SS Braided Ring

Well I'm trying to complete my set to get into all-grain brewing. I posted this under the "All Grain" Section couldn't get a hook of a read so I decided to put it here.... I could use the help!


I'm making the John Palmer SS Braided ring as referenced in this thread:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/stainless-steel-braided-ring-33194/

I've got the braided ring assembled with the 5/8" Compression Tee, but the book doesn't describe how to connect it to a cooler bulkhead. I was thinking vinyl tubing to a hose barb but the high temp doesn't fit real well and i would definately have to down size to 3/8".

Any thoughts on this?

If it's anything like my set-up, you need to get stainless hose clamps. Tighten them with a flat-head screw-driver until they're water-tight, and you're good to go.

If you think that won't work, just go to your local hardware store, and ask them how they would do it; you're essentially doing a plumbing rig, and they're the experts.

I have a nipple through the cooler attached to the bulkhead. On the inside I had to buy a stainless steel coupling to attach between the T and the nipple. I attached the braid with SS hose clamps after that. Probably not the ideal way, but it has been working fine for over a year.

Well...here is what I did to connect mine:

* 1/4" brass plug - to plug the end and to weight the end down
* 3/8" to 1.5" SS hose clamp - to clamp the plug onto the braid
* 12" of SS braid (this was a 5 gallon round mash tun, so obviously a larger rectangular tun should require a considerably longer SS braid)
* For the inside of the braid I took some 14 gauge copper wire, stripped of insulation, and wrapped it around a pencil to make a coil that I could put on the inside of the braid to prevent it from collapsing under the weight of the grains
* 1/4" brass pipe nipple - 2" long - this is what I slide the SS braid over
* 3/8" to 1.5" SS hose clamp - to clamp the SS braid onto the 1/4" pipe nipple
* 1/2" to 1/4" reducer - to connect my 1/4" pipe nipple to my 1/2" ball valve setup
* 1/2" pipe nipple - "close" - IE it's all threaded, and about 1.25" long
* SS fender washer that fits over the 1/2" pipe nipple

That's all on the inside. On the outside...
* 1/2" hi-temp silicon o-ring to keep it water tight (hi temp probably not necessary, but I bought a bunch of them for my brew kettle)
* galvanized fender washer that fits over the 1/2" pipe nipple
* 1/2" ball valve
* 1/2" hose barb to connect to my hose which leads into the kettle

Use a small segment of the braid to connect to the fitting.

To anybody interested I found a much better solution to this, and I think it's the one John Palmer used (if you look at his completed photo in the book). I took a short piece of 1/2" copper pipe (one of the things compression nuts are used with) and connected it to another compression fitting - 5/8" OD x 1/2" MIP (Watts A-324). This then connected to my 1/2" coupling that's on my bulkhead. Looks great! Maybe I'll post a pic if I get around to it.

oh, and NO LEAKS!!!! Hooray Beer!