Sight glass install on brew kettle

This is my first post on this site, but I'm not new to homebrewing. I do all-grain and have been very successful for the last 3 - 4 years. I recently have moved into a new home and subsequently moved the homebrew equipment out to the new garage. I have converted a couple of AB kegs into a mash tun and boiling pot, and I use my 40 qt. Polarware pot for my HLT. I brewed my first batch this past weekend and found that I need some method to measure the level/amount of wort that I am collecting during the sparge. Any ideas on installing a sight glass tube and what material works best for that. Also is it possible to get the material to make a sight glass tube at Lowes or Home Depot. Any insight is much appreciative. Thanks all...

You can use regular 1/2" OD tubing that fits inside of a 1/2" copper pipe. Cut a window in the copper pipe and the tubing will fit right inside it. The best tubing to use is glass or polycarbonate. Take a look at these DIY'ers:
http://home.aol.com/bfbrewing/TheHLTPage1.htm
http://home.swbell.net/bufkin/mill_&_hlt.htm
Also BYO had an article:
Adding a Sight Glass: Projects (Jan, 2003)

Good luck,
Wild

I just got myself a sightglass from Northern Brewer. Cost me about $26 after shipping and got it in about 3 days. I think if I made one myself it would have cost me about that much in gas and parts and I guarentee it would have taken longer then 3 days . . . but then again I'm a bit retarded


If ya dont feel like buying one you can atleast take a peek over there and get an idea of what ya might need. I'd list the parts but like I said . . . I'ma Deee De dee

One of the vendors here (tnlandsailor) sells a sight glass kit...you can see it here.

Is there any concern that the wort in the sight glass will not be boiled as well and may still harbor bacteria?

Kai

The wort in the sight glass boils, trust me. I had my half barrel going with about 7 -8 gallons in it and when the boil was really rolling nice there was a few times I was worried about screaming hot wort would come flying out the top of the site glass.

To actually get a reading I had to take the half barrel/kettle off the burner

Pumbaa said:

The wort in the sight glass boils, trust me. I had my half barrel going with about 7 -8 gallons in it and when the boil was really rolling nice there was a few times I was worried about screaming hot wort would come flying out the top of the site glass.

To actually get a reading I had to take the half barrel/kettle off the burner

Click to expand...

Thanks, good to know.

Now I want to have such a sight gauge too

Kai