Immersion Chiller quick disconnects?

[DevilsCups]

Looking to make life easier for me, in a leak-free way.

I currently use a small immersion chiller that is connected to vinyl hoses with worm clamps, and they suck. I'd like to add quick disconnects, as I brew in an apartment and it's far easier to rinse in the sink and drain it when not in use. I was thinking of keeping a short run of around 3-4" of tubing, oetiker clamped to the chiller, with disconnects at the end for easy disassembly.

Can anyone recommend solid, leak-free quick disconnects?

 

[Dr_Jeff]

Camlock connectors work great and don't leak

 

[day_trippr]

I picked up a couple pairs of inexpensive hose quick connectors at the local Lowes to screw onto the GHT ends on my IC. I think they're brass colored plating over aluminum with plastic grips molded on. Far lighter per connection than the SS camlocks I use for everything else. They've been working fine for years...

Cheers!

 

[DevilsCups]

I picked up a couple pairs of inexpensive hose quick connectors at the local Lowes to screw onto the GHT ends on my IC. I think they're brass colored plating over aluminum with plastic grips molded on. Far lighter per connection than the SS camlocks I use for everything else. They've been working fine for years...



Cheers!

This looks solid, I wish I had the skills or know-how to add the connection directly to the chiller, but a short-run of hose isn't a dealbreaker.

Now to find these in my local Lowes....

Cam-locks are also a good option, albeit heavy! @Bobby_M, do you have any insight or suggestions?

 

[pvpeacock]

I picked these up for my IC and ended up buying more to put on all my outdoor faucets, hoses and hose related attachments (nozzles, power washer, etc.). Now every hose and faucet at my house has a quick disconnect.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07SGFV92D/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

 

[DevilsCups]

I picked these up for my IC and ended up buying more to put on all my outdoor faucets, hoses and hose related attachments (nozzles, power washer, etc.). Now every hose and faucet at my house has a quick disconnect.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07SGFV92D/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

I suppose I would need some kind of barbed solution?

 

[Dr_Jeff]

I suppose I would need some kind of barbed solution?

What you see on @day_trippr's chiller are compression fittings, simply put the parts together and tighten with wrenches.

 

[DevilsCups]

What you see on @day_trippr's chiller are compression fittings, simply put the parts together and tighten with wrenches.

I'm curious if my copper inlet and outlets are too out-of-round by now to utilize these

 

[Bobby_M]

I'm curious if my copper inlet and outlets are too out-of-round by now to utilize these

If they are, you can cut a short piece off with rotating tubing cutter. It puts tubing back into round as a side bonus.

3/8" tube compression x male cam (assuming your tubing is 3/8 but they come in different sizes). The NYLON ferrules are easier to lock down.

If you want garden hoses to snap on, this is the fitting

To use existing thinner tubing, this fitting instead:

 

[DevilsCups]

Thank you!

 

[beren]

I picked these up for my IC and ended up buying more to put on all my outdoor faucets, hoses and hose related attachments (nozzles, power washer, etc.). Now every hose and faucet at my house has a quick disconnect.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07SGFV92D/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

Do you have any trouble with them leaking? I use the harbor freight ones but after a year or two I think the seals deform or the metal wears and they leak.

 

[Deadalus]

Do you have any trouble with them leaking? I use the harbor freight ones but after a year or two I think the seals deform or the metal wears and they leak.

I happen to use that same brand too (Shownew). I bought 6 sets total and they are 2-3 years old no leaks. I had a different brand that leaked once but this brand has been decent so far. I also use them on both brewing stuff and gardening stuff.

@DevilsCups I haven't used a lot of compression fittings but when I have, they have always had an insert when they are intended for copper tubing. Your IC is probably a softer copper since that bends easier. The insert goes inside the tubing and helps to prevent collapse. And the tolerance may not be the same for SS vs copper compression fittings. SS and copper pipes are based on inner diameter but compression fittings are using the ID as a reference but the fit is on the outer diameter. The outer diameter on the copper may be different than the outer diameter of a SS pipe. I typically solder copper myself but you may want to get a copper compression or solder fitting with garden hose threads or even NPT and then add your quick disconnect or camlock.

 

[DevilsCups]

Thanks so much for the info!

 

[whoaru99]

Guess they're not necessarily quick disconnects per se, but I have the typical treaded coupling garden hose fittings on my IC. None the less they disconnect in fairly short order.

 

[pvpeacock]

Ditto Deadalus's experience. I will note that you need to be careful to make sure you know if the disconnects you buy are male-male, female-female or male-female and female-male. And, no, I am not talking about which sex they identify with. I discovered this the hard way when I bought a different brand thinking they would be compatible and they weren't. I prefer to have the male-male/female-female disconnects as shown in the Amazon link I sent.

 

[Deadalus]

Ditto Deadalus's experience. I will note that you need to be careful to make sure you know if the disconnects you buy are male-male, female-female or male-female and female-male. And, no, I am not talking about which sex they identify with. I discovered this the hard way when I bought a different brand thinking they would be compatible and they weren't. I prefer to have the male-male/female-female disconnects as shown in the Amazon link I sent.

I didn't notice they did that! If you scroll down to the compare sections what you are describing is illustrated as I have male-female and female-male style, same company though. Garden hose fittings can be tricky too because they are ordered, the inflow is a female fitting on the hose but the outflow is male. Case 1, a Therminator only has male GHT on both sides so GHT coupling is needed. Case 2 IC. If you are adding fittings to the tubing, remember to make at least one a female GHT to feed the water from a garden hose. On the out you could put a male and the hose works fine or flip the hose around if you are only draining and used a female GHT. Case 3 CFC. You may want to be extra careful with the GHT fittings as you may want your wort to enter and exit in a specific way which means the water goes in and out the opposite way and so you need to consider at least the water hose input. The wort fittings on a CFC are often NPT. And somewhat unrelated but some CFC's are metric tubing sizes, so the compression fittings and even solder fittings may not fit properly. I find it's always helpful to have the threaded fittings on the chillers when buying so you don't have to do it yourself. It's worth it as some of these fittings cost a decent amount, particularly SS compression.

 

[Skeeter686]

Do you have any trouble with them leaking? I use the harbor freight ones but after a year or two I think the seals deform or the metal wears and they leak.

Do NOT bother with the Harbor Freight hose connectors. They're not worth the trouble. They might be OK if you're using them outside and the leakage isn't a big deal to you, but from my experience they're not leak-free.