Really clear silicone tubing

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Bobby_M

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I've had silicone on my brew rig for at least 4 years and I bought my first bit from US Plastics and then got some of that really sweet discounted Cole-Palmer stuff from Ebay last year. I started stocking some imported tubing last year and thought it was the best I could do and still keep the price where it needs to be. I finally hooked up with a US based extruder that showed me how good silicone tubing can really be. Granted, I haven't had my hands on more than a few different samples, but does anyone have 1/2" ID, 1/8" wall silicone that they can read through? Here's a comparison... new U.S. based stuff on the left, China import on the right.

siliconecompare.jpg
 
Pretty sweet! You planning on stocking this soon? Is the price comparable to your current silicone?
 
I know where we are purchasing tubing for future stands...

Thanks Bobby for bringing another excellent product to our market. :rockin:
 
I have this stuff in stock right now and it's going to be the same price but I do have a special deal on 100 ft boxes because that's how I spec'd it out and it's really easy to ship.

The reason I think clearer is better is the same reason why I prefer silicone over thermoplastic. I like to see if I'm pulling air bubbles into my pump or to see if the pump is cavitating on the output. It also helps gauge wort clarity during recirculation.

The temp rating is still 500-600F like any other silicone.
 
The reason I think clearer is better is the same reason why I prefer silicone over thermoplastic. I like to see if I'm pulling air bubbles into my pump or to see if the pump is cavitating on the output. It also helps gauge wort clarity during recirculation.

My silicone tubing is more like the one on the right, and it bugs me that I can't see when my wort has stopped and I end up pulling in air bubbles. I'd love to be able to see the wort!

I'll need to order some in the next month or two, as I want to change out all of my tubing. I'm happy to have a clear choice- thanks, Bobby!
 
aesthetically pleasing...:)

As far as flexibility and not collapsing on itself it seems to work the same?
 
wish I could scrounge up some guys locally for a group buy. Ordered 20 feet hoping thats enough to replace my opaque silicone.
 
Nice! I still have 40-50 feet of Cole Parmer tubing from e-bay though. Think I may replace the tubing between my HERMS out and MLT input for the reasons Yooper brings up. Would be really nice to be able to tell if the flow has stopped.
 
Nice find Bobby.
Your Ebay comment kind of made me chuckle...my buddy and I are still using the same silicone tubing we scored off of Ebay for less than $1/foot....I think those days are gone forever though.
Another thing to add to the cart on next order
 
Damn you Bobby! I bought 20 feet of the white silicone from you a couple months ago. Now I'm going to have to buy more of the new spiffy clear hose, dammit.
 
Well I was trying to fix something the other day and it required me to sacrifice my only two pieces of silicone tubing I use for brewing. It looks like I will be buying the new stuff now.
 
I ordered some silicone on a whim from a competitor that had some hard to find hops in stock and think that I received this product.

It is awesome, does not kink, can see liquid flow will be great for moving from recirculating to fermenter discharge. It is floppy whereas the old silicone that I have is sort of rigid and kinks if you look at is cross eyed. I want MORE and bobby has the best delivered price for 10 feet.

Bobby can you confirm that this stuff is "floppy"
 
This stuff looks amazing. I'll be buying a whole box when I can afford it. My brewery uses ~40' of 1/2" silicone including all my transfer lines, and I'll be thrilled to replace it with this higher grade when the old stuff gets too stained.
 
I don't know that I'd call it floppy. It's a little more rigid than the stuff I had previously but it doesn't kink easily.

This quote is why context matters. (Yes, I might still be in middle school)
 
I ordered it last week as I was too impatient to wait for the reply. I got it fast just like my last 2 orders (should have added it to my last order to save shipping. I'm not sure but It actually appears to be more clear than my purchase from a competitor and it might be slightly less "floppy" but will accept tight radius bends without collapsing. If there is a difference it's slight but Bobby's is better. if there isn't I must just be so happy with bobby that I'm slighted against the other companies. Now only if I hadn't forgotten/had realized that I needed more stuff before I placed this order.
 
Damn - This looks nice - but my system is entirely set up for 3/8" tubing, not 1/2".

Is this worth switching out all of my fittings for? I'd need new nipples on mash tun + 2 boil kettles - but I would have to find some way to adapt my 3/8" CFC as well.

I currently use the braided vinyl Menards/Home Depot tubing (Wells brand) and it seems to work adequately. I guess I just don't notice the plastic off flavor?
 
Yeah brewingmeister, I've always hesitated to deal with the "normal" silicone stuff, I never liked the opacity of it - just seeing this clearer stuff has me tempted to jump ship to the silicone side.

(Plus I wanted to buy it from Bobby. :p )


edit; now that i'm looking into whether to buy a plate chiller instead of an immersion, i might be switching out to 1/2" fittings anyways. BLARGH. Always something else I need to go spend a bunch of money on. :p
 
Any way to get this in 3/8 ? I'm a new homebrewer buying silicone for all the tubing to avoid phthalates, and every other part of the system I'm putting together is 3/8".
 
It may be but i can't be sure. I know that true peristaltic rated tubing is softer.

I believe you're right, we use Cole Parmer Masterflex Platinum tubing at work on our peristaltic pumps, and it seems softer and slightly more translucent than the tubing I've seen is sold online at the major homebrew stores. YMMV though. On a side note, anyone know a good way to get rid of stains on tubing? After running a stout though my tubing recently it seems to be darker in color
 
wantonsoup said:
Any way to get this in 3/8 ? I'm a new homebrewer buying silicone for all the tubing to avoid phthalates, and every other part of the system I'm putting together is 3/8".

Amazonsupply.com has the clear silicone 3/8" tubing. Like Bobby said, it's more expensive than the 1/2".
 
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