Installing Accuflex Bev-Seal Ultra 3/16

[cyberbackpacker]

Thadius, what parts did you use to get a 90d 5/16 x 5/8 BSPP fitting? Making a 90d turn with the beveled sucks, and yours look like the right solution!

-Kevin

We're using faucets attached to beer shanks.

The 5/16 X 5/8 BSPP PI451015FS screws directly onto a beer shank.

Faucets do not have barbs. You seem to be describing a picnic (cobra) tap.

Picnic tap's don't make any sense with rigid lines. The line costs more than the tap itself. Same for a set of John Guest fittings.

 

[LLBeanJ]

Looks like he used one of these inserted into the 5/16 X 5/8 BSPP PI451015FS...

http://www.freshwatersystems.com/p-2568-john-guest-stem-elbow-connector-516-stem-x-516-tube.aspx

 

[thadius856]

Unfortunately, that's not my picture.

You'd just need an elbow with 5/16" stem x 5/16" push, as linked above.

They make non-elbow stems that can adapt to smaller hose. All of my gas lines are 1/4" OD poly, so I add a 5/16" stem x 1/4" push to connect them to the 1/4" OD tubing. I have to do this because they only make 3 fittings that have a 1/4" MFL connection, and the smallest takes 5/16" OD tubing.

 

[cyberbackpacker]

Thanks LLbean and Thadius!

 

[Rahahb]

Just in time. I was going to replace my generic pvc lines today with bev seal, but couldn't find the time. I have a heat gun so I'm hoping it goes well.

I'm not interested in the fittings as I'm cautious as to what touches my beer. I just feel better about only stainless steel and the bev seal line coming in contact. I've seen where some acetal polymer is food safe depending on application, but some isn't.

 

[thadius856]

They're purposely made for drinking water and bar systems.

Perhaps this will help ease your mind:

http://www.johnguest.com/Home/literature-downloads/UK-Literature/JG_DRINKDISPENSE.aspx

 

[FredTheNuke]

Question from the peanut gallery. Why not upsize to the 1/4"ID Bev-Seal product? is there an advantage to having 1/4"ID barbs and 3/16"ID tubing?

 

[milldoggy]

1/4 resistance is .3, 3/16 is 2.0. Need a lot more length to balance a system with 1/4.

 

[FredTheNuke]

1/4 resistance is .3, 3/16 is 2.0. Need a lot more length to balance a system with 1/4.

Thanks - balancing the system is new to me. Now what about the opposite - 3/16"ID tubing on a 3/16"ID barb (such as the 630SS combo with SS shank that beveragefactory has for $56.95 per combo)?

 

[thadius856]

I think you'd saving yourself a lot of trouble by buying a 5/8 BSPP John Guest fitting.

 

[LLBeanJ]

I think you'd saving yourself a lot of trouble by buying a 5/8 BSPP John Guest fitting.

+1

This tubing is not designed to be fitted over a barbed connector. Sure, with a bit of grit and determination it can be done, as many on this site can attest, but why punish yourself like that when the proper fittings are available?

 

[JayDubWill]

My first tap was connected to a barbed disconnect and tail piece using the accuflex bev-seal tubing for the last year or so. It took me like 2 hours heating up a screw driver, needle nose pliers, heating up the tubing, the disconnect barb, melting the tubing into a sloppy mess or only getting it 1/3 of the way on, cutting it off, starting over... And even after I had it on, I constantly had drips here and there no matter what type of clamp I was using. I had enough. I just finished my 5 tap kegerator and used John Guest fittings on 4 of the 5 shanks and ball lock keg disconnects and just ordered the parts to convert the 5th. It took me seriously 20 minutes to do 4 lines, including measuring the tubing , Cutting it, removing picnic taps, etc. So far I've not experienced a single drip and 2 of my taps serve soda and carbonated water at 40psi. I will never go back to barbed connections again.

Shameless plug here for Birdman Brewing. I bought all my stuff from them and it was priced right and arrived quickly. I just wish they had more BM logo pint glasses in stock!

 

[FredTheNuke]

Why did you use so much tubing? I have read up on balancing but have not mastered it. In my refrigerator keezer I keep Lager at 13psi and dispense via 3ft tubing to the taps with no issues. Of what benefit are the longer lines?

 

[thadius856]

13 psi and 3 ft? That shouldn't even work with vinyl lines.

BevSeal has a lower line restriction rate than vinyl, about half actually, because of the inner coating.

I find I need 25-30' of 3/16" ID BevSeal to balance 13 psi with a <2' rise.

 

[JayDubWill]

Why did you use so much tubing? I have read up on balancing but have not mastered it. In my refrigerator keezer I keep Lager at 13psi and dispense via 3ft tubing to the taps with no issues. Of what benefit are the longer lines?

The two kegs on the right are my soda/water kegs @ 40 PSI. i have 40ft of bev-seal for each of these. The other 3 kegs for beer have 20ft each. The soda at 40 PSI is a little foamy but since it's soda the head dies quickly. It pours better at 30 PSI but I like really carbonated soda. The beers pour perfectly at ~12-14 PSI. This is for my fridge at 42F. if you keep yours warmer or cooler you may need to adjust your pressure and lengths accordingly.

 

[FredTheNuke]

13 psi and 3 ft? That shouldn't even work with vinyl lines.

BevSeal has a lower line restriction rate than vinyl, about half actually, because of the inner coating.

I find I need 25-30' of 3/16" ID BevSeal to balance 13 psi with a <2' rise.

Interesting - now I am lost. I will post a short video once I keg a few more batches - just popped empty on my last corny. I have no issues dispensing.

 

[day_trippr]

Interesting - now I am lost. I will post a short video once I keg a few more batches - just popped empty on my last corny. I have no issues dispensing.

There's always an outlier system out there that defies physics...

Cheers!

 

[rossi46]

13 psi and 3 ft? That shouldn't even work with vinyl lines.

BevSeal has a lower line restriction rate than vinyl, about half actually, because of the inner coating.

I find I need 25-30' of 3/16" ID BevSeal to balance 13 psi with a <2' rise.

Holy sh!t, you have 250-300 feet of tubing in your keezer ? Where do you put all of it ?
I have a 100' of this line collecting dust, looks like I need another 100' and some JG fittings.
P.S. I love my Raspberry Pints Display

 

[zachattack]

Holy sh!t, you have 250-300 feet of tubing in your keezer ? Where do you put all of it ?
I have a 100' of this line collecting dust, looks like I need another 100' and some JG fittings.
P.S. I love my Raspberry Pints Display

Unlike with standard PVC tubing (10-12'), there seems to be a wide range of line lengths that people report needing with the accuflex.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/accuflex-bev-seal-ultra-length-line-300630/

I personally use 20 feet at 40 degrees and get perfect pours, so far I haven't gone above ~15 PSI though.

 

[geepmaley]

My first tap was connected to a barbed disconnect and tail piece using the accuflex bev-seal tubing for the last year or so. It took me like 2 hours heating up a screw driver, needle nose pliers, heating up the tubing, the disconnect barb, melting the tubing into a sloppy mess or only getting it 1/3 of the way on, cutting it off, starting over... And even after I had it on, I constantly had drips here and there no matter what type of clamp I was using. I had enough. I just finished my 5 tap kegerator and used John Guest fittings on 4 of the 5 shanks and ball lock keg disconnects and just ordered the parts to convert the 5th. It took me seriously 20 minutes to do 4 lines, including measuring the tubing , Cutting it, removing picnic taps, etc. So far I've not experienced a single drip and 2 of my taps serve soda and carbonated water at 40psi. I will never go back to barbed connections again.

Shameless plug here for Birdman Brewing. I bought all my stuff from them and it was priced right and arrived quickly. I just wish they had more BM logo pint glasses in stock!

What's the bend radius of this stuff? i.e how tight are the coils

 

[JayDubWill]

What's the bend radius of this stuff? i.e how tight are the coils

It's pretty stiff, I coiled it to about the diameter of a ball lock keg. You could go a little tighter, but not much.

 

[FredTheNuke]

You can cut in and add elbows if tighter is needed

 

[geepmaley]

It's pretty stiff, I coiled it to about the diameter of a ball lock keg. You could go a little tighter, but not much.

Looking at having the coils sit on top of the kegs in my upright kegerator. How do you account for the lack of flex when opening and closing the door?

 

[JayDubWill]

I left about 2 feet or so uncoiled on both ends. Sometimes the door doesn't want to close unless I have the coils pushed further back into the fridge, but it works ok.

 

[insanim8er]

I was putting this project off in angst... I'm glad I finally did it. I don't understand why people are having issues. It was a synch.

I thought I was going to have to buy a heat gun and tools... Naw. I used one of those electric boil pots for making hot water.

I used boiled water, put the barb on a coupler and let it sit in the hot water. Then put the tip of the tube in. I had a dimple punch tool (just like the tool for countersinking a nail head) that had a smooth transition from thin to thick... I used it to flare the end a little then jammed the barb in. If it didn't go in enough, I put the coupler and hose back in the hot water, pulled out and re applied pressure...

Smooth fit no kinks... No problems. No need for hose clamps either.

It took more time to boil the water than it did to get the tube on.

Done done and done... Thank god! Now I need to do the same for my portable kegerator.

 

[FredTheNuke]

why did you heat both the barb and tubing?

 

[insanim8er]

why did you heat both the barb and tubing?

Because it helps to get the tube on... I think it helps keep the tube softer longer, so that's easier to manage. It worked well.

 

[jpolidore]

Mine was simple also. I took Needle nose pliers and heated them with a cheap $12 torch and then pushed them in the line to give the line a flare. I then heated the barb with the same torch and it slid on like butter.

 

[FredTheNuke]

My point is you should be CHILLING the barb to make is contract. Heat should only be applied to the tubing to expand and relax it... Heating the barb does not make things slide easier. Lubricating it with keg lube while it's ice cold would. But then you have to make sure the keg lube doesn't let it release later on.

Folks should put the barb connections in the freezer for a day or two and heat the tubing. Same principles utilized to remove pressed bearings or insert them.

 

[insanim8er]

My point is you should be CHILLING the barb to make is contract. Heat should only be applied to the tubing to expand and relax it... Heating the barb does not make things slide easier. Lubricating it with keg lube while it's ice cold would. But then you have to make sure the keg lube doesn't let it release later on.

Folks should put the barb connections in the freezer for a day or two and heat the tubing. Same principles utilized to remove pressed bearings or insert them.

Are you serious?

So you're telling me it didn't work with ease as I experienced because I did it wrong by heating the barb up? Well crap... I guess I should disassemble the entire thing and freeze the barb instead. I mean it looks like it worked, but if you're telling me I did it wrong, I'll go cut it off right now! :smack:

Go make a video of you freezing the barb and heating the tube and getting it in with ease... I'd like to see that. As soon as the tube hits that cold ass barb, it'll stiffen up and you'll have one hell of a time.

When you're dealing with bearings, you're not dealing with plastic tubes that are shaped via heat