fittings

if you look at the many offerings for thru bulkhead fittings you see the ones with 2 red O rings,one inside and 1 outside the pot wall,
and some with only 1 red o rings that uses a metal washer inside the pot to compress. So the ones with a metal ring will seal ok?? any links to a stainless setup with ball valve that is under 12 bucks??

 

You only need one oring on the inside under the nut with the recess to hold and squeeze that oring correctly to provide a good seal.. orings on the outside and inside just make for a sloppy valve that moves around when you try to use it. if the oring on the inside doesnt do its job and seal then you also will get all kinds of nasty stuff behind it and since these things are NOT designed to constantly be removed and cleaned but rather stay in place you dont want that.

Weldless fitting get a bad wrap it seems mostly from folks who arent using them as intended.

 

I agree that only one o-ring is required and about the sanitation concern. However, I like to put the o-ring on the side opposite the nut so that there is no chance of a leak through the threads under the o-ring. In my case, when I installed sight gauges on my kettles I put the fittings on with the nut inside. I do not recall if I was "forced" into this by the design of the bulkheads or not. So far it has no leaks and is good and solid. Since these are all on the hot side sanitation is not as great of a concern as it is for a fermetnor or other cold side equipment.