connecting a digiboil tap to a tee piece

[fluketamer]

i want to put a tee between my aio and ball valve tap :

the ball valve has integrated silicon on the thread. it doesnt need an o ring but i have a feeling i will need something like washer and oring but i am no good at plumbing.


will this work or likely not seal at all
thanks

 

[Broken Crow]

Some of those proprietary systems don't use the 1/2" NPT most of use consider 'standard' If you have any 1/2" female NPT fittings on hand, test it for fit...it may be BSP (not entirely a problem as at the 1/2" size they can mate with NPT under the low-pressure systems we use on here) or it may be another size altogether.
IF it is 1/2" NPT, you can save headaches and just buy this: True Weldless Bulkhead - With 1/2'' NPT Male Threads if you need threads on the inside, or this one; True Weldless Bulkhead - Bore Only if you don't.
Let us know if either of those will work for you or not.

 

[Deadalus]

The NPT we most commonly use is NPT-T, with the T meaning tapered. The T is not usually stated. BSP is straight threads, that's what the S is. If you are looking at the threads as your pictured valve is oriented, with tapered threads the diameter will get smaller/thinner. Straight pipe threads are the same diameter from left to right. NPT threads use teflon tape or pipe dope or both even to keep the fittings from galling and really only slightly seal the two fittings. Straight pipe threads need a gasket at the end. Because the threads are parallel and you can just keep screwing it in until the end. A beer shank is BSP and needs a gasket. And allegedly the BSP and NPT 1/2" can go together sometimes, it may be which is male and female even, but they do have slightly different angles on the thread cut. One can get BSP fittings but they aren't sold widely in the US.

I'm kind of thrown off by the silicon on the threads. The face around the threads seems to suggest you would need an oring. Was there one on the nut side or is there a welded port with female threads?

What are you putting on the tee, a thermowell or stone? if you intend to put something like those on the 90, be aware sometimes the fitting may not screw in all the way proper. You could turn the tee but then your valve may not be where you want it. A solution is a cross with a cap on the extra port. OR a coupling with a nipple but that doesn't always reach into the main flow like you may want.

I hadn't seen that bulkhead that looks like a screw before!

 

[Broken Crow]

Found it.. It's the same one the Brewzilla 3.1.1 uses: Sorry for the Canadian link (morebeer has the newer slightly different version) BrewZilla Replacement 1/2" BSP Ball Valve
It's definitely BSP, but you should, with teflon tape, be able to get it into an NPT tee. Does it attach to a diptube or anything on the inside? As to the backside silicone; I found a rear-pic online:

..just a slightly embedded flat silicone washer from the look of it. Most bulkhead's should make a good replament.

 

[Deadalus]

If it was me, I would most likely just replace the valve too with a 3 piece ball valve. So bulkhead + tee + 3pc ball valve. Then a QD off the ball valve with a hose to the fermenter. The 3 pc can be fully dissassembled and that's what I put in for nearly all my keggle valves except the one 3-way I use. I linked to that 3 pc ball valve because it has a male and female end. Then a nipple wouldn't be needed in between the tee and the ball valve. I'd use teflon tape (4-5 wraps). I have the same combination of fittings, with the nipple after the tee, for my MT and HLT drain valves. I have thermoprobes in my tees, but I also built an inline O2 tee that I used to use off a plate chiller. If I recall correctly, that was the tee that I had to orient the carb stone in one of the two opposite ports.

The threads on the spout are probably also BSP then.

 

[fluketamer]

thanks crow thats the one.

i was today years old when i learned that 1/2 npt is not 1/2 inch in diameter.

so i thought the tap was npt because i was able to get a 1/2 npt kettle screen with 1/2 npt coupler onto it.
heres how this started. the design on my aio has me attaching and removving the bazooka screen on the other end of this tap with a screw clamp every time i use it. this is not a long term solution as the mesh has already started to unwind a little at the end. i figured i would get a new tube anyway when i saw these surplus on sale for 99 cents

https://www.williamsbrewing.com/Hom...oler-Fittings/38-Kettlescreen-For-Kettlevalve
i got a 3/8th size and a 1/2 size thinking for a buck a could find a use for them if neither fit or i couldnt get a coupler or adaptor.

i was able to fit the 1/2 npt kettle screen with 1/2npt couple ontot he back of the tap no problem so i wrongly assumed that my digiboil tap was npt.

i ended up getting this t piece instead because i saw it attached to the same tap . now i have no idea if this will work and will have to see when it gets here.

.

 

[fluketamer]

this is what i am trying to do

 

[Broken Crow]

If it was me, I would most likely just replace the valve too with a 3 piece ball valve. So bulkhead + tee + 3pc ball valve. Then a QD off the ball valve with a hose to the fermenter. The 3 pc can be fully dissassembled and that's what I put in for nearly all my keggle valves except the one 3-way I use. I linked to that 3 pc ball valve because it has a male and female end. Then a nipple wouldn't be needed in between the tee and the ball valve. I'd use teflon tape (4-5 wraps). I have the same combination of fittings, with the nipple after the tee, for my MT and HLT drain valves. I have thermoprobes in my tees, but I also built an inline O2 tee that I used to use off a plate chiller. If I recall correctly, that was the tee that I had to orient the carb stone in one of the two opposite ports.

The threads on the spout are probably also BSP then.

Excellent suggestion! ...Pretty sure the out thread is 'garden hose'. Might be a good time to get into camlocks for the end fitting (or QD, but I have personal sanitary issues with the gunk that can build up behind the bearings in many designs of those)

 

[Broken Crow]

thanks crow thats the one.

i was today years old when i learned that 1/2 npt is not 1/2 inch in diameter.

View attachment 840466

so i thought the tap was npt because i was able to get a 1/2 npt kettle screen with 1/2 npt coupler onto it.
heres how this started. the design on my aio has me attaching and removving the bazooka screen on the other end of this tap with a screw clamp every time i use it. this is not a long term solution as the mesh has already started to unwind a little at the end. i figured i would get a new tube anyway when i saw these surplus on sale for 99 cents

https://www.williamsbrewing.com/Hom...oler-Fittings/38-Kettlescreen-For-Kettlevalve
i got a 3/8th size and a 1/2 size thinking for a buck a could find a use for them if neither fit or i couldnt get a coupler or adaptor.

i was able to fit the 1/2 npt kettle screen with 1/2npt couple ontot he back of the tap no problem so i wrongly assumed that my digiboil tap was npt.

i ended up getting this t piece instead because i saw it attached to the same tap . now i have no idea if this will work and will have to see when it gets here.

.

View attachment 840467

Did you get the sight gauge as well? The hole in the side for it is 1/8"... I have the same one on my keggle with a thermometer in it.

 

[Deadalus]

The 1/2" refers to the internal diameter.

We use GHT garden hose thread for outside hose spigots and then also on some chillers but I don't think they do in England for their garden hoses. I think it may just be BSP since they already use a gasket. That's specifically a Kegland valve for homebrewing so it's hard to say.

 

[Deadalus]

The bulkhead fitting that is part of the sight glass tee is male. Your kettle screen is male, so you would need a 1/2" coupling on the inside. You could maybe skip the hex nut and screw the coupling on with a washer to apply pressure to the o-ring. A flat oring might work better though. I've done this before but on the outside, for spacing I think was the reason I used the coupling on a dial thermometer. It's not the best way to configure a bulkhead though. This is since you already have that sight glass tee. Hex nuts with a groove for the washer/oring tend to seal better. If you read through the link to the bulkhead that follows, the information provides better details.

For your kettle screen to avoid the coupling, you would need a bulkhead with female threads on the inside of the kettle. But then you don't need the sight glass tee you have. If you could just get the sight glass, you could use a 1/2" NPT tee with 1/2" NPT x 1/8" NPT bushing (assuming the threads on the sight glass are 1/8" NPT) in stainless steel. Probably exists but if it didn't you could step down most likely using two bushings.

Disregarding your original valve, 1/2" NPT is the common size for many of the threaded valves and fittings used for homebrewing in the US on the hot side.

 

[Deadalus]

This one from Morebeer has the female threads on the bulkhead. It has a flat washer. Shipping is often the issue when dialing in these connections. One way may save a fitting or a few dollars but without a LHBS, you may pay more trying to get it just right. I don't have that tee fitting, just the sight glass and a bushing going into an elbow then a bulkhead. I don't remember where I bought the sight glass from however and the bushing may or may not have come with it.

 

[fluketamer]

This one from Morebeer has the female threads on the bulkhead. It has a flat washer. Shipping is often the issue when dialing in these connections. One way may save a fitting or a few dollars but without a LHBS, you may pay more trying to get it just right. I don't have that tee fitting, just the sight glass and a bushing going into an elbow then a bulkhead. I don't remember where I bought the sight glass from however and the bushing may or may not have come with it.
View attachment 840472

this is the one i got:

it looks very similar but fits a 7/8 hole which is what i got on there now. i am hoping my tap will screw onto the left side when i take out the plug like your thermometer but im pretty sure your thermometer is npt and my tap looks to be garden hose

 

[Deadalus]

Your tap as Broken Crow linked is BSP threads on the side opposite the barb. The threads on the barb could be garden hose but I was just thinking you could check that by unscrewing the barb and trying to screw it in the other side. Our garden hoses in the US are are 3/4" in size. They are usually just listed as GHT, they are straight but I don't know full technical description.

Here's a description regarding how 1/2" NPT and 1/2" BSP are compatible, but not for low pressure. The different between BSP and NPT thread connection.

1/2"NPT to 1/2"BSP. Both have 14 threads per inch so they match up quite well.The primary difference is in the pitch (angle of the thread) which is 60 to 55. Use a PTFE tape and they screw together and seal OK.
3/4"NPT works well with 3/4" BSP as well since the threads per inch is the same, 14.
So, if no strict demand,sometimes you can ignore this slightly difference on low pressure systems as it is a well safe margin.

And here's a little bit more about BSP and NPT threads.

I think I found what you have ordered on Aliexpress but it only says 1/2". China does use BSP threads though on plumbing, something I discovered with a faucet I bought. The fitting in your item is just a hex coupling, with a hole drilled and threaded for the site glass. Then a nipple, lock nut, washer, and two orings to form the bulkhead. It's a very basic bulkhead design. Some extra metal washers can sometimes help prevent the lock nut from gripping the oring and distorting it. A hex shaped coupling would be easier to work with for your screen connection. Round couplings and nipples without a hex can be a little more work to get tight without damaging them.

 

[Bobby_M]

this is the one i got:

View attachment 840479

it looks very similar but fits a 7/8 hole which is what i got on there now. i am hoping my tap will screw onto the left side when i take out the plug like your thermometer but im pretty sure your thermometer is npt and my tap looks to be garden hose

1. Unfortunately that arrangement of parts on the left side of the fitting is not the stellar bulkhead that the original spigot was. The captured oring in a groove behind a flange is a bulkhead. An oring with a loose SS washer is not.

2. The AIO probably has a circular recess where that original spigot flange just barely fit inside (at least that's how the Foundry is). Aftermarket bulkheads are usually not sized with that recess in mind.

3. If your AIO has a rotatable spigot to position a short 90 degree pickup tube to avoid trub, you'll not be able to turn it anymore.

4. If your spigot has a pickup tube inside that faced downward to suck more wort out than the spigot height allows for, the open top of the sightglass will break your siphone.

5. The sightglass will not read accurately while draining out of the spigot, either via recirculation or final draining.

 

[Deadalus]

1. Unfortunately that arrangement of parts on the left side of the fitting is not the stellar bulkhead that the original spigot was. The captured oring in a groove behind a flange is a bulkhead. An oring with a loose SS washer is not.

2. The AIO probably has a circular recess where that original spigot flange just barely fit inside (at least that's how the Foundry is). Aftermarket bulkheads are usually not sized with that recess in mind.

3. If your AIO has a rotatable spigot to position a short 90 degree pickup tube to avoid trub, you'll not be able to turn it anymore.

4. If your spigot has a pickup tube inside that faced downward to suck more wort out than the spigot height allows for, the open top of the sightglass will break your siphone.

5. The sightglass will not read accurately while draining out of the spigot, either via recirculation or final draining.

I don't think the sight glass fitting purchased is that great a design but it'll function as the basic description of a bulkhead-a special pipe fitting to allow the free liquid flow from a tank, drum drainage, reservoir, or other plumbing systems through a hole. I know you have a higher standard than the one fluketamer ordered. I had ones like that to start out with too, they were on the keggles I bought originally.

Good point about the siphon. I completely forgot about that! Some of my keggles were originally part of a gas fired system and the BK sight glass was set up on a tee like that. I used to take a piece of foil and cover the top of the sight tube and put two orings on it, but then you can't read it. I ended up moving them to their own ports. The one on the BK still doesn't read correctly when boiling with any vigor. I kill the power for a reading if I want to be sure to hit my post boil volume.

 

[Bobby_M]

I don't think the sight glass fitting purchased is that great a design but it'll function as the basic description of a bulkhead-a special pipe fitting to allow the free liquid flow from a tank, drum drainage, reservoir, or other plumbing systems through a hole. I know you have a higher standard than the one fluketamer ordered. I had ones like that to start out with too, they were on the keggles I bought originally.

I'm commenting on the design quality and the user experience in getting it to seal and not really arguing semantics of the definition of a bulkhead. It's hard enough getting those to work on a single wall thickness without narrow recesses to contend with.

 

[Broken Crow]

The pics @fluketamer posted appears to have the grooved locknut and oring, the morebeer one looks to be all flat nut and washers. Mine has the grooved locknut/o-ring combo and no leaks... I wouldn't even consider using flat washers.
I hadn't actually thought about what was on the inside;

the design on my aio has me attaching and removving the bazooka screen on the other end of this tap with a screw clamp every time i use it.

this part had me assuming there was no diptube, so despite the drop that will occur in the sightglass, I was assuming there was no siphon going on to be concerned with. Attaching the bazooka to the inside though, is why my first suggestion was for this; True Weldless Bulkhead - With 1/2'' NPT Male Threads
What I also forgot to mention there would be the need for an additional female coupler for the bazooka.
@fluketamer , what is on the inside? maybe you take a picture.

 

[Bobby_M]

The grooved locknut for the interior definitely helps keep the oring in place, but liquid can still get between the threads and spiral right past the oring. I suppose if you tighten the heck out of it, and the oring is soft enough, it will extrude itself into the threads to block that path.

 

[Broken Crow]

The grooved locknut for the interior definitely helps keep the oring in place, but liquid can still get between the threads and spiral right past the oring. I suppose if you tighten the heck out of it, and the oring is soft enough, it will extrude itself into the threads to block that path.

When I'm stuck fiddling with couplers, o-rings and locknuts, I use an extra turn or 2 of teflon tape because of that..but; I don't want teflon in my beer so I try to wrap only the portion that'll be completely covered by the nut..a real PITA to get it right. That's why I've bought some of your True Bulkhead parts and have a couple more yet to buy for my next system, and I'll always recommend them on here. They are a true joy to work with! Thanks for making them!

 

[fluketamer]

no siphon no dip tube no recessed groove on the aio. the bazooka attaches directly to the tap leaving a half gallon on the bottom with the trub/hop cone.
i only want this for the ability to see the volume during the sparge. another member on another board uses just a graduated wooden dowel that you can dip in the dead space around the pipe to check ala oil dipstick.

i think no sparge is the solution but i hate the idea of tossing grains that have sugar in them. i am new to AG AIO and learning.

ill post pics of the bottom of my setup

 

[fluketamer]

this is the hole for the spigot. not recessed i am surprised it seals since its round and the tap flattens it out when it tightens.

this is the original design. its not the best.
i found the 1/2 npt bazzoka on sale for 99 cents ( no joke) so i grabbed it to see if i could rig something up

this is the bazooka with a one inch coupler i borrowed from my overflow pipe to take a pic. its a pain to get on and off because the bazooka is a little long so i bought a half inch ss coupler. but as you can see bazooka is npt and coupler appears to be bsp as it goes flush with the tap but not with the bazooka once the npt taper gets to big.
( its also a pic of how my aio has a mirror like finish that demonstrates my bald head so well. - vinegar is amazing on SS )

i love this thing and prolly shouldnt mess with it at all. someone else mentioned tap seal leak causing power board failure and to keep and eye on tap seal or run bead of silicon there.

ill find out if this works soon enough
thanks for all the replies

 

[Deadalus]

The pics @fluketamer posted appears to have the grooved locknut and oring, the morebeer one looks to be all flat nut and washers. Mine has the grooved locknut/o-ring combo and no leaks... I wouldn't even consider using flat washers.
I hadn't actually thought about what was on the inside;

this part had me assuming there was no diptube, so despite the drop that will occur in the sightglass, I was assuming there was no siphon going on to be concerned with. Attaching the bazooka to the inside though, is why my first suggestion was for this; True Weldless Bulkhead - With 1/2'' NPT Male Threads
What I also forgot to mention there would be the need for an additional female coupler for the bazooka.
@fluketamer , what is on the inside? maybe you take a picture.

I had searched using fluketamer's picture and found that setup on aliexpress. There does not appear to be a groove, although it could be on the backside of the lock nut which I doubt. The morebeer one is simply the same bulkhead they sell separately with the site glass added. I have a mixture of bulkheads on my 3V system. Some have locknuts with grooves, some don't, many have flat rubber washers, many have metal washers, and some regualar orings possibly. The pass through part on several is just a nipple. I have five bulkheads on my BK, three on my MT, and three on my HLT. That does not count the one's on my HERMS coil nor the TC elements on my BK and HLT. In that variety, some of the bulkheads use a flat metal washer against either a tee or an elbow with a nut on the other side and either a flat rubber washer or oring. None leak. Last year I broke all my vessels down and removed those eleven bulkheads for a deep cleaning. I upgraded some washers and some locknuts. It is time consuming to get the fittings situated and tightened correctly. Welded ports are much more advantageous in that regard. For me, the biggest issue is the oring/flat rubber washer getting distorted. The grooved locknuts and other grooved bulkheads at Brewhardware are very helpful, as are many of the tips and inexpensive additions offered throughout on their bulkheads. Strategic use of both thin and thick metal washers and flat rubber washers, also can be helpful to getting your fittings sealed. An excellent bulkhead, a good bulkhead, and a lousy one won't differ by but a couple of bucks if it all. I just happen to have bought a couple of random assortments of used NPT fittings and then occasionally spare tees, couplings, elbows, and nipples over time so I first use up those when configuring a bulkhead or tubing runs, hence the variety.

@fluketamer I think I may have bought my sight glasses on either aliexpress or ebay possibly with the bushing but that would be all. I seem to recall them being $16 each and that was a few years ago. You wouldn't be out much if you upgraded the bulkhead if you needed to. I was going to mention that some people do use the stick as well. Another option is to use a battery to etch in markings.

 

[Bobby_M]

It will work then. SS washer on the outside, no gasket. Oring on the inside with the male threads wrapped with enough teflon tape so that the nut is snug to turn. That should work.

 

[fluketamer]

thanks
ill let you know how it works out