I had difficulty finding the 5/8 SS fender washers -- actually I had difficulty finding 5/8 fender washers period. I did some substitution. I found 5/8 neoprene washers that are both waterproof and heat resistant. I used one on the inside in place of the SS washer. On the outside of the cooler, I used two neoprene fender washers with a 5/8 zinc cut washer in place of three fender washers. It isn't as steady as going all metal and twists a little in the rubber fitting on the inside when you turn it on and off, but there's no leaking after letting water sit for 30 min and not a drop when I turned it on and off.
Thanks a million to the OP and the clear directions and pictures on this!!
I think it's actually in this thread somewhere, but there is a "build a bolt" package near the all-thread in the bolt/nut section of HD. In there are a bunch of SS 5/8 fender washers
So I tried buying the parts for this at Home Depot last night. They claim they no longer carry that size of ball valve, nor did they have any stainless steel washers for the inside of the cooler. I tried at True Value as well with no luck. Not sure where I'll find the correct ball valve size, the closest I could get was 1/4 inch which does not fit the other pieces. I also ended up using a rubber washer for the inside rather than stainless steel (do you guys think that is ok?) The guy at True Value thought the usual Nickel washers wouldn't be good to put inside the cooler. I'll have to keep searching for these hard to find parts. Hopefully I can get this thing built fairly soon.
__________________
"The ordinary world is only the foam on top of the real world." Tom Robbins (B is for Beer)
"It's a beautiful day for baseball. Let's play two." Ernie Banks
So I tried buying the parts for this at Home Depot last night. They claim they no longer carry that size of ball valve, nor did they have any stainless steel washers for the inside of the cooler. I tried at True Value as well with no luck. Not sure where I'll find the correct ball valve size, the closest I could get was 1/4 inch which does not fit the other pieces. I also ended up using a rubber washer for the inside rather than stainless steel (do you guys think that is ok?) The guy at True Value thought the usual Nickel washers wouldn't be good to put inside the cooler. I'll have to keep searching for these hard to find parts. Hopefully I can get this thing built fairly soon.
How crucial is a stainless steel washer? WOuld a nickel washer be a really bad idea for the inside of the cooler? I see now that the rubber one I bought doesn't provide enough rigidity to the valve so when I try to turn the ball valve handle the entire piece wants to move around with it. I checked the www.bargainfittings.com site, unfortunately they do not carry 5/8" SS washers.
__________________
"The ordinary world is only the foam on top of the real world." Tom Robbins (B is for Beer)
"It's a beautiful day for baseball. Let's play two." Ernie Banks
I personally wouldn't use Zinc because of corrosion, however both my MLT and HLT reuse some plastic parts from the original spigots. My Gott cooler reuses a nut from the inside as a washer and my rubbermaid reuses a vinyl washer.
I finally got mine put together today and it works great. Not leaking a drop.
After spending days searching in vain for a 5/8" SS washer, it dawned on me to try and find a "close enough" metric equivalent. Found a 16mm stainless steel fender washer at the first place I tried (Ace Hardware), fits like a glove. Cost me $1.70, but I spent twice that much in gas driving all over town looking for the imperial equivalent.
So for those on the washer hunt, be sure to check out the metric section too. You might have more luck there.
I built mine tonight and it works great. I had some of the same problems with parts and thought I might offer my solutions. I apologize if this is mentioned before.
I bought the Crown Bolt Create a Bolt kit in 5/8". There are two boxes of these at my HD. One is SS and the other is Zinc. I had to poke around but I found the SS ones. Keep looking through the packages, because they look identical minus a small note on the front that designates SS or Zinc. This came with 4 5/8" SS washers and I used all of them. I used 2 5/8" zinc flat washers for the outside spacers. I also added 2 neoprene 5/8" washers. These were in the specialty washers drawer at the HD.
For the spacers, I used the 2 zinc flat washers and 3 SS washers from the kit (since I wasn't going to use them for anything else) and I added a neoprene against the cooler. On the inside, I used the second neoprene, the original rubber seal, and a SS washer.
My HD also said they didn't carry a 3/8" ball valve. So, I bought the 1/2" ball valve and also bought 2 1/2" MIP x 3/8" FIP Pipe Hex Bushing (Watts A-828). I put these on both ends of the 1/2" valved effectivly necking it down to 3/8", which allowed me to use all the other parts without modification.
Also, the local HD did not have much in the way of SS supply hose. It was all polymer except one labeled universal dishwasher hose. The only downside is that it was $15 and came in one length, 60"! Guess I'll have plenty for replacement!
I had the same stainless steel washer problem as well. After a while I figured out that the plastic nut that was holding the original spout could be modified to work. I didn't have a 5/8ths drill bit so I ground off the nuts threads and a bit more with a dermal until it would fit over the brass pipe. It seems to work well with just two spacer washers on the other side.
I also have a slightly different design for the stainless braid portion that I mostly got from John Palmer's book. It's a 1x24 inch braid that wraps in a circle to a T connector.
Just got back from the HD. 10 Gallon cooler is still 39 bucks.
Found almost everthing on the list.....(darn, forgot the high temp tubing. got to have a home brew now.......................)
ah.
OK
The Cut a Bolt kit that I saw clearly stated they were ZINC coated. I did not buy this and will hit the Fastenal store on the way home for the SS washer.
For the other 3 5/8 washers, I could only find what was called CUT washers in the 5/8 size. Although they aren't 'cut'. They are flat and a little thicker than the smaller sized Fender Washers. I saw Fender Washers but not in that size.
Linear Mode
