beer line's restriction value per foot. This equation will assist in figuring out the best length for your beer line. If the flow is still too slow, shorten the line 6 inches at a time to find the ideal pull for your beer.

Photo Credit beer kegs image by Martin Mullen from Fotolia.com

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