weldless fittings

[Cain Harland]

I was having a look at http://www.bargainfittings.com/ lots of cool stuff and reasonably priced but they recon they don't ship international. The thing I'm most interested in is the whirlpool / Side pickup fitting kit and the bulkhead to go with it, and a sight glass would be great too. Does and one know of anywhere in where to get such a thing in NZ? or of a plumbing part or something that is similar enough. There seem to be a few of weldless bulkheads around on trademe and in shops but not much else.

Also to create a whirlpool does the arm make a big difference or would an elbow to direct the flow be good enough, or an elbow with a hose barp fitting screwed into it to concentrate the flow? eg I could buy this and put the barp on the elbow instead of the outlet.

[Peter Smith]

This guy is very very good, he communicates well by email questions if you really want bsp vs npt etc etc combines shipping I have been very happy with everything I have got through him.

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/1017341

I think a lot of trademe people are just reselling his kit.  My stuff arrived within about 2-3 weeks. He shipped within 24 hours.  if you buy a small keg he will pack all your stuff in it   8)

[Cain Harland]

Thanks peter his shipping is cheap as if you don't mind waiting. I saw the HERMS Coil Weldless Bulkhead now I want to put a HERMS loop / imersion chiller into my kettle/HLT. I didn't realize you could do that weldless.

[Cain Harland]

Garden hose vs quick disconnect are they the same / compatible I have a lot of brass garden hose fittings and want to keep using them, I like that I can just whip down to mitre 10 and grab one when I need it but the valves that come with weldless bulk heads all seem to be 1/2 inch. So the question is do I go to plumbing world and get a 1/2" - 18mm adapter and use a brass garden hose fitting or do I order the quick disconnect fitting with my bulkheads. The quick disconnect would be preferable because its one less join to leak or collect filth but only if my brass garden hose fitting will connect to it.

[Dene McDonald]

+1 on SHFC Precision Machinery. I've ordered several things off him and he is great. 

[Patrick]

Has anyone used this weldless bulkhead? http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Stainless-Steel-Kettle-Keg-...

My question is, is it threaded on the inside of the tube that extends into the kettle? I want to run a ballvalve on the outside and a 45 or 90 degree elbow with a bazooka style hop screen on the inside.

Cheers

Patrick

[Nathan]

Yup it is or at least mine are that I bought from www.allgrain.co.nz you will need a male thread on the 45 or 90 elbow as the "socket" is female

[Brett Mason]

I bought that bulkhead and had a bit of grief with leaks due to the design.  It is just a 1.5" coupler + washer + 1" nipple + nut so there are plenty of gaps you need to seal. If you ditched the washer and use thread tape you can get a seal.

The 1" nipple is also fairly short if you want something inside and out so I ended up just connecting the ball valve directly: ball valve | washer | threaded nipple | kettle wall | washer | coupler. Defeats the point of the kit but its cheap and the other parts are still useful.

I like the look of this kit instead since the bulkhead is a solid unit but they only sell as a set of 5 for some reason. http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Stainless-Steel-Kettle-Bulkhead-1-2-...

[DMAC]

I have the same alixpress bulkhead that Patrick posted. Why has it got 5 stars? To me they seem pretty average. The hole in the washer is too large which allows the o ring to pinch in between it and the nipple damaging it. I have some better sized washers from YIBrewing if it helps.

Does anyone else dislike that their weldless fittings feel bendy and cheap when you turn a valve (as the o ring squashes). Or maybe something is wrong with mine?

[Barry]

My recommendation for what it's worth:
Spend some time studying the weldless bulkhead design Kal recommends at theelectricbrewery.com
O-ring on the outside squeezed between 2 very specifically sized washers is the way to go. If your design features an o-ring on the inside, or an o-ring squeezed so it twists and pinches that's a pretty good hint you're going to have bulkheads that leak.