Brew Kettle - What size barb, what material hose?

[MrBJones]

I use my brew kettle for heating mash and sparge water (coolers for tuns), besides of course boiling wort. The barb on my single ball valve is somewhat narrow (not sure of the exact size). What size do you use? Are there benefits/disadvantages to narrow vs wide?

Also, what material hose? Seems to me a silicon hose that can be boiled would be easiest to clean/sanitize before draining from kettle to carboy fermenter. Or am I missing something?
Thanks

 

[microbusbrewery]

The inside diameter of your fittings will have an impact on flow rates as smaller diameters increase resistance. I switched from barbs to camlock fittings a while ago and haven't looked back. I also use silicone hose as it's rated for higher temps and like you said, you can boil it. I use 1/2" hose on my brew setup. I use 3/8" hose on 1/2" auto-siphon for fermenter transfers (fermenter to keg/bottling bucket, or primary to secondary if I'm doing a secondary).

 

[oujens]

I went with camlocks. I have the high flow fitting with 1/2 silicone hose. It's amazing. I say replace the barb with that and you won't regret it.

 

[MrHopScotch]

+1 for 1/2" ID silicon tube with high-flow camlocks.

I feel much better using silicon for high heat transfers, and the cam locks are convenient as I use them on my pump, chiller, etc. as well

 

[swampbrewcrew]

Cam locks are nice if you are moving hoses around a lot, but don't be surprised at the sticker shock. I use 1/2 barbs on everything. 3/8 is more common though. Silicone is the way to go for tubing.

 

[MrBJones]

Wouldn't the hose side of a camlock have a barb for the hose? If so, what's the advantage other than making connects/disconnects quicker and easier?

 

[microbusbrewery]

Wouldn't the hose side of a camlock have a barb for the hose? If so, what's the advantage other than making connects/disconnects quicker and easier?

That's basically it. I have a HERMS system so during the mash I'm using three hoses MT > pump > HEX > MT. I also whirlpool so when chilling I go from BK > Pump > Plate Chiller > BK. I also have a hopback that I use sometimes. I secure the hose on my camlocks with a zip tie. Most people that use barbs want to be able to remove the tubing from the barb, so they might use a finger tightened hose clamp. Silicone will hold its shape pretty well, so you should be good as long as the barb isn't tearing the tubing when you pull it off. Back when I used the high temp vinyl tubing, I found it would start to loosen after a few brew sessions as the house formed to the shape of the barb; I wouldn't trust it without using some kind of hose clamp. Long story short, camlocks make things more modular, makes switching hoses easier, and ensures a very secure fitting.

Prices aren't bad on camlocks. They tend to be the cheapest stainless type disconnect. BargainFittings.com currently sells the male threaded fittings for $3.19 and the full flow female counterpart for $6.99 (recently on sale for $5.99). A stainless hose barb is going to run you just under $5.