easy assembly / removal valve assembly
  • ThymThym
    Posts: 122,712
    So the idea of how to make it easy to tear down a rig for quick and thorough cleaning has come up several times now. I have one design tip that i found very useful in my build. I wish i had used this technique everywhere... but alas i did not. I came up with this handy dandy trick to late in the build to go back and re-do a lot of stuff.

    in my 'normal' fittings you have a coupler welded to the wall of the kettle giving you 1/2 FPT threads on the outside and inside of the kettle. on the outside you thread on your valve, on the inside you thread in some piece of plumbing. the inside one is a little painful to install because its always awkward. and to clean everything properly you have lots of unscrewing to do.

    what i did is attach the primary interior plumbing to the valve, then all i have to do is thread in the valve or remove it and i can clean the bulkhead clear through. and removing the valve is easy since it's on the outside.

    plus you can take this little assembly and bake it or boil it to sanitize.

    hope the picture makes some sense. i'll try to take a photo of the one in my MLT when im home during daylight hours.
    valve.png
    802 x 351 - 12K
    The only thing between me and a train wreck is blind luck..... - Kenny
  • scoobscoob
    Posts: 16,617
    Aah, so you thread on the valve, set orientation, and press the whirlpool tube or whatever into the valve through the coupler, then remove the valve with the pipe still in place, sweat it to the valve and you are good to go?
    Jesus didn't wear pants
  • scoobscoob
    Posts: 16,617
    The tube goes inside the threaded part of the valve so it doesn't interfere with threading the valve into the coupler?

    Just a clearer version of the above question
    Jesus didn't wear pants
  • ThymThym
    Posts: 122,712
    azscoob said:

    The tube goes inside the threaded part of the valve so it doesn't interfere with threading the valve into the coupler?

    Just a clearer version of the above question



    yes, it goes inside the threaded part. you may have to hit it with a drill bit, but it is just about the right size right out the gate.
    The only thing between me and a train wreck is blind luck..... - Kenny
  • ThymThym
    Posts: 122,712
    there will be plenty of clearance between the pipe and the ID of the coupling threads.
    The only thing between me and a train wreck is blind luck..... - Kenny
  • scoobscoob
    Posts: 16,617
    I see this as a great idea, as long as the doo-jimmy inside the kettle is positioned right, I could never do this with my kettle drain, it' picks up from the side of the kettle, so it would hit the bottom if I tried to thread the valve on
    Jesus didn't wear pants
  • ThymThym
    Posts: 122,712
    You press on the elbow on the inside. Don't solder it or it won't come out.
    The only thing between me and a train wreck is blind luck..... - Kenny
  • C_BC_B
    Posts: 89,073
    So the inside fitting, presumably an elbow for pickup or whirlpool, is friction fit? Does that seal well enough for a siphon on the final kettle drain?
    "On it. I hate software." ~Cpt Snarklepants
  • ThymThym
    Posts: 122,712
    CB said:

    So the inside fitting, presumably an elbow for pickup or whirlpool, is friction fit? Does that seal well enough for a siphon on the final kettle drain?



    yes. i use it in my mlt and it will draw down to nothing. i have a little oring backup seal that prevents any leaks. i've run it without the oring and it works fine, but sometimes it will break siphon about 1 inch below the fitting if you stop the flow. with the oring, you can stop the flow and it will hold siphon.
    The only thing between me and a train wreck is blind luck..... - Kenny
  • beerluvverbeerluvver
    Posts: 13
    pics?
  • scoobscoob
    Posts: 16,617
    beerluvver said:

    pics?



    Yes, this!
    Jesus didn't wear pants
  • ThymThym
    Posts: 122,712
    beerluvver said:

    pics?



    azscoob said:

    beerluvver said:

    pics?



    Yes, this!


    @beerluvver @azscoob - i need to resize and post them but i have a couple of the inside that i took today.
    The only thing between me and a train wreck is blind luck..... - Kenny
  • scoobscoob
    Posts: 16,617
    Sweet! Posting tonight or tomorrow?

    At any rate, it not like I'm not always here...
    Jesus didn't wear pants
  • ThymThym
    Posts: 122,712
    azscoob said:

    Sweet! Posting tonight or tomorrow?

    At any rate, it not like I'm not always here...



    tonight. just e-mailed them to myself.
    The only thing between me and a train wreck is blind luck..... - Kenny
  • ThymThym
    Posts: 122,712
    ok here there are, with elbow installed and removed.
    IMG-20121024-00081.jpg
    1024 x 768 - 239K
    IMG-20121024-00082.jpg
    1024 x 768 - 243K
    The only thing between me and a train wreck is blind luck..... - Kenny
  • ThymThym
    Posts: 122,712
    you can see the little backup o-ring and retainer. the retainer is a piece of a 1/2 coupling that was cut off. i cut about 3/8" off one of the sides, so it presses onto the pipe securely. the retainer can be sweated onto the pipe if you like, but not entirely necesarry. the oring should be changed every few brew days as the acidity and heat seams to dry them out.
    The only thing between me and a train wreck is blind luck..... - Kenny
  • scoobscoob
    Posts: 16,617
    Is your false bottom a stainless sink drain strainer???
    Jesus didn't wear pants
  • ThymThym
    Posts: 122,712
    azscoob said:

    Is your false bottom a stainless sink drain strainer???



    no, i removed the false bottom so you could see the fitting in the picture. the strainer fits over the hole in the false bottom where the pickup goes through. the bottom of the pickup is wider than the pipe to improve the smoothness of the flow. it also conforms to the bottom of the keg.

    BTW - the actual false bottom is the cut off top from the keg.
    The only thing between me and a train wreck is blind luck..... - Kenny
  • ThymThym
    Posts: 122,712
    little notches around the bottom edge of the keg top allow for wort flow, but very little grain movement. no holes drilled. it's a waste of time.
    The only thing between me and a train wreck is blind luck..... - Kenny
  • ThymThym
    Posts: 122,712
    I'll do a write up on that part separately.
    The only thing between me and a train wreck is blind luck..... - Kenny
  • scoobscoob
    Posts: 16,617
    I was way more impressed when I thought your false bottom was a sink strainer
    Jesus didn't wear pants
  • ThymThym
    Posts: 122,712
    azscoob said:

    I was way more impressed when I thought your false bottom was a sink strainer



    ha! well it's part of it!
    The only thing between me and a train wreck is blind luck..... - Kenny
  • scoobscoob
    Posts: 16,617
    I think everything would work fine with just the sink strainer
    Jesus didn't wear pants
  • ThymThym
    Posts: 122,712
    azscoob said:

    I think everything would work fine with just the sink strainer



    it's not long enough to reach the bottom the way i have it set up. plus the keg top looks way cooler.
    The only thing between me and a train wreck is blind luck..... - Kenny
Add a Comment