DIY Sight Glass Help

I ordered the weldless fitting pictured below...


I am wondering if I can find some parts at Home Depot or Lowes to incorporate a Tee fitting and use a racking cane as a sight tube coming up from the Tee.

What kind of fitting would I need to secure a racking cane into the top of a Tee. Also I have seen others using racking canes for this purpose, can they withstand the heat?

TIA,
Mitch

I don't recommend what you're proposing because you won't get a stable reading on the sight while draining and you'll also have to plug the top of the sight opening if you want to siphon out to the very bottom of the vessel. You're better off adding new hole and fitting for the sight glass

If despite those two weaknesses you still want to do it, you'll need an NPT to compression fitting (very common). I'd recommend high temp polycarbonate available at mcmaster.com for the tubing.

Bobby_M said:

I don't recommend what you're proposing because you won't get a stable reading on the sight while draining and you'll also have to plug the top of the sight opening if you want to siphon out to the very bottom of the vessel. You're better off adding new hole and fitting for the sight glass.

Click to expand...

I'm not so worried about the draining issue as I have no reason to be reading it while draining (this is for my boil kettle if that makes any difference). I guess the siphon out the bottom could be an issue as I am planning on making a pickup right to the bottom of the kettle.

I can drill another hole in the stockpot that's no big deal but I didn't know if HD would have the right fittings as I was trying to piece the parts together locally.

They will have the fittings you need to do another hole and from that bulk head you need a nipple a 90 elbow and a compression fitting. if you don't use the valve all you need is the elbow and compression fitting.

McMaster Carr has the 3/8 1/8 wall thickness tubing or you can just use a piece of clear tubing and cut out a peice of PVC pipe to hold it up secure with an eye bolt of some kind.

Bobby_M said:

I'd recommend high temp polycarbonate available at mcmaster.com for the tubing.

Click to expand...

That's what I did... One NPT > Compression 90 degree nylon elbow and a length of 1/2" OD polycarbonate. Seems to work.