Blichmann kettle dip tube ring

[truebe]

For those with Blichmann kettles, are those securing rings that you have to remove with a hex key necessary? The dip tube seems pretty secure without it. Is it needed for the Oring to maintain a seal or something?

I'm getting more and more annoyed attempting to clumsily remove it with the hex key, especially with the boil coil surrounding it and the screw being oriented in an awkward position.

 

[brewmeister13]

My dip tubes come off without loosing the ring at all. I've never tried it without the ring, but I imagine it helps the dip tube remain oriented in the same position better, otherwise it may be too loose and move around during the boil. That's just speculation though.

 

[Bobby_M]

Exactly. The ring simply indexes the diptube so it doesn't spin.

 

[day_trippr]

Is it really that simple - or is the o-ring there to prevent a sucking (air) leak in that interface?
fwiw, some of my Blichmann kettles are over 10 years old and I've never changed an o-ring on any of them...

Cheers!