QDs that don't leak...

I noticed in another thread that Bobby M and others were having issues with air getting into his system, and he was suspecting his MC QDs... I have been eyeing the cam locks from bargain fittings, because when hot liquid has just flowed through a hose fitting, it's not fun grabbing those things and trying to loosen them...

Is anyone else having issues with QDs leaking air into the system under vacuum?

Also, how much do you trust the cam locks?

I want to tee off of the drain output from my keggle and the resulting plumbing is going to make the keggle cumbersome to move around with it still connected... So the obvious answer is a QD of some kind..

Trouble is, with a ball valve in each leg of the tee, I'm wondering if it's necessary to put an additional one at the output of the keggle before the disconnect...

Seems like extra cost for a redundant valve, but I'd sure hate for a QD to come loose unexpectedly spilling hot water or worse yet, boiling wort all over the place...

Do you guys trust these cam locks enough that you don't put any sort of shut off valve between them and the pickup tube?

I'd need them in 4 or more places, and the price starts adding up, so I want to get feedback from those that have been using them for a bit..

Thanks

Never had an issue with MC QD's. Never.

i have the polysulfonic??? disconects. work well, never leak, dont burn your hands. They are a little pricy with the females costing 15 and hte males about 6 or 7

Do you guys have a valve before the first disconnnect, or do you just have the disconnect immediately outside of the kettle?

I can't speak for the QD's but I try to valve everything that I think is important in my system. Valves are relatively cheap ($10 to $20) and sometimes they can save the day.

Sawdustguy said:

I can't speak for the QD's but I try to valve everything that I think is important in my system. Valves are relatively cheap ($10 to $20) and sometimes they can save the day.

Click to expand...

That's kinda what I'm thinking and why I asked the question..

I see all these pictures of peoples high dollar brew rigs and there's nothing but 'QD' attached to the keggle or kettle.. and it makes me nervous..

So I'm wondering what the general consensus is on trusting these things to keep 10+ gallons of boiling wort from inadvertently spewing all over the place... If one accidentally gets bumped and somehow comes loose, I see no way to stop it until it completely empties the vessel...

r8rphan said:

If one accidentally gets bumped and somehow comes loose, I see no way to stop it until it completely empties the vessel...

Click to expand...

Turning off the ball valve stops the flow!

samc said:

Turning off the ball valve stops the flow!

Click to expand...

That's the point.. There is no ball valve!

I have a ball valve that the male QD screws in to on my kegs, pumps and rims. Hoses are female QD on both sides with barbs to the silicone. All MC.

r8rphan said:

That's kinda what I'm thinking and why I asked the question..

I see all these pictures of peoples high dollar brew rigs and there's nothing but 'QD' attached to the keggle or kettle.. and it makes me nervous..

Click to expand...

Some QD's actually have a valve built into them. They are called "Dry Disconnect Couplings".

I didn't actually have an air leak on my QDs. I was speculating at the time and it had something to do with my hop screen. Neither the Mcmaster brass ball/sleeve lock nor the camlocks have any leaks when they are connected.

As for not using valves, I don't know why anyone would do that.

Bobby_M said:

I didn't actually have an air leak on my QDs. I was speculating at the time and it had something to do with my hop screen. Neither the Mcmaster brass ball/sleeve lock nor the camlocks have any leaks when they are connected.

As for not using valves, I don't know why anyone would do that.

Click to expand...

It's not that they're not using valves, but the valves are 'after' the dosconnects.. And I find that a bit risky..

OTOH, sawdustguy brings up an interesting angle to this.. They could indeed have integral shutoffs built into the disconnects..

The plastic disconnects I have in my kegger beer lines are like that, and the corny keg fittings also all come like that.. so 'that' type of disconnect seems ideal if you're going to put ball valves after the disconnect....... I would feel safer with such a disconnect...

BTW, did you get the air leak issue resolved?

I use polycarbonate QDs that I got from Cole-Parmer. They work well enough, they don't leak and they are cheap. I think when I got them the 1/2" sets were less than $7 a piece.

Here's the 3/8" version of the QDs that I have ($4.95/set). I don't see the 1/2" version on the site. They might be out of stock or discontinued.

The self sealing ones are highly restrictive.

Put the valves on the vessel and eliminate any redundant valves downstream.