Brass or Stainless fittings

[Chris]

I am in the process of converting a few kegs.

I have managed to find everything except one fitting in stainless.

What do you use? and why?

[Pilgrim]

Which fitting are you missing? Have a look on the Anzor website http://www.anzor.co.nz/bsp-npt-fittings/product I have bought all of my fittings over the phone from the Wellington branch and they have been very friendly and helpful. Fittings always arrived the next day.

If you have to use brass then that's no problem, I do prefer stainless though.

Pete.

[Chris]

the coax nut, to join the copper feed to the 1/2" socket welded into the keg. I sourced most of my fittings from them personally, agree with you, very friendly and helpful.

[Stu H]

http://www.hoseshop.co.nz/ are good, but Evan Davies (a homebrewer on here) is better.

[Chris]

how do you guys connect the copper feed that goes to the bottom of the keg to the socket that goes through your keg?

[Tilt]

I'm with Chris' plan but use a more agricultural version - brass crox nut  and croxed copper pipe screwed onto a short length of nippling tube.  You can get all the bits and a crox tool at Bunnings.

[Tilt]

Noticed the thread doesn't really make sense.  Sorry i should have put the above post down under Chris Banks below.

[Chris Banks]

I never understood why those compression fittings are sooo expensive even at trade prices??

Heres my normal solution - which does require a male pipe thread to connect to but a piece of nippling tube would soon convert a socket.

[Stu H]

so what have you actually done there Chris? What is that connecting the s/s tubing to the male pipe thread?

[Chris Banks]

The tubing has a shoulder and oring seat machined into it prior to bending then a ss equivlent of a crox nut pulls the seal up to the end of the male thread I like it this way as it is sealed but not locked up dead tight you can boil with the pickup well of the bottom , chill then runoff until you can see how much trub you have and nudge the tube down with a sanitised spoon as close as you dare to the trub pile.

This way it is all silicone and stainless and no tools required to connect disconnect.

[Stu H]

ah wicked, looks so awesome Chris.

[Chris]

where did you get your electric element? is it very efficient for 23L batches? 

[Chris Banks]

I normally keep a stock of elements myself - That pic is in a 50L kettle with 2.4kw and some good insulation and makes a good rolling boil when full in a reasonable period of time. Heres a pic of a Tui Blonde clone boiling in it ....