Homemade ball valve assembly

I put together a ball valve for my kettle today. I got the parts at Lowes. I installed it on an old pot to see if I could make it work. It worked great! Not one little leak, and I did a test boil in the pot for 90 minutes. No problems at all! I'll be installing it on my kettle some time next week! No more "hot break" junk in my fermentor for this ol' boy!

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what did you use to drill the hole? I was just at HDepot looking at those same parts.

Gear101 said:

what did you use to drill the hole? I was just at HDepot looking at those same parts.

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As painful as it was for me to make the decision to do it I decided to fork out the cash for a "step drill" bit. It was a $35.00 purchase, but I can use it at work (and write it off as a business purchase if I do).. It worked great. I also used it to make the hole on the washers I used bigger as well..

I guess I should have posted this in the DIY thread instead of the equipment thread...

Did you get that 1/2" hex nipple there to?

Just a note, it looks like those MIGHT be galvanized washers. If you have galvanized anywhere that it'll contact beer, that'll cause a problem.

kinda hard to tell, but did you use rubber o-rings? if so, you might want to make sure they can handle the heat of the kettle.

poislb said:

Did you get that 1/2" hex nipple there to?

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I got everything at lowes..

TXCurtis said:

Just a note, it looks like those MIGHT be galvanized washers. If you have galvanized anywhere that it'll contact beer, that'll cause a problem.

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The washers are just spacers. They will never touch my wort..

mike20793 said:

kinda hard to tell, but did you use rubber o-rings? if so, you might want to make sure they can handle the heat of the kettle.

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I got the rating on my o-rings.. They were rated at 210F.. I figure that's close enough to be safe. Plus, as mentioned above this set-up survived a 90 minute rolling boil without any ill effects. Tomorrow I'm going to disassemble everything and check the structural integrity of the o-ring.

Pending the outcome of that inspection, would you be able to post part numbers? I'm looking to do something similar, and am too cheap to drop the $ for a SS ball valve when something cheaper will suffice.

djfriesen said:

Pending the outcome of that inspection, would you be able to post part numbers? I'm looking to do something similar, and am too cheap to drop the $ for a SS ball valve when something cheaper will suffice.

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After I do at least one successful wort boil I will indeed post part numbers. I want to be double sure it will work before I recommend using it..

Stauffbier said:

As painful as it was for me to make the decision to do it I decided to fork out the cash for a "step drill" bit. It was a $35.00 purchase, but I can use it at work (and write it off as a business purchase if I do).. It worked great. I also used it to make the hole on the washers I used bigger as well..

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I saw those step bit for the same price and thought the same thing.. $$$$

ok i'll have to buy on then too.

Gear101 said:

I saw those step bit for the same price and thought the same thing.. $$$$

ok i'll have to buy on then too.

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You don't need an expensive step bit, a cheap one will do. That is, if you are only going to use it a few times. I got one on Amazon for $14 and have drilled four holes without any problems. Probably has a few more holes left in her until it's junk.

Neiko part number 10194A

have a harbor freight near you?
1/4" - 3/4" High Speed Steel Step Drill

ok i found a set at Northern for 15. Now do I need to make a punch mark to start this so it doesn't go all over the place?

punch, then a starter hole with the biggest regular drill bit you have.

Gear101 said:

I saw those step bit for the same price and thought the same thing.. $$$$

ok i'll have to buy on then too.

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I've been looking for an excuse to buy a decent one for a couple years now. I'm a home remodeling contractor, and there are plenty of things I can use it for. The ones at harbor freight are great, but I opted for a little better quality as I will likely use it a lot at work and at home..

Just out of curiosity, what was the total cost of all the parts at Lowes?

Bobby_M said:

Just out of curiosity, what was the total cost of all the parts at Lowes?

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Not including the step drill, the entire ball valve assembly came out to $21.29..

Stauffbier said:

Not including the step drill, the entire ball valve assembly came out to $21.29..

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For the same price you could have just ordered one from here. And a few bucks more it could have been all stainless.
Bargsin Fittings

Or as I'm sure Bobby was going to say you could have got this. stanless b-valve

Lowes does sell SS washers. Inside Pic Please?

Maybe with the stainless hose barb and shipping it would have been $32 or so, but then I also have a step bit for $11 so it would have ended up being cheaper in the long run and you'd have stainless and silicone all around.

Bobby_M said:

Maybe with the stainless hose barb and shipping it would have been $32 or so, but then I also have a step bit for $11 so it would have ended up being cheaper in the long run and you'd have stainless and silicone all around.

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Eventually I'll order stainless. I hadn't actually ever even heard of you until you posted on my thread. The main reason I went the DIY route was because somebody told me I couldn't do it. I always take that as a challenge.. I was hell bent on prooving that I could indeed make it. Plus, being in El Paso, TX everything I order costs me between $7-$15 in shipping, and I'm tired of paying so much for shipping. I also could have got a cheaper step drill at harbor freight, but I wanted a better quality one. I'll be using it a lot more than 3 or 4 times on brew kettles.. I am glad to know about you, though. I'll keep you in mind for when I go stainless. Thanks for your reply!

I'm certainly not looking to cut you down about it. The truth is, brass prices have really gone up quite a bit and stainless has not increased as much. Something like a weldless ball valve assembly would ship USPS small flat rate for under $6. FYI for the future.