Cam locks

[JoeyChopps]

So I got some of the camlocks that are an awesome deal on Austin's . Anyways the opening on the female is smaller than 1/2 in nipple I had on everything. So my question can I drill out the camlock? Are there any issues other than it being hard as hell because its ss?

 

[Spellman]

ugh, that would be a lot of work drilling them out. In reality depending on your setup, you may or may not see a difference. I would recommend to try and use them, and if you have any issues I would look at brewhardware.com. Bobby has ones that keep the wide diameter. You would probably save money getting new ones over using up drill bits and spending hours drilling (more than likely to find out it doesn't work quite like you wanted to anyway).

 

[JoeyChopps]

Yeah I'm probably making a mountain out of a mole hill. The smaller diameter probably will make little to no difference.

 

[Stealthcruiser]

They look to be cast stainless, which shouldn't be that hard to drill.........Low and slow!

But they're probably ok as is........

 

[Stealthcruiser]

Took another look.........as far off center as it's cast, I wouldn't try drilling, you might go through the sidewall of the reduced diameter area.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

This is why many people dont buy C's but buy Camlock B's and pull their 1/2" tubing over the threads and attach it with a hose clamp.
That way you can get the full 1/2 throughput for the entire chain. The Camlock C's go down to 3/8" as you found. Not a huge deal really, its just going to slow your flow rate down.

Although its such a PITA and tight fit to get the tubing on the camlock B's i dont think they could come off even without a clamp, but their so cheap who cares.

Like the one on the right

 

[gooberthud3]

If it is 304ss it can be drilled just keep it cool and lubricated as drilled. If it gets hot it will work harden and will take some expensive drill bits to drill it after that.

 

[JoeyChopps]

Thanks guys. I think I'm going to let it ride and replace them later. I timed there draining rate last night and it only takes an extra 6 seconds per gallon verses the 1/2 in nipple.

 

[BargainFittings]

We also carry the high flow females. Second from left

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

Huh wish i had seen those, i must have missed them!

Either way the B's were a giant PITA to get the tubing on, at first i didnt think it was possible but after 5-10 minutes i got the first one on and figured out the trick and the rest went fairly smoothly.

 

[lpdjshaw]

The biggest issue with the connector diameter is being able to get enough liquid into the intake side of the pump, in which case the bigger the better. If you're gravity feeding it wont really make any difference.

 

[JoeyChopps]

Well after a few beers I finally said screw it I'm going to buy the bigger ones more than likely I'm going to try to drill these mofos. It was actually really easy and I just used some bs drill bits that I had laying around. I had to hit each one twice each time with a bigger bit. Probably only took me 30 mins to do 6.
The top one is a 3/8 the next a unmolested cam lock next one that been hit once than a done deal and finally a 1/2 fitting. Cheers

 

[TrainSafe]

That turned out nicely. Sometimes I find the biggest frustration isn't the cost of replacement parts, but the wait time and shipping costs on the one or two small items.

 

[ryanhope]

That turned out nicely. Sometimes I find the biggest frustration isn't the cost of replacement parts, but the wait time and shipping costs on the one or two small items.

^^ YUP! I just bought a ton of cam lock parts for my brew setup only to realize after I got everything that I wanted to add a whirlpool/recirc port to my kettle and had to pay more shipping

 

[Daves69]

^^ YUP! I just bought a ton of cam lock parts for my brew setup only to realize after I got everything that I wanted to add a whirlpool/recirc port to my kettle and had to pay more shipping

EXACT same thing happened to me......TODAY!