No barbs....

Hey guys,

I bought a keg kit today at my LHBS. Tonight I went to start assembling things and I found this type of connector in the bag.



There was nothing in there with which to connect these to the hoses.

After doing some searching I found out that these are MLF type connectors and that they are preferred by many of you here. But I'm not sure what I need to connect the hose to these. I've been searching but I can't find anything.

Once I know what I need, can I get them at Lowe's/HD? My LHBS closes each day before I get off work. And I won't be off again til Saturday.

I'd really like to get the beer on the gas ASAP to have it carbonated before Christmas eve.

Thanks

You are going to need the item on this page labeled as Barbed swivel nut. Don't think you'll find anything comparable at Lowes/HD, but I might be wrong. Now that you know what you are looking for it should help.

McKBrew said:

You are going to need the item on this page labeled as Barbed swivel nut. Don't think you'll find anything comparable at Lowes/HD, but I might be wrong. Now that you know what you are looking for it should help.

Click to expand...

+1; I doubt your hardware store has them. I went with the the 1/4 threaded myself so I can switch over to sankey tap easily (haven't needed to since I ramped up my brewing).

I suggest you use teflon tape on the gas side thread to get a nice tight connection and prevent leaks.

MoRoToRiUm said:

I doubt your hardware store has them.

Click to expand...

+1 Save yourself the trip and figure out how to get to the LHBS instead.

MoRoToRiUm said:

I suggest you use teflon tape on the gas side thread to get a nice tight connection and prevent leaks.

Click to expand...

Do not use teflon tape or paste on these fittings.
Teflon is only for tapered pipe threaded (NPT) fittings.

It's nice to have at least one set of hoses running the MFL/swivel nut barb so that you could have a guest tap of either commercial beer or pinlock keg.

egolla said:

Do not use teflon tape or paste on these fittings.
Teflon is only for tapered pipe threaded (NPT) fittings.

Click to expand...

+1

No offense to the people that use tape on their flare fittings, but they are engineered to seal at the tips, not on the threads.

If you've got a flaring tool, you can get necessary pieces at your hardware store. You could get the flaring tool there too, if you wanted. Pick up a 1/4 flared nut and piece of 1/4" copper tubing. It will work fine for carbing for a couple days, but I wouldn't serve with it. Some hardware stores sell 1/4" stainless tubing as well, but your typical flaring tool won't be able to flare it. If you want a pic, there are a couple almost to the end of my kegorator write-up: Wort-O-Matic: Custom Draft Tower and Kegerator

The purpose of teflon isn't to seal- It's to cut down friction to allow proper tightening. I know this will be objected in the use I stated above, and please feel free to retort my opinion, but I will still continue to use teflon tape on my gas threads to ensure proper tightening (unless some one has documented test proving me otherwise).

OP, sorry for hijacking your thread a little- let us know if you have any other questions or need a source for the proper barbs. Happy brewing!

MoRoToRiUm said:

The purpose of teflon isn't to seal- It's to cut down friction to allow proper tightening.

Click to expand...

Actually it serves both purposes, reducing friction and filling gaps. Pipe dope accomplishes the same thing, seals and lubricates. I use them both, but generally prefer tape.

But if tape is working for you in this application, then who am I to say you should stop using it! So long as it's not overlapping onto the actual sealing surface it can't hurt, and it may make tightening easier.

I got one barbed swivel nut from NB but realized that I actually needed 2, so I got another at my LHBS. The one from NB just had the barb and the nut, and the one from my LHBS had the barb, nut and a little plastic washer. I didn't use the washer, and it has a good seal. Should I be using the washer, or does it not matter?