Number of Valves

[punkiwishiwere]

I'm trying to mentally plan upgrades in my brewing equipment. I'm ready to make the plunge into recirculating my mash and transferring liquids with a single pump. I will be using quick disconnects to move hoses to and from HLT, MLT, and BK.

Because I will be moving these hoses from vessel to vessel with hot liquid still in the hoses, I thought I would put a ball valve on the ends of the hoses that are farthest from the pump. Basically, I will have two valves in line (kettle valve and hose valve) that are separated only by quick disconnects. Is this a dumb idea or are others doing this same thing?

Thanks all.

 

[mattd2]

I'm trying to mentally plan upgrades in my brewing equipment. I'm ready to make the plunge into recirculating my mash and transferring liquids with a single pump. I will be using quick disconnects to move hoses to and from HLT, MLT, and BK.

Because I will be moving these hoses from vessel to vessel with hot liquid still in the hoses, I thought I would put a ball valve on the ends of the hoses that are farthest from the pump. Basically, I will have two valves in line (kettle valve and hose valve) that are separated only by quick disconnects. Is this a dumb idea or are others doing this same thing?

Thanks all.

I don't think it is a dumb idea at all if you are using camlocks - At the moment I have just plain hoses and everytime I need to swap one over I have to pinch the hose and keep it picnh while I transfer it - Sometimes I wish I had 3 hands!
My next upgrade will be:
1) To setup a MLT/BK divert tee so I can swap over from recircing to transfer to the BK without swapping hoses / turning off the pump,
2) An acutaly sparge arm for recircing!
3) Change my Plate chiller to have a female camlock on the out so I remove 1 hose from my setup, and
4) Valves on my transfer hoses

 

[logdrum]

Save your money. The valve on your vessel plus the one on your pump will be plenty. You'll lose a little liquid, but not a great deal.

 

[mattd2]

Save your money. The valve on your vessel plus the one on your pump will be plenty. You'll lose a little liquid, but not a great deal.

Yeah should clarify my reasoning for it being a good idea is I brew inside so I try and avoid dropping as much liquid as possible.

 

[punkiwishiwere]

Save your money. The valve on your vessel plus the one on your pump will be plenty. You'll lose a little liquid, but not a great deal.

I guess I wasn't really clear in my description. Instead of having the valve at the pump, I would just move it to the end of the hose. Not losing the liquid in the hose has two benefits to me.

1. No scalding water on my hands, feet, pets, etc.
2. This will keep the pump primed. I'm not 100% sure about this one since I've not actually worked with a pump before.

So I guess if anything, I'm buying one more valve than is actually needed that would go on the end of the pump's inlet hose.

Final question: would throttling the outlet flow using a valve that far from the pump be any different than using a valve attached to the pump? As long as you have pressure in the outlet hose, I would assume it would work the same.

Thanks.

 

[Gitmoe]

Closing a valve on the output of the pump with sustain the pump prime just fine. I just put a small bucket under the connections when I remove a hose and let the liquid in the hose run into the bucket. Then I just dump the bucket back into the appropriate vessel. I can see your thinking in putting valves on the end of the hoses but it's really overkill at the homebrew scale...

 

[logdrum]

closing a valve on the output of the pump with sustain the pump prime just fine. I just put a small bucket under the connections when i remove a hose and let the liquid in the hose run into the bucket. Then i just dump the bucket back into the appropriate vessel. I can see your thinking in putting valves on the end of the hoses but it's really overkill at the homebrew scale...

+1

 

[yogensha]

Because I will be moving these hoses from vessel to vessel with hot liquid still in the hoses, I thought I would put a ball valve on the ends of the hoses that are farthest from the pump.
Thanks all.

I've found that closing the valve on the vessel or pump helps keep most of the liquid in the hose when opening the other end. Imagine holding your finger on the top of a straw to keep the liquid in. Also, with careful planning, I've generally been able to keep the free end above the liquid level of the vessel, which also helps. Good gloves keep me from getting scalded by what little leaks.

 

[Bobby_M]

Using only the valve at the output of the pump will stop the hose from emptying on either the inlet or outlet sides if you're careful and quick about hose changes. You'll want a large old bath towel on the floor anyway because even with "hose-end" valves, you're not stopping the small volume that sits inside the male QD from draining.

 

[Begin2Brew]

I only have valves at my outlet and at the vessels. I place a towel on the floor to catch any drips and place a paper towel under the fitting and the hose connection I am removing. I always shut both the pump valve and the vessel valve when moving hoses. Suction will keep the hose full unless you lay it on the ground.