Rotating Racking Arm

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Cold_Steel

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2009
Messages
558
Reaction score
1
After following Yuri thread I cannot find a rotating racking arm. Does anyone have a vendor they use to get them?
Thanks
 
Side Port (Rotating Arm) | MoreBeer
I found this one but its so over priced like everything else.

What a rip!

I bought so much equipment from B3 in the beginning and later realized how much I overpaid.

Examples:

Stainless "T" - B3 - $28
others - $16

Butterfly valve - B3 - $79 (now discontinued)
others - $49.50

Oh, and here's one:

Pro O2 assemble at B3- $349
Buy it in pieces from B3 - >$300
(Is that not screwy?)

Bottom line...

Shop around first!
 
I bought the plans to build a HERMS from byo and it lists on the pricing in there. In the last 2 years B3 is 45% higher. Its so nutz.
 
Do you have tri-clamp fittings?

I think that is the best way to make a rotating arm.

Here is what I would do, and I would source the TC parts and the ball valve from KLG Stainless on Ebay. He has the best prices and Kevin is very nice to deal with.

Bargainfittings.com is great for the locknut, washer, half coupling, and o-rings.

You will need to find someone to weld the dip tube in for you.

rotating_racking_arm.bmp
 
Whoa Boerderij_Kabouter thats a great idea. Thanks so much! Thanks for the resource as well. I need most of the stuff on here for the blowoff and dump valve.
I would like your opinion. Do you you like the 1/2"ball valve or Stainless Ball Valve - 1/2 in - 3 Piece | MoreBeer I was going to go with the 3 piece for a very scientific reason. I thought it was much shinnier :p
Thanks for the dieagram that made it way easier to understand as well.
 
I was going to go with 3-piece ball valves, but then the $15 savings for each valve over a system with 11 valves ($165) changed my mind. Realistically, I probably would take them apart to clean them, and it is easy to scrub out a regular ball valve.

If I was only buying a couple, I would get the Blichmann 3-piece because once you are going shiny you might as well go all the way.
 
Also, I would get the fittings installed first then find out how big of a racking arm you can fit through. Do the weld last so you don't screw it all up.

You could use 3/4" fittings to ensure you have enough room for a full 1/2" dip tube.
 
I have the rotating racking arm from St Pats, and it sure looks sharp from the outside. But shine a light from either end through the tubing and look on the inside, and you'll see ABSOLUTELY nothing sanitary about this racking arm. It's a POS bacterial nightmare on the inside. Nothing sanitary about it. Really pissed off... They even advertise it as sanitary. I might get a cutter and slice it up lonigitudinaly for everyone to see what crap it is.
 
I've built pretty much the racking arm Boerderij_Kabouter shows in his picture, but without the need for a weld. Rather than a pre-bent diptube I bent my own piece of stainless (as detailed in a previous post) to exactly the angle I wanted. Instead of attempting a sanitary weld of the tube to the tri-clamp adapter I used two silicon o-rings. I'd show a picture, but the fermenter is in use. The base of the tube runs the length of the tri-clamp adapter. I forced one o-ring in from either end. The silicon provides more than enough friction to hold the tube. The entire piece is easy to dissemble for cleaning.
 
Back
Top