Running Stainless tubing through a bulkhead fitting of sorts

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PaulHilgeman

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I have SS Conicals, and a coolant circulation system.

Currently I circulate the coolant around the conical, using vinyl tubing.

This works very well, my ale fermenter can get down to 52 degrees and my lager fermenter can get down to 42 degrees.

I would like to upgrade to having SS coils inside of the conicals, but I have no idea how to get the SS tubing inside without welding.

I could go through the lid to keep the connectors away from the wort...

Any other suggestions or ideas?
 
Just curious why you want to avoid welding. You could have someone weld two stainless pipe nipples through, use stainless compression to npt fittings on the inside, quick disconnects on the outside, and be able to disassemble with ease. Thats how I did my boil kettle and dip tube. I used this fitting for my dip tube http://www.bargainfittings.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=36_39&product_id=132.

Where do you live? lots of TIG welders are beer drinkers/brewers.
 
You can just use these with some added silicone o-rings and a nut on the outside threads. That's for 1/2" tubing, obviously buy one that is for your intended tubing size.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Why not weld the SS tubing to the outside of the conical? Doesn't the prospect of adding numerous hard-to-clean crevices where the tubing meets the smooth inside surface of your conical cause some concern?

Edit: Oh, I see what you are asking is a way to do it without welding. Good. Yes, something that goes through the lid would seem best. I think that's how Brewpastor did his.
 
You could even solder it for that matter. It'll be plenty strong. Copper is also an excellent choice....then cover the coils with insulation....that's the same thing that morebeer does with their $1000 conicals, except they use a glycol chiller. If you already have the freezer/coolant/pump/controller portions taken care of, you're golden! Don't drop the coils inside, because ideally, you could clean-in-place. :mug:
 
12-FNPTx12tube-250x250.jpg

f4-500x500.jpg

12close-250x250.jpg

orings-250x250.jpg

locknuts-250x250.jpg


There's all the pieces you need to make a weldless bulkhead fitting for your chiller.
 
Think about it. If you immerse the coils, you have to clean them. If you wrap them round the outside, you don't! :mug:
 
PaulHilgeman said:
I have SS Conicals, and a coolant circulation system.
I could go through the lid to keep the connectors away from the wort...
Click to expand...

My conicals have the cooling coils inside and are soldered to the lid.
Cleaning is easy with or without a CIP system.

Some older pics
Fermenter_Top_Insulation-1.jpg
Fermenter2_5-1.jpg
FermenterCoil-1.jpg


Cheers,
ClaudiusB
 
Thanks guys,

Not sure what I will do, the vinyl tubing on the outside works well, but I am wondering if the system would be more efficient and easier to set-up with the coil actually in the wort.

As it is, I can achieve my temps no problem, my controller will trigger on 0.1 degree movement, but I have a 10 minute minimum runtime to save the relays and pumps. This usually keeps the ferment in a +/- 0.3 degree window.

However, I have to wrap the conical in the vinyl tubing and then use some small tie-wraps to secure the tubing in place with some tension so that it is all contacting the fermenter nicely.

It may look a little ugly, but it really works well. I am just wondering if a SS coil would work better.

Thanks for the links guys,
Paul
 
Compression, you would need a silicon gasket. Basically, it has a straight thread, and a jam nut threads down that straight thread to form a mechanical joint. You sandwich the gasket in their to get a liquid seal.
 
No - A bulkhead fitting has a machined surface at the end of the threads - Think of it as a fixed nut. This machined face presses one side of the bulkhead, while the actual nut presses on the other, creating a jam nut of sorts with the bulkhead in between.

The washer/o-ring/whatever seal gets squished between that machined flat face and the bulkhead, forming the seal. Liquids can pass through the threads, and the moving nut. But get stopped at the seal created by the washer and face of the fitting.
 
A true bulk-head is what our standard "weldless" fittings are trying to imitate. The reason few use a straight thread bulkhead is cost to make a straight thread bulkhead and adapt it to NPT.

For example, Blichmann's weldless options are so nice, because they use straight threads.
 
PaulHilgeman said:
Thanks guys,

Not sure what I will do, the vinyl tubing on the outside works well, but I am wondering if the system would be more efficient and easier to set-up with the coil actually in the wort.

As it is, I can achieve my temps no problem, my controller will trigger on 0.1 degree movement, but I have a 10 minute minimum runtime to save the relays and pumps. This usually keeps the ferment in a +/- 0.3 degree window.

However, I have to wrap the conical in the vinyl tubing and then use some small tie-wraps to secure the tubing in place with some tension so that it is all contacting the fermenter nicely.

It may look a little ugly, but it really works well. I am just wondering if a SS coil would work better.

Thanks for the links guys,
Paul
Click to expand...

Having the coil immersed in the fermenting wort would absolutely be more efficient. Having the coils on the outside causes looses due to cooling the air on the outside of the fermenter and the fermenter itself. Not all the cooling is going into cooling the wort. Having the coils in the wort would put the cooling where you want it most, the wort.
 

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