A foam on beer detector is a crucial component in any long-draw or through-the-wall draft beer system. It maintains the quality of your bar or restaurant’s beer by avoiding waste from too much foam that your staff only pours down the drain. By detecting an empty keg and shutting down the beer flow, it eliminates foaming issues and the need to refill lines and purge air from the system. Many of our featured projects included the installation of FOB detectors, and we cannot recommend them enough!
How Does a FOB Detector Work?
FOB detectors function by utilizing the beer flow in the beer line. As the beer flows through the FOB, it lifts a float ball to the top of the detector chamber. When the keg starts to empty, and the beer flow becomes lighter, the float ball drops, activating a seal on the FOB outlet port. This immediate cut-off of beer flow into the beer line prevents any further loss of beer due to an empty keg.
Why Businesses Need Foam on Beer Detectors
These detectors ensure a continuous flow of beer without foaming when your keg runs empty. Without it, your tap would start spitting and spraying foam, inconveniencing customers and requiring cleanup. By installing a foam on beer detector on your beer line, you eliminate foam waste, serving downtime, and the additional labor costs associated with cleaning up after a blown empty keg.
Moreover, FOB detectors offer substantial cost savings by reducing beer wastage. On long-draw beer systems, without a FOB, each keg change can result in wasting up to 64 ounces of beer as you transition from one keg to another. With a FOB detector, the loss of beer through foam is almost entirely eliminated. The cost savings from reduced wastage quickly make up for the investment in a FOB detector.
How to Clean and Maintain FOB Detectors
Regular cleaning and maintenance of FOB detectors are essential to ensure optimal performance, similar to beer line maintenance. While a standard beer line cleaner effectively removes organic waste buildup, it may not be sufficient to eliminate mineral deposits. To address this, we use an acid beer line cleaner during the cleaning process for foam on beer detectors. The acidity helps eradicate beer stones and mineral accumulations.
When your AHFP representative performs your regular 14-day cleanings and quarterly acid cleanings, the FOBs are always flushed with the respective solution and purged to clean the drain line as well. When line cleaning is done every 2 weeks, the build up in a FOB is minimal.
The accepted recommendation is to disassemble and thoroughly clean FOBs every quarter. Making sure to use non-abrasive brushes to clean and wipe all internal surfaces of the FOB. The steps to do the quarterly FOB cleaning are:
- Untap the Keg with the line to the FOB
- Connect the line to the cleaning canister/ re-circulating pump
- Bleed the line so there’s nothing left in it (including purging the FOB drain line)
- Disassemble and clean all internal parts of the FOB
- Reassemble the FOB
- Run solution/ water through the line
- Purge the FOB and drain line while there’s solution/ water inside
- Tap the keg and flush all remaining water in the line so there’s nothing but beer in the line
Trust Your Foam on Beer Detectors to A Head for Profits
The quality and taste of your beer depend on clean FOB detectors as much as clean beer lines. Installing a FOB detector is crucial for maintaining a consistent flow of quality beer, reducing wastage, and avoiding foaming issues. Maintenance of FOB detectors, in conjunction with beer line maintenance, ensures optimal performance. We at A Head for Profits would be happy to assist with that regular cleaning.
