Alternative to silicone tubing

[passedpawn]

In case anyone is looking for an inexpensive alternative to silicone tubing, I have been using this stuff (home depot) and it works flawlessly, so far. I've run boiling water through it for 15 minutes at a time without a problem. The normal vinyl tubing got way too flimsy/soft when it was hot.

 

[samc]

http://www.envisupply.com/equipment/tubing.html

Vinyl tubing is a clear flexible tubing providing an economical means of fluid transfer in a variety of applications. Intermittent exposure to hydrocarbons, such as gasoline, kerosene, diesel fuel, etc. will cause premature hardening and failure of the tubing.

Reinforced vinyl tubing offers the same qualities as clear vinyl tubing in flexibility and corrosion resistance along with the higher pressure rating provided with the inner braid. The media is also still visible between the braids, which are integral to the tubing.

Vinyl tubing is relatively inexpensive on a per-foot cost of tubing. It only has a third of the service life of silicone tubing, 50 hr at 600 rpm and 275 hr at 100 rpm. Vinyl tubing cannot be autoclaved and should not be exposed to temperatures above 80°C.

 

[Catt22]

I prefer the PVC stuff from U.S. Plastics, but I have also used the HD vinyl stuff with no problems:

http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/pr...USPlastic&category_name=7513&product_id=25231

 

[The Pol]

I just hated how vinyl tubing gets hard as a ROCK in cold weather 40-50F. That is why I went with silicone.

 

[passedpawn]

I just hated how vinyl tubing gets hard as a ROCK in cold weather 40-50F. That is why I went with silicone.

Good point, I didn't think of that. Don't have that problem down here.

Actually, I have 20' of silicone tubing sitting right next to my desk and I just don't have a good reason to replace the vinyl.

 

[zzzzzzzzz]

How do people get around the flimsy part of silicone tubing? I did test of a new pump and it sucked the input hose to zero and pretty much stopped the whole process! Pretty expensive mistake too. Is there a way around this with minimizing input flow or ????
Thanks for your help.

 

[passedpawn]

How do people get around the flimsy part of silicone tubing? I did test of a new pump and it sucked the input hose to zero and pretty much stopped the whole process! Pretty expensive mistake too. Is there a way around this with minimizing input flow or ????
Thanks for your help.

You might have the thin-walled tubing. It's almost useless.

If you bought the tubing from a homebrew supply (i.e., Bobby_M's BrewHardware) it will be the thickwalled stuff. I've never seen it collapse.

 

[mjohnson]

I would also like to caution people about heat+pressure. I had vinyl tube clamped to my wort chiller on both hot and cold sides. On the hot side, I connected a garden hose to the end of the vinyl to run the water out into the yard. I did not notice I had a kink in the hose. I started chilling and noticed drips on the cold side of the clamp. I bent over to tighten the worm clamp and right when my face was down by the chiller, the hot side vinyl blew up and sprayed me with 200F+ water. Got to visit the ER. Luckily no permanent damage, but I looked pretty bad for a couple weeks.

I'm not doom and gloom about this, but before you start pumping or turn on your garden hose, just do a once over about whats going on and make sure you're comfortable with your equipment. Burns aren't fun.

 

[MindenMan]

Sorry to hear about the burn, your unfortunate experience will let me not get sloppy or cheap when it comes time to buy hose.

 

[IslandLizard]

In case anyone is looking for an inexpensive alternative to silicone tubing, I have been using this stuff (home depot) and it works flawlessly, so far. I've run boiling water through it for 15 minutes at a time without a problem. The normal vinyl tubing got way too flimsy/soft when it was hot....

I've used that same braided vinyl hose and it worked great. Then I became aware of the leeching at higher temps. So I cut a few inches off and boiled that for 1/2 hour. I could smell and taste the chlorine and what not.

So in a heartbeat I bought 1/2" thick-walled silicone (1/8" thick) for all my wort connections and repurposed the braided vinyl to the water side of my plate chiller.

 

[passedpawn]

I've used that same braided vinyl hose and it worked great. Then I became aware of the leeching at higher temps. So I cut a few inches off and boiled that for 1/2 hour. I could smell and taste the chlorine and what not.

So in a heartbeat I bought 1/2" thick-walled silicone (1/8" thick) for all my wort connections and repurposed the braided vinyl to the water side of my plate chiller.

Things change. I switched to the silicone stuff right after I posted that post and never touched any of the vinyl again.

 

[IslandLizard]

Things change. I switched to the silicone stuff right after I posted that post and never touched any of the vinyl again.

Man, now I just noticed that your original post was from 2009! And it was unexpectedly roused.
Yeah, things change!

 

[ClaudiusB]

Things change. I switched to the silicone stuff right after I posted that post and never touched any of the vinyl again.

1" Silicone hoses and my pumps don't work together were well, I switched to the Norprene brand for most of my hoses.
Silicon pressure or sanitary rated hoses are very costly.

US Plastic is one of many Noreprene brand vendors.

http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=23886&catid=664

Cheers,
ClaudiusB

 

[emjay]

Braided silicone is IMO the best when you want high-temp, high-pressure, food-safe tubing. It's pricey, but if you only use it where it's actually needed instead of plain silicone (used for most of my wort hoses) or braided vinyl (used for my cold water supply... for now), it's not too bad.