Brass Vs Stainless??

Hi All - I am new to the forum......so be gentle!

I have been looking specifically for a thread dedicated to Brass vs Stainless fittings for all aspects of kettles to mashtuns to whatever..

Is there any reason I shouldn't used Brass Fittings for my boil kettle or Mash tun, or HLT?

Brass is so much more readily available.....

Thanks everyone for any answers in advance!

Cheers,
b

floodgates have been opened, lol.

But seriously, you'll find people on all sides of this.

I like the idea of all stainless just for the ease in cleaning it... but I dont think the average person is going to be able to tell a difference.

Durhamite said:

.

I like the idea of all stainless just for the ease in cleaning it... but I dont think the average person is going to be able to tell a difference.

Click to expand...

+1

Stainless is the way to go for the cleaning factor alone... you are about to have a huge debate on your hands though.

Oi. Here's a major discussion point. Some pickle, some do nothing, some worry, and others go stainless. There are pros and cons to each of the previous options.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brass#Lead_content

Except now I've seen many of the brass fittings are lead free.

But stainless looks so much cooler!!!

Mostly it comes down to this: Stainless fittings, while more expensive, can be added to your brewery with little or no preparation and be used as-is. Period. Very high durability, very little special maintenance required.

Brass, on the other hand, can leach trace amounts of lead into your wort. If you pickle the brass first you can prevent that from happening. Brass is a much softer metal than stainless, so much less durable, so if you tend to drop fittings or bump things up against other things in your brewery, it may not be the best choice. But so long as you're careful, it's a decent enough choice and can save you some cash.

Thanks for the replies....and please don't laugh too hard.....Is PBW considered caustic?

If I decide to use brass, should I go with something different?

Thanks again for all of your answers!

It all depends on what you're looking to build. There are a number of vendors here that sell stainless cheaper than brass fittings from your local hardware store.

It all depends on your risk, lead, cash, and political correctness tolerance.

btw, 8% used to be considered "lead free" for pipes and pipe fixtures until 2010, now it's .25% (in CA). However many alloys only went to 2%.

from fivestarchemicals.com:
"PBW is an alkaline, non-caustic, environmentally and user friendly cleaner."

I find that if you look in the right place stainless is not that much more expensive than brass. Brass has been on the rise lately and the playing fields are a bit more level. The quality of brass has been going down as well to try and compensate I think. Have you ever noticed if you purchase brass from different vendors how different the color is? I can show you about 4 different colors that are all considered brass. Makes me leery.

Personally I use brass on my gas plumbing but everything that touches beer is stainless. No worries on brewday, no worries about corrosion, no worries about what I use to clean it and no worries about crap getting into my beer.

I use brass on my HLT but stainless on everything else. HLT is just hot water so acid leaching of lead should not be a problem.

Clem

I don't think there is anything wrong with brass but if you think you'll get serious about brewing in the future and may want to do SS later, then just do it now. It will be cheaper than buying both (starting with brass and then replacing with SS) in the long run. Since you're asking the question in the first place and considering SS, you should just do it.


What I found it that no 1 vendor will have the best price on everything or even have everything you need. Make a list of the parts you need and then a spreadsheet for the cheapest price and then one order each. Shipping multiple times can add up. Here are some of the places I've gotten parts from in the past.

This is the best place for nipples and barbs:
http://stores.ebay.com/KLG-Stainless-Inc

Camlocks:
http://proflowdynamics27.reachlocal.net/modules/store/-Couplings-for-Homebrewers-_C12074.cfm

http://weldlessfittings.com/spareparts.html

http://www.buyfittingsonline.com/

http://www.bargainfittings.com/index.php?route=common/home

Just checked out http://www.stainlessbrewing.com/ link from above and they also seem to have a good selection and great prices as well. Need a 1/2 to 1/8 bushing though.

I originally went with brass valves in my hardware but changed to stainless later. I now only use the 3 piece stainless ball valves wherever I'm installing one. I've never seen a 3 piece brass ball valve and don't even know if you can get a two piece.

I originally went brass to save a few dollars. Later I changed more for peace of mind, and to get the added features of the 3 piece valves.

Every so often some of the vendors on HBT will have sales on the 3 piece ball valves. That's the time to either stock up for planned projects, or get the ones you need to change over. Or just have one or two 'spare' valves on hand. Never know when you'll want to install one on something.

Bigscience said:

Just checked out http://www.stainlessbrewing.com/ link from above and they also seem to have a good selection and great prices as well. Need a 1/2 to 1/8 bushing though.

Click to expand...

No problem. In stock!

I have brass in my mash tun & brew kettle; am I worried? NO. All the beer & animal fats I consume will kill me long before a little lead in brass fittings. Besides; I sometimes cross the road before looking both ways twice.

It's a proven fact that brass is the leading known cause of death amongst infants who consume massive amounts of alcohol through brass nipples.

Go stainless, or risk killing more babies.

:rockin:

l3asturd said:

it's a proven fact that brass is the leading known cause of death amongst infants who consume massive amounts of alcohol through brass nipples.

Go stainless, or risk killing more babies.

:rockin:

Click to expand...

+1

l3asturd said:

It's a proven fact that brass is the leading known cause of death amongst infants who consume massive amounts of alcohol through brass nipples.

Go stainless, or risk killing more babies.

:rockin:

Click to expand...

Damn, that is why my toddler wobbles when he walks. I just thought he was a sissy and couldn't handle his beer. It turns out this whole time I have been poisoning him with the lead in his brass nipples.

I feel like a horrible parent now

l3asturd said:

It's a proven fact that brass is the leading known cause of death amongst infants who consume massive amounts of alcohol through brass nipples.

Go stainless, or risk killing more babies.

:rockin:

Click to expand...

That is by far the funniest thing I have ever read on this forum!

We use a lot of fittings and I can tell you that brass has gone up significantly in price. There's no reason not to go stainless.

If you spend a little more now, you will end up spending less later. Get want you'll want in the future right now. As people have mentioned, brass and stainless are a lot closer in price. With stainless, you don't have to worry about how much lead has been added for the machining process. I have never used brass in my brewery so I can't really speak for it, but I can tell you, I have never regretted buying all stainless. The stainless gear will out live me. Most of the stainless gear that I have will never need to be replaced thus saving money in the long run. Stainless is more valuable than gold in my house!

There are a lot of great vendors here for fittings, I personally think Wayne at bargainfittings does a GREAT job. I have ordered a lot from him, even changed my order at the last moment and he has never had a bad attitude. Check out all the vendors for stainless fittings and shop around. Think about the future. It might take longer to build your dream home brewery, but in the end you will have spent less and have a system you can be proud of. Even though certain types of gear may cost more, it doesn't mean that the end product will be any better, keep that it mind also. Welcome and good luck!

http://www.bargainfittings.com/

I think the only problem might be if you put a brass valve on a stainless kettle or mashtun. You could start galvanic corrosion to both the valve and the kettle because the metals are dissimilar. Stainless can still corrode it's just more resistant to corrosion than carbon steel.

But plastic to brass is okay.

l3asturd said:

It's a proven fact that brass is the leading known cause of death amongst infants who consume massive amounts of alcohol through brass nipples.

Go stainless, or risk killing more babies.

:rockin:

Click to expand...

That is one funny response.

Thanks everyone for responding. I certainly appreciate the info. I got the response I was hoping for as I already put brass on my HLT and just ordered SS for my kettle.

At the end of the day I will end up re-doing everything make as there is always a better mousetrap! Just wanted to make certain I wasn't going to poison myself or friends first!

-b