BYO Spunding Valve help

Hello,
I just built the spunding valve from this month's Brew Your Own, but I'm having trouble finding a part. I can't seem to find a coupling that connects between the flair fitting of my disconnect and the MPT of the valve. Anyone know where I can get such a thing?

Thanks

What's a spudding valve?
Do I need one?

The dude who wrote the article created it to use when fermenting naturally in a keg. It is basically a gauge and pressure relief valve that connects to the gas-in so you can see how much pressure is getting built up and adjust a valve so that it bleeds off any above what you set.
So it is; Gas in quick disconnect -> brass Y - > one going to the pressure relief (with adjustment screw) and the other going to the gauge.

Not needed, just convenient.

I ended up using a hydraulic fitting to fill the situation you're referring to. It's the only thing that had the right set of threads.

Why not just put a pressure guage on the quick connect, check the pressure periodically and use the pressure relief valve to releave any excess pressure.

I like gadgets as much as the next guy and maybe I'm missing something here but I just could not see much work reduction from this one.

I'm using one of these:

After I looked around for the parts trying to build it myself. It was just as expensive as buying one from the HBS. I had a very hard time finding a pressure gauge for a practiacl pressure range while being able to read PSI and mPa or bar.

Yes this thing is not essential, but it really helps if you want to carbonate naturally during a secondary fermentation of lagers/ales in a keg. It also helps if you want to filter carbonated beer.

A better version of this actually uses an adjustable pressure relieve valve so you don't have to do it manually.

Kai

Kaiser said:

A better version of this actually uses an adjustable pressure relieve valve so you don't have to do it manually.

Kai

Click to expand...

In the BYO article they were saying you have to tweek and monitor it to get the pressure right. Then if you carbonate at different levels for different beers you have to do that every time.

That's why I was saying I don't see the spuding valve as that great a labor saving devise.

Kai , I think what you did is much more pratical.

Plus the spudding valve was kind of expensive IMHO. It's a neat device but it would be way way down on my list.

abracadabra said:

In the BYO article they were saying you have to tweek and monitor it to get the pressure right. Then if you carbonate at different levels for different beers you have to do that every time.

Click to expand...

It depends how good of an adjustable pressure relieve valve you build/use. There are certainly fairly precise options aviablable where you can calibrate the device and match the number of turns to a blow-off pressure. If you use a standard blow-off valve designed to below off for safety reasons, you will have a hard time calibrating it since a fraction of a turn will result in a 5-10 psi pressure change. Since they are especially popular among German home brewers, you will find better options there. I haven't read that article b/c I don't receive BYO.

Plus the spudding valve was kind of expensive IMHO. It's a neat device but it would be way way down on my list.

Click to expand...

Yes, most brewers will have very little use for it b/c it doesn't fit in their brewing process. And there is nothing wrong with this.

I mean to write something about this on the Wiki, but it may take a while.

Kai

I love mine. I know it is a preference sort of thing, but I think it makes my brewing easier. I simply primary for 4-5 days and transfer to my clean and purged keg and throw on my spunding valve. Then I watch the pressure rise and adjust once i am just over target carbonation. I love the fact I am following Reinhietsgebot by not artificially adding anything to the beer (I wouldn't ever knock force carbing since that is all I used to do). I just really like not having to shake a sanke everytime I want to carb. Just my two-cents though.

Click here for a Wiki article on spunding.

The reinheitsgebot doesn't say you can't artificially add anything, it just restricts ingredients to barley, hops, and water.

wortmonger said:

I love mine. I know it is a preference sort of thing, but I think it makes my brewing easier. I simply primary for 4-5 days and transfer to my clean and purged keg and throw on my spunding valve. Then I watch the pressure rise and adjust once i am just over target carbonation. I love the fact I am following Reinhietsgebot by not artificially adding anything to the beer (I wouldn't ever knock force carbing since that is all I used to do). I just really like not having to shake a sanke everytime I want to carb. Just my two-cents though.

Click to expand...

Man, I love that idea. Do you have much of a problem with lots of yeast in your draft?

wortmonger said:

I love mine. I know it is a preference sort of thing, but I think it makes my brewing easier. I simply primary for 4-5 days and transfer to my clean and purged keg and throw on my spunding valve. Then I watch the pressure rise and adjust once i am just over target carbonation. I love the fact I am following Reinhietsgebot by not artificially adding anything to the beer (I wouldn't ever knock force carbing since that is all I used to do). I just really like not having to shake a sanke everytime I want to carb. Just my two-cents though.

Click to expand...

I'm not sure I follow...

Does this eliminate the need for a CO2 tank...?

How do you keep constant pressure on the keg..?

wortmonger said:

I love mine. I know it is a preference sort of thing, but I think it makes my brewing easier. I simply primary for 4-5 days and transfer to my clean and purged keg and throw on my spunding valve. Then I watch the pressure rise and adjust once i am just over target carbonation. I love the fact I am following Reinhietsgebot by not artificially adding anything to the beer (I wouldn't ever knock force carbing since that is all I used to do). I just really like not having to shake a sanke everytime I want to carb. Just my two-cents though.

Click to expand...

I do that without a spudding valve.

Reidman said:

I'm not sure I follow...

Does this eliminate the need for a CO2 tank...?

How do you keep constant pressure on the keg..?

Click to expand...

No, it just eliminates the need for carbonation from sugar, spiece/gyle, or forced CO2. You still need CO2 to dispense...

But I ask again, what's the story with that first glass full of yeast slurry (I guess that's an easy way to harvest it though!)

kvh

Reidman said:

I'm not sure I follow...

Does this eliminate the need for a CO2 tank...?

How do you keep constant pressure on the keg..?

Click to expand...

I think you don't have to go through the rigamarole of carbing with CO2, no regulator is needed, no shaking to saturate the beer with CO2. But you'd need a gas source for dispensing the beer. That could be a normal set-up or the little cartridges.

I'm curious about sediment being any issue.

*bump*

Sediment? Anyone got an answer?

It will be the next Frat induction ceremony "Drink this 1st pint and you can't use a crapper for 12 hours.."

LOL, well I do have sediment in my glass for the first couple of beers, or a little over a pitcher. It is negligible though, and you still need CO2 to serve the beer. They are right about not having to worry about carbing the beer though. Like Ronco I just set it and forget it. You can make one without the adjustable pressure relief valve, but why if you are making one IMHO. I will say this, if you move your keg any after you start serving you will have sediment again. I leave my sanke until it blows once it hits the kegerator. It is just like the guy said, you don't have to shake or anything. The beer would be sitting there anyway maturing or conditioning for up to a month after primary (for my ales anyway) so why not have it already carbed when your ready to put it in your kegerator? This is why I love it. Also, about the reinheitsgebot and adding CO2. You would be adding CO2 which is not barley, hops, water, or yeast. I say this, but it is a preference for what you want to read into the law for yourself. Plus it doesn't really matter since I think most people interpret it for "no ingredients other than the before mentioned." I do know based on what Kaiser said that a lot of German breweries spund their secondaries, or collect and re-introduce the CO2 when needed. I was new to the idea until I read Kaiser's threads, great wealth of info especially on lagers. I am not saying it is needed, just works great for me and takes another step out of finishing my beer.

Sorry it took so long for me to get back to you guys but the computers all went down. Hope this helps to explain how/why I use mine. I did have a friend make a part for my sanke tap out of nylon to connect it to the spunding valve. I couldn't find a decently priced stainless threaded tail-piece. It cost more to ship than the part was worth, so I figured up what it would cost me and paid him to make me that many. $15 = 4-nylon threaded tail-pieces . For that price I couldn't have had 2 shipped to me. Lucky I have a cool machine shop close. When I get everything straightened out at the end of summer I am going to start selling them and some other gadgets I am having him make, way cheaper than you might think. Beer gadgetry is what keeps my brain ticking at night, lol.

I'm thinking of trying to build one of these. I'm wondering what pressure to target if/when I get the valve working. I've seen 14 psi mentioned in the BYO article, but if the beer is still at room temperature (70 deg F) shouldn't I let it pressurize up to like 20 PSI if I want 2.0 volumes of CO2? Going by the calculator here:
http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/carbonation.html

One more question, has anyone tried doing this without the valve? As in, just hooking up a pressure gauge and then using the relief valve in the sankey tap, or corny lid depending on what type of vessel is being used.