Connecting Silicone Hoses to Immersion Chiller, Other Than Clamping

Just ordered Stainless Brewing's 1/2" x 50' stainless steel IC. From their description:

Stainless Brewing said:

These immersion chillers are made up of 50ft 1/2"OD x .035 304/304L stainless steel tubing to a 10" diameter at an average height of 24". These are currently sold as the tubing itself with no additional hoses or fittings. Brass garden hose adapters are available for an additional cost.

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I wanted a ready-to-use solution, but I bought this one because it was the only 1/2" x 50' model I could find. So now, I have a big coil of stainless on the way with no fittings, along with 10' of 1/2" silicone tubing.

Connecting the silicone to the garden hose it easy, but connecting the silicone to the IC coil is throwing me for a loop.

My gut instinct was to just clamp, but that seems like it would crush the tubing ends. Is there a better way that doesn't involve soldering/welding?

Why would you think you would crush the ends? You're dealing with stainless and you're only applying enough pressure to keep the silicone hose from flying off.

You need a pair of compression adapters, picked up a set of 1/2" compression to garden hose for my immersion chiller. No leaks to worry about..

You can find these at plumbing supply stores.

Use camlock fittings. Super easy to clean afterwards.

kluge9 said:

Why would you think you would crush the ends? You're dealing with stainless and you're only applying enough pressure to keep the silicone hose from flying off.

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Iunno. Just know I don't want it up for the price.

Satisfaction said:

You need a pair of compression adapters, picked up a set of 1/2" compression to garden hose for my immersion chiller. No leaks to worry about..

You can find these at plumbing supply stores.

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Definitely want to use the tubing before the garden hose connections. Is there some other compression fitting that would work with the tubing, maybe compression-to-barb?

You can just clamp it with either a worm clamp or Oetiker clamp of the correct size. Just do some dry runs to ensure the connections don't leak before you use it for a brew.

You could, also, try a 1/2" compression to NPT adapter and then adapt that to hose threaded fittings. I would get a delrin ferrule from Bargain Fittings, or use a pair of silicone o-rings under the compression nut (on the chiller). FAR easier than trying to get stainless ferrules to seat properly/fully IME. You might even be able to get the hose fitting adapter from Bargain fittings (call/email them)...

de3isit said:

Use camlock fittings. Super easy to clean afterwards.

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I'm not sure I understand.

Can you give a little more info how I'd use them to connect silicone tubing to stainless tubing with camlocks?

Yeah, just more fittings but definitely doable.

Stainless is expensive, but just for the conversation.

http://www.bargainfittings.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=36_56&product_id=170

+

http://www.bargainfittings.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=36_39_61&product_id=125


and you can hook up your hoses to the fittings and then to the garden hose..


Best of luck!

Golddiggie said:

You can just clamp it with either a worm clamp or Oetiker clamp of the correct size. Just do some dry runs to ensure the connections don't leak before you use it for a brew.

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Fair enough. I guess sometimes I need to remember to KISS.

Golddiggie said:

You could, also, try a 1/2" compression to NPT adapter and then adapt that to hose threaded fittings. I would get a delrin ferrule from Bargain Fittings, or use a pair of silicone o-rings under the compression nut (on the chiller). FAR easier than trying to get stainless ferrules to seat properly/fully IME. You might even be able to get the hose fitting adapter from Bargain fittings (call/email them)...

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This? http://www.bargainfittings.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=170 $19 each. Ouch.

thadius856 said:

Definitely want to use the tubing before the garden hose connections. Is there some other compression fitting that would work with the tubing, maybe compression-to-barb?

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You could do this setup on each side...
Compression fitting: http://www.bargainfittings.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=36_56&product_id=132

barb: http://www.bargainfittings.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=36_39_61&product_id=61 or high flow: http://www.bargainfittings.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=36_39_61&product_id=186

Ferrule: http://www.bargainfittings.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=36_56&product_id=191

Or reach out to the guys from Stainless and see if they can send you the fittings to adapt to the garden hoses... I would request the Delrin ferrules if they have them. Or just order up some from Bargain Fittings. I have a few on hand at all times (never know when you'll want to use one).

thadius856 said:

$19 each. Ouch.

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That's why I went brass and direct connect with the garden hose, only two things to buy.

thadius856 said:

Fair enough. I guess sometimes I need to remember to KISS.



This? http://www.bargainfittings.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=170 $19 each. Ouch.

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Stainless fittings are NOT cheap... If you want to go from compression to barb, that's what it's going to take (see my post from a couple of minutes ago, before this one)...

Either that or just use clamps to go directly onto the chiller.

Satisfaction said:

Yeah, just more fittings but definitely doable.

Stainless is expensive, but just for the conversation.

http://www.bargainfittings.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=36_56&product_id=170

+

http://www.bargainfittings.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=36_39_61&product_id=125


and you can hook up your hoses to the fittings and then to the garden hose..


Best of luck!

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Yeesh. That adds $50 to the IC build right there. They needn't be stainless... this isn't a CFC.

Golddiggie said:

Stainless fittings are NOT cheap... If you want to go from compression to barb, that's what it's going to take (see my post from a couple of minutes ago, before this one)...

Either that or just use clamps to go directly onto the chiller.

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Why stainless? The connections don't ever touch the wort.

Satisfaction said:

That's why I went brass and direct connect with the garden hose, only two things to buy.

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It's also why I went with a plate chiller with NPT fittings on the wort side and hose fittings on the water side. QD's were only a few dollars each (CamLock)...

Satisfaction said:

That's why I went brass and direct connect with the garden hose, only two things to buy.

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I would go direct connect, but I'm just worried that my dirty hoses would drop dirt into the keggle and spoil the batch.

thadius856 said:

Why stainless? The connections don't ever touch the wort.

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Best to use all same metals. Otherwise you can get corrosion buildup and/or shorten the useful life span of the item. Plus, stainless is far stronger than brass, allowing you to really wrench down on it if needed without issue. I've stripped heads of brass bolts/fittings before.

I used the cheap ol' worm screw clamps that came with my stainless IC. Worked fine. Can't see why anyone would need to go further, unless they leak or don't fit for some reason.

thadius856 said:

I would go direct connect, but I'm just worried that my dirty hoses would drop dirt into the keggle and spoil the batch.

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Are you dragging them through mud or something?? Use the silicone hose you ordered as leaders and then fit them with 1/2" barb to hose fittings (from HD or Lowe's)... Just be sure to really get the connections on there good. Full pressure hose water will find a leak point before you think. Check the connections every few times (at least) and make sure the hose ends of the chiller are OUTSIDE the pot/kettle at all times.

woknblues said:

I used the cheap ol' worm screw clamps that came with my stainless IC. Worked fine. Can't see why anyone would need to go further, unless they leak or don't fit for some reason.

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First post! Welcome!

Well, for why, I know that vinyl shrinks/expands with heat, allowing your clamps to dig in over time and cause leaks at pinch points. I wasn't sure if silicone tubing had the same problem.

Here is a picture of what I use. Hopefully it helps.

Golddiggie said:

Are you dragging them through mud or something??

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Well... umm... yes. It's a garden hose. That's half the point.

de3isit said:

Here is a picture of what I use. Hopefully it helps.

View attachment 91312

View attachment 91313

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Oh. Just smashed that bad boy right on there. Gotcha.

thadius856 said:

Oh. Just smashed that bad boy right on there. Gotcha.

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On the other end of the hose I use a street 90 and the camlock to avoid kinking.

de3isit said:

On the other end of the hose I use a street 90 and the camlock to avoid kinking.

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Makes sense.

I was always told soft tubing on hard threads was a big no-no, as it creates a weak point if/when stressed, so it didn't even cross my mind to try it. You seem to be using it successfully, so perhaps there's less merit to that rule of thumb than I'd given it.

Alright guys, well if smashing the stainless tubing isn't going to be a big concern without my squeezing on the crimpers like King Kong, then I'll just stick to clamping the silicone onto the stainless and call it a done deal.

The other fittings are eye-opening, but not really necessary at this point. I'm sure I'll be headed that direction some day, probably around the time I start shopping for the sculpture I swear I'll never be hardcore enough to buy.

On the other end of the tubing, I'm going with 1/2" barb to female garden hose on one side and 1/2" barb to male garden hose on the other. Sounds silly, right? Why not just turn the output hose around? Because I want to hook the output to my sprinkler so I don't feel bad about running the hose full blast the whole time.

thadius856 said:

First post! Welcome!

Well, for why, I know that vinyl shrinks/expands with heat, allowing your clamps to dig in over time and cause leaks at pinch points. I wasn't sure if silicone tubing had the same problem.

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Fair enough. In my experience, silicone is the way to go. Several times more flexible and durable/temp resistant than vinyl. Who knows though?

Also, the way my intake and outlet parts on my IC are situated, even if a silicone hose popped off or leaked, it wouldn't hit my beer.

Long time lurker, first time poster! (well, 2nd now)

Garden hose fitting clamped to 5 feet vinyl hose clamped to soft copper IC for the input side. Soft copper with 5 feet vinyl clamped for the output side. All clamps are oetiker. I've been using this same IC for about 13 years without any issues whatsoever - cheap. Save your silicone for beer; save your money for beer.

Edit: not vinyl, it's bevlex 200

fwiw, non-reinforced silicone tubing has very low max pressure specs, far below what is typically available at a hose bib. I would not recommend using this with an IC...

Cheers!

day_trippr said:

fwiw, non-reinforced silicone tubing has very low max pressure specs, far below what is typically available at a hose bib. I would not recommend using this with an IC...

Cheers!

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Cancelled the silicone tubing with that order.

Since it won't be touching the wort (hopefully), can you recommend a more suitable material that can be sourced locally? I'm looking for 1/2" ID.

Pretty much what stpug recommended, I used lengths of inexpensive vinyl tubing clamped to the IC and with hose fittings at their ends. Cheap, effective, and won't blow up as easily as silicone...

Cheers!

You want cheap? Silver solder a couple stainless ferrules to the ends of the IC tubing, then just clamp the tubing over it.

Bobby_M said:

You want cheap? Silver solder a couple stainless ferrules to the ends of the IC tubing, then just clamp the tubing over it.

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Not necessarily cheap. But not $50 either.

I'll look into silver solder. If I can find other uses for it around here, it may be worth investing in a solder setup for it.

There's a million uses for silver solder around a brewery. You can get a Harris kit for about $8 that includes solder and the appropriate flux.