Weldless vs Welded fittings on kettle

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MrSmug

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Welded has the obvious benefit of being leak free however I like the fact I can take apart a weldless fitting and thoroughly clean it whenever I feel like it.

Can I get some other opinions out there?

Do you have to fully take apart and clean a weldless fitting every use?

Thanks for you help
 
My weldless is leak free. Personally I haven't removed to clean my weldless setup since I got it. I run star san through it good enough for me
 
JoeyChopps said:
My weldless is leak free. Personally I haven't removed to clean my weldless setup since I got it. I run star san through it good enough for me
Click to expand...

Aren't you worried some nasty critters could be looming somewhere? Is this not really an issue since you are boiling?
 
I'm not the least bit worried I run oxy through it every now and again and star san every brew day. My valve get hot as a mofo during boiling I'm pretty sure aids could live through those temps. But I have yet to have an issue with my process and like red green use to say if it anit broken don't fix it
 
There are more places for critters but the boil takes care of that. It's a matter of how clean you want to keep things.
 
Are there any cons with welded in terms of sanitation. Would/could the weld breakdown over time?

In the end its all a matter of preference correct?
 
a welded fitting is only a threaded coupler, everything else is removable for cleaning.
 
MrSmug said:
Are there any cons with welded in terms of sanitation. Would/could the weld breakdown over time?

In the end its all a matter of preference correct?
Click to expand...

Not if it's done right. Everything in the cheese plant I help manage is welded 316 stainless. Nothing's threaded that can make product contact.
 
Generally do you leave weldless fittings as is and rarely fully dismantle for cleaning? What are the most common inside fittings (if any)?

Thanks
 
I leave my weldless fitting on my HLT, but remove the fittings from my HLT and BK to clean after each batch. I boil the fitting and valve for my BK before each batch (to sanitize).

As for inside fittings, I have a full coupler connected to a dip tube in each vessel.
 
bdjohns1 said:
Not if it's done right. Everything in the cheese plant I help manage is welded 316 stainless. Nothing's threaded that can make product contact.
Click to expand...

Yes but...in a proper sanitary pipe system you use butterfly valves, not ball valves as butterfly valves are CIP friendly, ball valves are not. You should have triclamp fittings on a sanitary pipe system too, both of those component are expensive and hard to find in the sizes homebrewers use.

My take on welded vs weldless is mostly cost. Welding stainless in a sanitary fashion is costly although nice to have. I use weldless because it is cheep and I can install it myself. I only occasionally disassemble my ball valves to inspect them (the valve not the weldless fitting) never had an issue. I also whirlpool with a pump for during my boil, I find it helps get to a good boil faster and then everything is sanitized by the boil.
 
LordUlrich said:
Yes but...in a proper sanitary pipe system you use butterfly valves, not ball valves as butterfly valves are CIP friendly, ball valves are not. You should have triclamp fittings on a sanitary pipe system too, both of those component are expensive and hard to find in the sizes homebrewers use.

My take on welded vs weldless is mostly cost. Welding stainless in a sanitary fashion is costly although nice to have. I use weldless because it is cheep and I can install it myself. I only occasionally disassemble my ball valves to inspect them (the valve not the weldless fitting) never had an issue. I also whirlpool with a pump for during my boil, I find it helps get to a good boil faster and then everything is sanitized by the boil.
Click to expand...

Actually, we don't even use butterfly valves. We use Waukesha W75 series mix-proof valves. Of course, those also cost an obscene amount of money, since they have electrical control tops and talk DeviceNet.
 

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