Cam Locks

[gjabball]

Thanks for the reply. Those look awesome. I appreciate the help!

 

[sarsnik]

The 5/8" barb into the type D is the best situation for a straight connection, especially going into the suction side of a pump. If you want an elbow at some point, the new fittings I have are the tits. The ID of the barb is almost 5/8".

Figures - I just ordered street elbows from you before these came in

 

[barrooze]

My setup is a SS Center Inlet Chugger Pump. On the BrewHardware site, I've read that you don't want to put an elbow on the inlet of your pump ("When you are feeding the input of a mag drive pump such as the Chugger, it's best to avoid an elbow and go straight in."). Do you think this elbow barb would cause flow issues?

EDIT: The reducer and the inlet are 3/4" threads, not 5/8" as the picture shows.

 

[tophmck]

barrooze -- Since 5/8 NPT doesn't exist, I'm assuming this is just a typo. But the chugger center inlet is 3/4" MPT, so the female reducer needs to be 3/4" to 1/2".

As for the elbow barb, it's not ideal, but if it's more convenient on your setup than a 5/8" barb, go for it -- it won't make or break your setup.

I figure this is no worse than the thousands of people out there who are happy with inline pump heads. I try to reduce restrictions on the inlet side as much as possible, but I force myself not to get worked up about it. The optimal thing would be to go straight into a 3/4" ID hose and use 3/4" full port ball valves on the kettles, but that's complete overkill.

What I do is somewhat similar to your picture. I have a March 809HS with an 815 impeller and a chugger SS center inlet head. I use a 3/4" tee on the inlet so I can put a thermometer in line with the pump - the wort makes a 90 degree turn in the tee then reduces to 1/2". With this setup I'm able to prime the pump without problems, am happy with the flow rate, and haven't had any cavitation problems.

 

[day_trippr]

March Pump's guidelines say avoid elbows closer than 5x the inside diameter of the plumbing. Not sure which diameter would apply on the center inlet models - 1/2" or 3/4"...

Cheers!

 

[tophmck]

Interesting, I didn't know they had a specific recommendation, day_trippr. I wonder if it there are similar gains to reducing from 3/4 to 1/2 further from the inlet...

 

[barrooze]

barrooze -- Since 5/8 NPT doesn't exist, I'm assuming this is just a typo. But the chugger center inlet is 3/4" MPT, so the female reducer needs to be 3/4" to 1/2".

You're right. I totally meant 3/4", not 5/8".

Since I already have the reducer and a 1/2" barb on my inlet and the flow is fine for me, I'll go ahead with the 5/8" barb + Type D to let the fluid go straight in. If the vendors and manufacturers advise against using an elbow there, who am I to disagree?

Is the regular Type C & Type E (hose barb) camlocks ok for outlet and the other side of the inlet hose? Is the main concern flow restriction in the area immediately before the inlet port?

Thanks for all the info/help!

 

[tophmck]

Restrictions on the inlet side are more serious (particularly when the restriction is close to the pump head), since they can cause cavitation, which is bad for the pump. If you care about maximizing your flow rate, then you also want to avoid restrictions on the outlet side.

Personally, I'd avoid type C and E throughout, and especially on the inlet side -- but I wouldn't lose sleep over it. You can always swap out some of the fittings later if you run into flow problems.