n00b compression fitting question

[WortMonger]

I would just redo that one , you'd be surprised how much solder you actually get in the joint.

 

[San_Diego_Matt]

that works for me then!

keep your fingers crossed!!!

 

[Jared311]

I purchased my compression fittings from Bobby_M recently and he shipped them out for cheap right away. Thanks Bobby_M!!!

 

[WortMonger]

Just give it a test to be sure after you're done. You don't want air getting in and stopping your siphon

 

[EdWort]

I used brass. I'm not too concerned about the whole leaded brass issue.

And I'm a metallurgist.

That's good to know. Please elaborate. Thanks!

 

[jds]

That's good to know. Please elaborate. Thanks!

The EPA thrust to reduce lead below 15 ppb in drinking water is based largely upon toxicology and other studies showing 15 ppb to be potentially problematic in children. Tox levels in adults are quite a bit higher. The key factors that affect leaching of lead into aqueous sources are (1) long residence time, with stagnation, (2) low pH, (3) low alkalinity.

While wort is fairly low in pH (as foodstuffs go), contact time in the boil kettle is relatively short and not stagnant. Alkalinity varies with the brewing water. I base my decision not to worry on the fact that I don't drink nearly as much beer as water, and that the greater health risk comes from all the calories in the beer, and not any lead that might possibly potentially leach from the fitting.

I may try to get a sample of wort from my next brew and a sample of my drinking water sent to my chemist friend for a quick ICP for lead. It would be an interesting experiment.

 

[Bobby_M]

I don't think you can use too much flux. If the solder won't suck into the joint, you might have overheated the copper to the point where all the flux flowed out. You really only want it hot enough to let the solder flow, no hotter. Also, Make sure the inside of the fitting is well cleaned with a wire brush or sandpaper.

 

[San_Diego_Matt]

so I got to work on finishing this stuff up Saturday afternoon.

I cleaned up the connection that I couldn't get to take, re-marked it and went to work. It took this time and everything seemed nice and tight.

I boiled the dip tube and brushed the interior of it and installed it.

I brewed yesterday and used my own keggle rather than splitting a batch. I noticed that there were some small bubbles coming from the connection between the 1/2" FNT piece and the first piece of commer tubing I soldered in. The bubbles were VERY slight and I didn't worry about it.

Everything seemed to go well when it was time to chill the wort. There was about 1/2" or wort left in the very bottom part of the keggle and nothing leaked.

Thanks for all the help everyone.