AHS Sight Glass

Austin Homebrew Supply

any opinions? $40 with fittings, "unbreakable" polycarbonate.

Looks like a cheap price, even with the shipping...

no shipping for me, just a short bike ride.

Then it is the best deal I have seen... good find

I have two, only on my boil kelttle and one on my HLT. I've dropped the keggle once or twice, pretty much right on the sight glass and it took it like a champ.

yeah when i was at the shop one of the guys whacked it against the counter as hard as he could to show how strong it is.

It's the stainless fitting that costs the most. I sometimes get good deals on large lots of them so the kits I've offered to members have been about half that price.

The only reason I would look into this one over Austin Homebrew's is that is has the port for a thermometer and it is cheaper, even with shipping.

Brewing Clamper said:

The only reason I would look into this one over Austin Homebrew's is that is has the port for a thermometer and it is cheaper, even with shipping.

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thanks for the link, that's definitely worth it.

Bobby_M said:

It's the stainless fitting that costs the most. I sometimes get good deals on large lots of them so the kits I've offered to members have been about half that price. I just don't mess around with weldless parts though because I don't advocate them at all. I know they work for some folks, but it's not my style.

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have you found a non-bulk source for the polycarbonate tubing?

Bobby_M said:

I just don't mess around with weldless parts though because I don't advocate them at all. I know they work for some folks, but it's not my style.

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I totally understand this, you do have to think of us welding-challenged individuals with no skills...

Brewing Clamper said:

I totally understand this, you do have to think of us welding-challenged individuals with no skills...

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The fittings I have right now are 1/4" NPT so I suppose the way one would turn it into weldless is a 1/4" coupling, washer, locknut and silicone oring. I just don't want to sell it with those parts and then be liable when it doesn't seal properly. These things are finicky if they're not assembled just right. Having a 1/4" coupling welded in also allows it to be WAY low in the keg so that it starts reading at around the 3 gallon mark in a keg.

Slim, I get the polycarbonate from Mcmaster... the stuff listed as capable of 250F.

I want to purchase (1) weldless bulkhead fitting 1/2", and use it for a sight glass and thermowell fitting.

I would imagine that I could accomplish this by attaching a "T" coming out of the bulkhead, where the sightglass tube would be vertical and the thermowell (6") would be screwing into the end. My question is, how do you attach a sight glass tube to a female pipe thread? I'm not familiar with compressing fittings.

Polycarbonate tubing at McMaster.com - Part Number: 8585K52 for 1/2"?

Thanks!

As much as I like AustinHomeBrew, I'd probably go with the morebeer model if I was paying $40. It has a SS shield.

That one at Williams home brew looks like the best deal by far. Even with shipping its much less expensive. Plus it has more features.