Where to get Stainless Steel Tubing, 1/2"

Hi Brewers,
Does anyone know where I could get about 20-30 feet of 1/2" stainless steel tubing. I am thinking about piping my brew stand with it. Locally would help, I am in Boulder, CO. Thanks fellas!

Andrew

I pulled THIS up using Google...

Just ordered this 1/2" 25' coil from NY Brew Supply. Still on the brown truck, but I'll let you know how it holds up. I've heard good things.

Thanks guys. Anyone know if it is OK to use 304 instead of 316 and if there is a big difference? Thanks!

Andrew

Is there any reason brewstand plumbing couldn't be copper?

I know copper and fermented beer shouldn't mix, but copper is good for wort, right?

yeah, I know. I bought a bunch of stainless swagelock compression fittings for cheap and now I just want to use all stainless to have it look purdy! Copper would be easy, but if I don't have to sweat pipe and I just have to compression fit pieces, I'll do that. Thanks

Mcmaster is the cheapest supplier I have found. If you need to do any bending, I HIGHLY suggest getting the swagelok 1/2" bender on eBay (~$125). You can sell it and the end of the project and recoup most if not all the cost.

fergoussons sup they are in most stats look under pipe supp in your phone book yes 304 or 316 is fine for food grade that what all big breweries use

Here is a quick guide on the different types of stainless steel.
Scroll down on this page.
http://www.onlinemetals.com/stainlessguide.cfm
They were also the cheapest I could find on the sizes (2 inch) I was buying a couple of years ago and they will cut to length.

This was the cheapest I found:

http://cgi.ebay.com/304-Stainless-S...620?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53ddb445ac

Bends beautifully with the swagelok bender.

Hey all, long time follower, first time poster. I'm also in the process of buying tube to hard pipe my brew stand and came across this thread. Two follow-up questions for the group:

1. If I've got 1/2" threaded fittings, don't I want something like 5/8" O.D. S.S. piping so the interior is 1/2"? Or would hand bending that thick tube be a complete pain (I'm about to learn all about the joys of bending when I do this). I noticed in the responses above that you suggest 1/2" o.d., so I'm guessing that means the wall thickness is so thin that it won't be a big loss for the I.D. correct?

2. Are sites like McMaster or Buyfittingsonline about the cheapest places one can find pipe-to-tube compression fittings? The rest of the fittings/tubing for the setup seem to be relatively cheap. But paying $25 per compression fitting seems a bit steep.

Thanks for all the postings. It's been great to read up on this before sinking a bunch of money into it.

-gc

eBay is by far the cheapest supplier for swagelok fittings. Use swageloks site to find the item number, then search that number on eBay.

You will not be able to bend SS tubing for hard plumbing by hand. It will kink if you try to make a sharp bend without a purpose built bender.

As above, I HIGHLY recommend the Swagelok brand 1/2" bender. You can get it on eBay for around $125.

Cool, thanks for the advice. I was definitely thinking of bending with a hand bender, and not literally by hand. Good to know I can get that one on ebay.

So sounds like 1/2" O.D. tubing to 1/2" NPT threaded is the way to go for the compression fittings? I guess that's a little cheaper than the 5/8" compression to 1/2" NPT, and probably easier to bend.

Yes. I would go with 1/2" OD. The wall thickness is only 0.035" (depending on what you buy) so you really don't lose much flow at all.

Only 1 available on Ebay today. $350 Buy It Now.
http://cgi.ebay.com/SWAGELOK-1-2-TU...613066?pt=BI_Pipe_Benders&hash=item41537d940a

Bummer... give it some time. There are generally a couple available.

Here is an alternative to the Swagelok and rigid 408 benders http://cgi.ebay.com/Imperial-Eastman-1-2-Pipe-Bender-1-1-2-Radius-/130442700355?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e5efda643. I have used these and other brands over the years and they will give good bends with .035 and .049 wall stainless tubing. Do not try bending .020 wall tubing on the small radius bender, all it will do is wrinkle and collapse, this type bender might be able to handle the thin wall stainless http://www.dwsorbital.com/Pages/ws430.htm.

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-x-7-8-2-in-1-tubing-bender.html

$33.

http://www.toolup.com/ridgid_36132_model-408-lever-bender.aspx
Own one. works like a charm.
-David

Just an fyi on the swagelok fittings. Unless the part number has BT (bore through ) behind it on the 1/2" fittings the smallest diameter is .40ish. Got mine today and measured with calipers.

Thanks for the bender links everyone. Looks like I can pick one up for a little less if the swagelok bender doesn't appear online for a reasonable price.

So looks like a 0.5" O.D. x 0.049" W would work fine with any of the benders you list above. And if the diameter of the fitting is at 0.4" at the smallest, (thanks for the measurement EuBrew!)then the tube won't be the restricting element anyway. Plus it gives me some rigidity which will hopefully prevent too much mangling of tube.