Accuflex Ultra 235 vs Kegland EVA barrier

[Franktalk]

I'm very interested in the 4mm Eva beer lines for the short line length and the nice pours. However, I'm a British beer fan, and I like to run my bitters on nitro to replicate hand drawn pints. How will the 4mm Eva lines run nitro?

 

[Jtvann]

I've never paid too much attention to the folks saying how bad vinyl lines were in the past. I've recently started to exercise more and drink less. In the past I never went too long without pulling a tap handle, so I think I just wasnt giving my beer time to go bad.

So today, I'm sold on getting rid of vinyl. I had a split batch, 5 gallons kegged and 5 gallons bottled. It had been about 2 weeks since I drank from that keg. Today the first pour of the kegged beer tasted like utter crap, and the same batch of bottled beer tasted great. A subsequent pour from the keg had good beer.

My next purchase will be the EVA lines, CO2 and all.

 

[day_trippr]

[...]How will the 4mm Eva lines run nitro?

I've been pouring my imperial chocolate stout on 35 psi 70/30 beer gas for a few weeks now using 6 foot/~2 meters 4mm ID EVA lines, and the pours look no different than with the solid PVC lines I had run for years (changed out every so often).

I should note that there's so much restriction provided by the stout faucet that line length isn't all that critical - and indeed excessive line restriction is likely counter-productive at some point. I was running 6 foot 3/16" ID line on the stout faucet before the EVA changeover...

Cheers!

 

[Franktalk]

Excellent! Thanks.

 

[odie]

fwiw, it doesn't take much to get the 4mm ID EVAbarrier over 1/4" barbs. It takes even less to get the 5mm ID line over 1/4" barbs. It takes a little effort to get the 5mm over 5/16" barbs, and a much more time and care to get the 5mm over 3/8" barbs.

Done all of that successfully. A swaging tool is handy for the 5/16" barbs and pretty much mandatory for 3/8" barbs (plus plenty of patience to do it right).

For anything with threads, though, go with the PTC connectors from John Guest, Duotight, and/or DMfit. They're the bomb!

Cheers!

Ok. Ur method for 4mm and 1/4 barbs? I’m fighting mine

 

[brew703]

Just ordered the 4mm line. Is the consensus 6'?
Currently using the stiff stuff at about 12' each and it's pretty damn difficult to maneuver in my keezer. Haven't had any issues but just want something easier to work with.

 

[day_trippr]

Ok. Ur method for 4mm and 1/4 barbs? I’m fighting mine

I used a heat gun to soften the 4mm EVA tubing then immediately worked it over the tip of the barb. From that point just had to wriggle it the rest of the way. Was not very difficult, try warming the tubing up more...

Cheers!

 

[day_trippr]

It does come down to CO2 pressure used for dispensing. Most of my ales are on 11-12psi and 6 feet of the 4mm ID tubing has been working as well as the 12 feet of 3/16" Bevlex 200 solid PVC tubing I used before...

Cheers!

 

[odie]

I used a heat gun to soften the 4mm EVA tubing then immediately worked it over the tip of the barb. From that point just had to wriggle it the rest of the way. Was not very difficult, try warming the tubing up more...

Cheers!

I used a pan of hot water. About 120-130... didn’t work an deformed the tubing

 

[odie]

Did you flare the end or cut it at an angle? I’m really trying to avoid extra fittings and such. I want a clean connection

 

[day_trippr]

I used a tubing cutter so straight-across cuts. And I only heated the last inch or even less - I aimed the end of the tube at the heat gun plume. But I used a heat gun, so I suspect your water isn't hot enough and trying to force the tubing on the barb is causing the distortion.

For getting the 5mm onto a 3/8" barb I used a swaging tool like this, but an awl would work...

I heated the tubing up, slid it up as far as it would go easily, let it cool, slipped it back off, heated it again and pushed up another step. Repeated until the end of the tubing had been flared enough to go over the tip of the barb without displacing the liner, then shoved it the rest of the way...

Cheers!

 

[odie]

Ok. So u warmed up the line. Swagged it and let it cool off to set at a larger diameter?

I was trying to warm it and stretch it over the larger nipple.
Sounds like you permanently increased the diameter and then slipped it over the nipple.
Critical details...

Did it require a clamp afterward?

 

[day_trippr]

Again, that was only for the 5mm ID over a 3/8" barb (my beer gas Micromatic regulator).
I didn't use the swaging tool at all for the 4mm over 1/4" barbs, just the heat gun alone.
I don't think it needs a clamp but I clamped them all the same...

Cheers!

 

[odie]

I was finding that the tubing immediately would start to close back up when removing from hot water so I could work the nipple in? A heat gun even on low is much hotter. Or was it a hair dryer?

 

[day_trippr]

heat gun...

 

[Bobby_M]

Some kind of tapered tool is really the key to a clean flare without wrinkling the liner. Options.

An actual swaging tool as pictured above.
Small needlenose pliars in closed position.
A pen with metal nose.
Large knitting needle.

A small bit of keg lube on the tool helps. The liner gets grabby when hot.

Yes, of course you need clamps. I recommend oetikers.

Highly recommend duotight fittings where you can use them.

 

[Horseflesh]

However, if you're intent on replacing everything, then I would get these shanks AND the PTC tail piece from brewhardware.com (Bobby M's shop).

Makes sense, thanks for the detailed post!

 

[cheesebach]

I used a pan of hot water. About 120-130... didn’t work an deformed the tubing

Does anyone know whether it's safe to use hot water (~120F) when cleaning the lines with this tubing? I'm used to using the hot water from my kitchen faucet mixed with BLC to clean my lines, so I'm wondering if I should go with lower temps if 120-130F is hot enough to deform the tubing. I haven't seen any deformation occur with either the vinyl or bevseal lines that I've used before at those temps.

 

[day_trippr]

Considering it's pressure rated for 100psi at 50°C (~122°F) I wouldn't be worried about using the hottest tap water you can draw.

30C - 1.4 MPa (200psi)
50C - 0.7MPa (100psi)

fwiw, I'm pretty sure the "deformed" statement was wrt trying to shove the line onto a barb unsuccessfully. You can definitely mash TF out of the tip of the line if your technique is faulty...

Cheers!

 

[odie]

yep...

 

[h22lude]

Highly recommend duotight fittings where you can use them.

This can't be recommended enough. Always go with these fittings unless your system can't fit the push connector fittings (like a tower) or you can't afford them.

 

[day_trippr]

I agree, but I wouldn't change out a gas manifold just to refit it with PTC connectors...

Cheers!

 

[brew703]

Just received my EVA from William's
Planning on swapping out my lines this weekend.

 

[Jayjay1976]

I agree, but I wouldn't change out a gas manifold just to refit it with PTC connectors...

Cheers!

I've seen tutorials on making up a manifold from duotight tubing, tees, and valves. Not as nice to look at as an aluminum or brass manifold but should be less prone to leaking, if they really do live up to the hype. I'm outfitting just the liquid side with eva barrier and duotight for now and sticking with conventional tubing and oetker clamps for the gas side, especially since regulators, etc come with barbs.

 

[brew703]

I switched out my lines today. Went with 6' but the initial pour is pretty foamy. Should I shorten to 5'? Keezer temp is set at 35*.

 

[day_trippr]

What's your CO2 pressure?
And did you allow enough time for everything (including your kegs) to chill back down before testing the pours?

I run 12 psi indicated - but there are two check valves between the regulator gauge and the kegs, so the keg pressure is probably close to 11 psi. 6 feet of the 4mm ID tubing works exactly the same as 12 feet of the Bevlex 200 3/16" ID lines I ran for many years...

Cheers!

 

[doug293cz]

What @day_trippr said. And shortening lines make foaming worse, not better. All "excessive" length does is slow down the pours.

Brew on

 

[brew703]

What's your CO2 pressure?
And did you allow enough time for everything (including your kegs) to chill back down before testing the pours?

I run 12 psi indicated - but there are two check valves between the regulator gauge and the kegs, so the keg pressure is probably close to 11 psi. 6 feet of the 4mm ID tubing works exactly the same as 12 feet of the Bevlex 200 3/16" ID lines I ran for many years...

Cheers!

12 psi.
I allowed about 2 hours time from when I switched the line to when I sampled. Maybe not enough time? The lines were cold so figured all was good.

 

[day_trippr]

When I switched out my lines I did a ton of other keezer changes so my kegs had warmed up by 5-6 degrees.
I didn't even bother testing until the next afternoon...

Cheers!

 

[brew703]

I doubt my kegs warmed up any since it only took about 5 min to swap out the lines.

I'll check tomorrow. Hopefully all will be good.