Bulkhead fittings from Home Depot/ Lowes?

Can you get the parts at Lowes/Home Depot to make up bulkhead fittings like this, that would work in Sanke kegs?




Or is this item something you can only get from a homebrew outfit?

Thanks...

I can't see the pic above (probably fartsmiltered here at work), but I know that you can acquire the parts at HD/Lowes. The only thing is it's much easier to find brass/copper parts than stainless, but that never bothered me.

I couldn't find them at the Lowes or HD in my area but I found them in McMaster Carr catalog..http://www.mcmaster.com/ I went with 2 of these for my brew kettle and mash tun : http://morebeer.com/product.html?product_id=19806

they have worked great so far..

I too also just looked at Home Depot and a local hardware store and could not find the particular part or any thing similar.

I haven't loked yet, but maybe tractor supply? I know that they carry bulkhead fittings, as we use them at work, or maybe The Parker store??? They both have websites. HTH, Jeff

Thanks for the info, everyone!

It looks like this particular fitting can't be bought locally. Or if it can be, it wouldn't be worth the gas driving around looking. Lots of places have them online.

It's just that at 15 dollars a pop, I was hoping Home Depot would have them for less. I'm sure they have ball valves, hose barbs, etc....

You may be getting slightly confused as what you have pictured is not actually one fitting but actually 3. The stainless portion there in the pic you have is actually a stainless nipple screwed into a straight connector with a washer over the end. Also the one in the pic is for a cooler bulkhead from zymico. The one for a keg or a brewpot only has one o-ring. you can find all the parts locally except MAYBE the locknut ( the brass part in the pic) It has a grove that is machined into one side of it. I don't know if those are available or not. Lots of brew suppliers carry the zymico kits though.

MrSaLTy said:

You may be getting slightly confused as what you have pictured is not actually one fitting but actually 3. The stainless portion there in the pic you have is actually a stainless nipple screwed into a straight connector with a washer over the end. Also the one in the pic is for a cooler bulkhead from zymico. The one for a keg or a brewpot only has one o-ring. you can find all the parts locally except MAYBE the locknut ( the brass part in the pic) It has a grove that is machined into one side of it. I don't know if those are available or not. Lots of brew suppliers carry the zymico kits though.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I did grab the wrong pic. The one for a sanke looks similar, though.


Weldless Bulkhead. This is just the bulkhead fitting for the Sanke kegs, in case you already have the ball valve.
#7551Weld-B-Gone Bulkhead Fitt
$15.00
EACH




Ah, so this is only a nipple with a straight connector. That makes sense. Thanks for the info. Is the metal washer looking thing in this pic part of the straight connector?

Nope, its just a regular washer stuck on there.... if you held it with the nipple end down, it would just fall off. Think of it like this... the nipple is a pipe with threads on the outside and the connector is a pipe with threads on the inside. The nipple threads into the connector.... half in and half out. and the washer fits over the nipple and butts up against the connector. The nipple goes through the hole in your keg and the washer fits snug against the inside with the connector on the inside of the keg. Then the o ring goes on the outside of the keg and the lock nut holdit together. Then you can put a ballvalve on the end of the nipple that is still sticking out.

MrSaLTy said:

Nope, its just a regular washer stuck on there.... if you held it with the nipple end down, it would just fall off. Think of it like this... the nipple is a pipe with threads on the outside and the connector is a pipe with threads on the inside. The nipple threads into the connector.... half in and half out. and the washer fits over the nipple and butts up against the connector. The nipple goes through the hole in your keg and the washer fits snug against the inside with the connector on the inside of the keg. Then the o ring goes on the outside of the keg and the lock nut holdit together. Then you can put a ballvalve on the end of the nipple that is still sticking out.

Click to expand...

Wow... thanks again. I bet I could put those together for less than the asking price of 15 dollars. Should Locktite be used when threading the two together? Or maybe put some flux on to the threads before threading together and then hit it with some solder?

Lounge Lizard said:

Should Locktite be used when threading the two together? Or maybe put some flux on to the threads before threading together and then hit it with some solder?

Click to expand...

No Locktite, and for sure don't solder it...just use some teflon tape. You want to be able to take everything apart and clean it well every now and then, IMHO.

El Pistolero said:

No Locktite, and for sure don't solder it...just use some teflon tape. You want to be able to take everything apart and clean it well every now and then, IMHO.

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I guess the reason I ask, is I'm still thinking of this as one part, and I'm trying to turn it into one. Maybe I shouldn't. I wonder how the ones from Northern Brewer come? Will the connector screw right off of the nipple?

Thanks....

The ones that NB sells are the weld-b-gone ones made by Zymico. The connector is already tightened to the nipple and has teflon tape on it. This is a good thing because its a pain in the balls to tighten the nipple to the connector because the nipple has nothing on it except threads and you dont want to damage them. You can do it you just have to be careful.

Lounge Lizard said:

Can you get the parts at Lowes/Home Depot to make up bulkhead fittings like this, that would work in Sanke kegs?

Or is this item something you can only get from a homebrew outfit?

Thanks...

Click to expand...

This is also called a Kewler Kit.

http://www.zymico.com/cooler/

I tried for weeks to replicate it at about 6 different places. The brass nut is machined to fit one washer on one side and the other on the other side. I have several pictures of it in my gallary space if your interested.

GOD said:

This is also called a Kewler Kit.

http://www.zymico.com/cooler/

I tried for weeks to replicate it at about 6 different places. The brass nut is machined to fit one washer on one side and the other on the other side. I have several pictures of it in my gallary space if your interested.

Click to expand...

Darn fine looking mash tun! So I take it you were able to replicate it? Or not? Yeah, I bet that machined nut would be hard to find. I see you were not detered by brass parts. I don't know what to think about them. I might just pay the extra for stainless, and not have to worry about the vinegar/hydrogen peroxide treatment that some people recommend.

Lounge Lizard said:

Darn fine looking mash tun! So I take it you were able to replicate it? Or not? Yeah, I bet that machined nut would be hard to find. I see you were not detered by brass parts. I don't know what to think about them. I might just pay the extra for stainless, and not have to worry about the vinegar/hydrogen peroxide treatment that some people recommend.

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No I could not make it... damm tried though. Got a bunch of grey hairs to prove it :fro: . Yeah the brass you just have to do the vinegar/hydro peroxide thing. Palmer actually talks about in so it looks ligit.

MrSaLTy said:

The ones that NB sells are the weld-b-gone ones made by Zymico. The connector is already tightened to the nipple and has teflon tape on it. This is a good thing because its a pain in the balls to tighten the nipple to the connector because the nipple has nothing on it except threads and you dont want to damage them. You can do it you just have to be careful.

Click to expand...

Well, I ordered one of the Weld-B-Gone bulkhead fittings (along with a SS ball valve and barb). It's exactly as you described. They sent an extra o-ring. From the pictures online, it looked like you use two of them. Nope.

Even Zymico wasn't too careful threading the connector on to the nipple. You can see where they clamped right on to the nipple threads to screw the pieces together. Nothing too horrendous, but I didn't expect that.

I would have imagined that they could have used some kind of expanding device, inserted into the end of the nipple. A darn EZ-out might even work. They could have even used a tapered piece of dowel rod... lol

Anyway, it will work and will give me some guidance should I try to piece something together for my other two kegs...

Hehe ya I buckled and bought one too... thats how i knew what they looked like but I figured, I spent enough time riggin stuff to work (like my MLT manifold) and I just want this to work. could I have build something myself? maybe but this works and works well and I am on to the next bit I need to fabricate. (my wort chiller). I really had to tighten the living f**k outta it to make it not leak but its rock solid now. Hope yours works for ya too bud. Later!