Scrapyard score?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
C

CU_tony

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 8, 2016
Messages
348
Reaction score
74
Location
CLT
So I dropped by an artist friend's studio located in a scrapyard and got a nice tour. I found 4 pallets of of counterflow chillers, one of which I think will be great for my future brew rig. The owner wast there so I couldnt get a price on any of those.
From the tags I saw most of these chillers were discarded due to cosmetic defects, others are obviously NFG. Also a lot are probably way to huge for use on my scale of brewing. Any reason why I shouldnt feel confident I could pressure test and clean one or more of these?
What other uses are there for CCs besides chilling wort? Should I grab multiples or different styles?

Also on the lot were three pallets of various triclover bits and pieces.
I found two Ts that should be a good jump start on making a RIMs tube.
Most of what I saw on the top looked like 2" though I did see at least a few burried 1.5" bits and pieces that I want to dig out later.
Any reason why I wouldnt be able to clean these up?
Any reccomendations on what other 2" pieces might be useful?

IMG_20170223_133205.jpg


IMG_20170223_133209.jpg


IMG_20170223_133230.jpg


IMG_20170223_133253.jpg


IMG_20170223_133305.jpg


IMG_20170223_141326.jpg


IMG_20170223_141340.jpg


IMG_20170223_141350.jpg
 
So it sounds like I should go back and get all of the parts I could possibly ever need?
Anyone else need a new CFC or 2" TC fittings?
 
An artist's scrap yard? What's he doing with all this stuff? Rather, what did he use it for?
 
No, the artist has a studio space in the scrapyard and also uses materials there I suppose.
The scrapyard has a whole stainless steel section with the bins of TC fittings there.
Back in copper land are all the various sized and shaped counterflow chillers most of which simply had cosmetic flaws and were junked because of them :(

Hell, the yard even recently got given a tesla frame with wheels, suspension, and motors all brand new (sticker still on the tread of the tire) with the only requirement being that they document the destruction of the chassis *shrug*
 
I do maintenance work for a living. Our water source heat pumps use coils like that to heat/remove heat from the refrigerant. Our 'loop water' is treated with chemicals to protect the pipes and the refrigerant has oil in it.

I can't say for certain that those were used for HVAC, but it is a possibility.
 
And baking/scrubbing won't clean stainless steel sufficiently? The TC parts have been used, all of the coils are factory defects that were scrapped for cosmetic reasons from what I can tell.
 
CU_tony said:
And baking/scrubbing won't clean stainless steel sufficiently? The TC parts have been used, all of the coils are factory defects that were scrapped for cosmetic reasons from what I can tell.
Click to expand...

I would be careful case in point. I work in the semiconductor industry and as part of my job i expose tubing to acid. While i have decontaminated the tubing and its safe you really can not tell from looking at it versus brand new tubing. If it was me i would try and find out where those were coming from as that is how i would feel comfortable using something like that for food usage. What is cosmetic to you could be chemical or other nasty surprise waiting that baking soda and scrubbing wont fix.
 
CU_tony said:
And baking/scrubbing won't clean stainless steel sufficiently? The TC parts have been used, all of the coils are factory defects that were scrapped for cosmetic reasons from what I can tell.
Click to expand...

If it were a pot or sink or something I could physically scrub, I would be less reluctant. However, with the counterflow chillers, you can only run cleaning chemicals through; you can't scrub the inside. And baking may or may not remove/inactivate any chemicals left behind.

There are some nasty, nasty chemicals used in industrial settings, many of which are toxic or carcinogenic. If it were me, I'd pass on this just to save a couple bucks.
 
BrewMoo said:
I do maintenance work for a living. Our water source heat pumps use coils like that to heat/remove heat from the refrigerant. Our 'loop water' is treated with chemicals to protect the pipes and the refrigerant has oil in it.

I can't say for certain that those were used for HVAC, but it is a possibility.
Click to expand...
They dont appear to be used at all but rather new scrap.. like CU tony said with defects or reasons they didnt make the cut.
CU tony, I would appreciate a CFC chiller and would throw you a few bucks for shipping if your game? Theres no way all those CFC's would be used and all appear to be the same type or made the same way in a huge bin in a scrap yard. A lot of them even have the same type of tags on them.. if they were used some of them wouldnt have plastic caps on the end and some would have residue and liquid still in them... all the evidence shows they are the defects or rejects from a factory.. some might leak or be cosmetically defective.

a lot of those TC fittings are very useful, you could make a hardplumbed plumbing setup like what I use and not have to have a bunch of hoses... thats if you dont already BIAB.. I was trying to figure out what those tanks on the TC fittings were and wonder if they are some sort of air controled valve.. this might be the key to what it was used for but TC fittings are meant for sanitary use so that normally means food grade use..
 
I'm %95 sure that that chillers have never seen field usage and I doubt that they would be tested with nasty chemicals. Valid concern about cleaning the convoluted coil though and I will look deeper into their lineage before jumping on one.
As for the TC stuff, I though that the reason to use stainless was that it's "untaintable" or cleanable at least
A
@augiedoggy I currently am BIAB however I'm planning on upgrading to a RIMS tube setup and am slowly acquiring bits and pieces. I don't know what use I'll have for the 2" TC stuff except for a RIMS tube as anywhere else it seems like it would end up creating too much dead space.
I did see both electric and pneumatic actuated TC valves which are some of the larger tanks seems, also a cool 2" TC with a SS mesh filter canister inside that I was thinking could be cool for very large hopback/randal
 
Even if all that stuff was used before in industrial, those tc clamps are still good and hold a nice value. Them alone are a good score. I'm sure the fittings and tubes can be reused no problem as well.

The cfc's might be an issue, because you can't see inside them. Get one and run a light caustic mixture through it to see what comes out...
 
Given the plethora of CFC options I will just choose one that has never had anything welded/brazed onto the end. Many of the units have clearly never been used while some obviously have.
Im not trying to create a battle on the CFCs as I know I can find one that I am confident has never been used

I am glad to have some assurance with the TC fittings that stainless should be cleanable. There seems to be a large enough selection that I might be able to find what I dont even know Im looking for!
 
I'm sure there are people on hbt that would love to have all the tc items and piping, and would greatly appreciate them. Especially if sold well below market. Trying to build anything with those pieces can get expensive quickly.

You may hold the key to someone's dreams. Lol!
 
Tony,
I'm still looking for two pancake style for complete gravity draining.
Copper wort tubing of 3/4" to 1" OD x 12' or longer with enough copper sticking out allowing TC fittings to be brazed on.
Two CFC's in series if required for maximum cooling.
Keep in touch, Carl
 
@brewbeemer you may have gotten some error message on your end, but I got the DMs on mine!

Im certainly not attempting to setup a store or "sell" these as a product, Im honestly banking that Ill be able to negotiate a better deal if I buy more of this guy's junk than a measly few pieces. If an admin needs to reach out to me, please do as I dont intend to be breaking any rules and such, just looking to hook some people up with potential as-is junkyard stuffs.
 
I would pass on the counterflow chillers and I would not trust what I could not see. But, those triclamp parts are a gold mine. I have spent a lot on that stuff....
 
Tony,
looks like 66 items for $100, yup $1.50 per item, you paid way too much.
JK, what a score and don't forget to add a few CFC's for your brewery build.
Thanks for the CFC investigations, talk later.

Carl.....~~=o&o>.....
 
What a great find! I hope you'll post pictures when you build your new system.
 
you can build a pretty nice hardplumbed system with all that... I had to use threaded stainless pipe myself..
I'd get some barkeepers friend and get scrubbing...
 
Not scrapyard related but I think it was a score, I got a 50a spa panel on clearance for $17
Seems like a good deal to me, please don't hate me too much :D
 
There was one more on the clearance shelf if you want me to check back on Wednesday when I'm back in town @mj1angier
This is on Charlotte NC FWIW
 
CU_tony said:
There was one more on the clearance shelf if you want me to check back on Wednesday when I'm back in town @mj1angier
This is on Charlotte NC FWIW
Click to expand...

PM sent.


And on the old farts side of things: I loved when you could wonder thru a junk/ scrap yard and pick goodie up. Now, with the chance of getting sued for you fckng up, it is hard to find...
 
@mj1angier sorry I haven't responded, I'm out of town and using the HBT app I can't seem to view DMs
 
@mj I went back and the spa panel on clearance was marked back up to over $50 so I didn't buy it.
@cfrazier77 there was a limited AMT of TC fittings left, most of which I didn't see a need/use for on 5 gal systems. Lots of everything else there though.
Also word is the CFC and TC parts are a contract for them, so they should have regular shipments of them coming in.
 

Similar threads

Ayzala
Amazon Reviews, and how Amazon protects vendors of crappy products.
Replies
19
Views
665
Ayzala
Ayzala
Deadalus
Chillus Convolutus, Chillzilla copper CFCs
Replies
0
Views
663
Deadalus
Deadalus
passedpawn
Florida $999 10g Electric Brewery, SS Brewtech, RIMS, pump, chiller, stainless glory!
2
Replies
52
Views
5K
passedpawn
passedpawn
K
Pressure Fermentation Device - Homemade
Replies
11
Views
2K
Kugel
K
rtstrider
The dreaded grain mill issues thread
2
Replies
66
Views
9K
Dave Parry
Dave Parry
Brewer's Friend 300

Latest posts

Back
Top