eleets2144
Active Member
Has anyone received theirs yet?
so i had a link to this site about 2 weeks ago for the 1/2x50' tubing...i went to order it yesterday and it wasnt available. i talked to a rep and they said that PMI had Discontinued the part and werent making anymore and they werent sure if all the people who ordered the part would get their stuff yet.
of course, she could be full of crap and the reason its not available is because the demand is crushing supply
Hmmm... Would I be completely wrong to point out the irony here, with your forum name (I'm assuming that's a riff on TANSTAAFL) and your findings?
Seriously though, sorry it didn't work out for you. I was really hoping you guys would all have a better result, as the procurement of some form of chiller is in my near future. Good luck with whatever other approach you pursue!
This is probably a long shot to work for anybody, but if there's a construction site near anyone, find a plumber and ask him for a coil. Offer him 20 bucks or something. I got mine from a plumber who worked in the same building as me. It cost me about 3 buds, but I was acquaintances with the guy. I'm an electrician, and I know if someone asked me for some material for cash, I'd hook the guy up. Hopefully someone could benefit from this technique.
there has to be a wholesaler somewhere...these sites are more expensive than the overpirced hardware stores.
Earlier in this thread I calculated out the price of metal alone in the copper coil to around $23. Figure the cost to manufacture, ship, and retailer markup and you get to $50 pretty quick. I'm not too surprised that they renigged on the deal when they realized they would lose money.
I looked, maybe this is something...
http://salestores.com/ge72coretu3c.html
Home Depot has it for 43.00 for 50'x3/8...thats where i bought mine at today.
The 20ft is only $14, so is it fine to just buy two 20's and use a union? That's what I've been debating.
Solder in boiling temps and a single point of failure is not worth saving $10 if it destroys a batch of beer...It would scare the Beejeezus out of me!
What I would use is a compression union. They can be used even with compressed air or gas lines without leaking, so I think they would be fine for water.
I was very close to doing this until I used my bath tub for a cold water bath and got the temp down in 15 minutes, since my water was coming out at 45 degrees. I'll see how well the tub works when the temps start going up outside and then might be back at the tubing.
And also it would save $20 so that was a little more motivation to use the two 20's.
if you can join the two together without leeching lead into the wort or snapping the connection go for it. it wont be a 50' coil but you could always point the water coming out (when it colls off the chiller) towards the pot and rinse the pot walls...
You could also find a construction site and simply take the tubing out of the walls when no one is looking, at least that way you aren't trying to get someone else to be involved in your theft. I hear buying a keg of beer and never returning the used keg is also a really good way to save money on a keggle build. That would be sarcasm.
A compression union is fine as far as strength goes (as you mentioned before they are rated for steam and high pressure applications) and there is no damn lead in water quality brass fittings. The whole lead thing is ridiculous! The only concern I would have is little crevices for bugs to hide in. I would trust a solder joint at 200*F...it takes more than that to melt solder :cross:
Most solders are now Lead free so the lead factor is out. Also solder melts at 469F so it will not melt even in a good rolling boil. As far as crevices go, that can be handled with good cleaning plenty of flux and practice. I am currently building a HERMS unit and if I didn't have the SS compression fittings available at work would've soldered without another thought.
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