SS Brewtech Weldless Fittings

[CodeSection]

I'm looking at a SS Brewtech product that has weldless fittings. I would prefer welded fittings with TCs. However, SSB is the only manufacturer that sells what I'm considering at the size I want.

When I researched "weldless fittings", I found several postings of them leaking. It appears many of the leaking issues pertained to where the washer(s) were placed as well to how much the fittings were tightened. Tightening too light or too tight caused leaking.

Focusing just on weldness fittings, what has your experience been?

 

[Jtvann]

When used correctly, I've not had problems. Brew buckets and chronicals use weldless fittings.

My older brew kettle that is used as a HLT had weldless ports as well.

 

[Drumminguy81]

I'm looking at a SS Brewtech product that has weldless fittings. I would prefer welded fittings with TCs. However, SSB is the only manufacturer that sells what I'm considering at the size I want.

When I researched "weldless fittings", I found several postings of them leaking. It appears many of the leaking issues pertained to where the washer(s) were placed as well to how much the fittings were tightened. Tightening too light or too tight caused leaking.

Focusing just on weldness fittings, what has your experience been?

Curious what you are looking for, what size? From what I have seen ssbrewtech sells the same sizes as most every other manufacture.. spike brewing makes very nice welded kettles in a variety of sizes and fully customizable..

 

[CodeSection]

Curious what you are looking for, what size? From what I have seen ssbrewtech sells the same sizes as most every other manufacture.. spike brewing makes very nice welded kettles in a variety of sizes and fully customizable..

I didn't want people to go on a tangent from my question regarding weldness fittings so I did not intentionally mention what I was looking at. I am not aware of another company selling what I am considering.

I own a custom Spike CF10 and I am at the point of either buying another CF10 (using it as a bright tank or fermenter or both) or buying a dedicated bright tank. Another fermenter or a bright tank will allow me to make more batches without having to wait for one batch to finish. I do not plan to keg and I do not have room for a freezer....that is not an option. For those that like to use the word "bling", it is not about that either.

Right now I'm waiting on my current batch to complete in a few days and then I will start another batch. My timing was been thrown off since I was out of town for about three weeks recently and it looks as if that will be the case every three months or so.

SS Brewtech offers a 10 gallon brite tank that is about $400-$500 cheaper than another CF10. It has weldless fittings of which I am concerned about. I realize there are more options with another CF10, but at the same time, a bright tank will free up my current CF10 at a lower price point....

 

[Drumminguy81]

My apologies, I assumed you were talking about kettles. Not trying to derail the thread. FWIW I do have an ssbrewtech kettle with 2 of their weldless triclamp fittings and 1 of their 1/2" weldless bulkheads installed and the only time I have ever had any of them leak was when they came slightly loose. Tightened them up and no more leaking.

 

[CodeSection]

@Drumminguy81, no apologies necessary and I appreciate your posting and trying to find a solution!

Thanks for posting your experiences!

 

[CodeSection]

After more reading and watching some videos, it appears one could enlarge the three holes in the bright tank and install 1.5" TC Radius Face Solder Flange as shown here...https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/tc15rsf.htm. Then I could use my Spike's carb stone and SS Brewtech's sample valve with the sample "pigtail" coil. I would need to buy a 1.5" TC butterfly valve and a 1.5" TC thermowell.

How hard is it to install those flanges? Has anyone tried installing them?

 

[Jtvann]

After more reading and watching some videos, it appears one could enlarge the three holes in the bright tank and install 1.5" TC Radius Face Solder Flange as shown here...https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/tc15rsf.htm. Then I could use my Spike's carb stone and SS Brewtech's sample valve with the sample "pigtail" coil. I would need to buy a 1.5" TC butterfly valve and a 1.5" TC thermowell.

How hard is it to install those flanges? Has anyone tried installing them?

Check the make up of the brite tank. For instance the Ss infusion mash tun is double wall insulated with styrofoam. I don't know how the brite tank is made. If any styrofoam, I'd doubt you could weld it. I may be wrong.

If it were me, I'd for sure try it out as designed and aee how you like or dislike the weldless fittings. Those are similar the the brew bucket fittings and I never had a single issue.

 

[Bobby_M]

I wouldn't solder tc on a fermenter. Its not sanitary enough.

 

[CodeSection]

@Jtvann and @Bobby_M, I appreciate you posting and the advice you gave.

I read a post from a well known member that he has used weldless fittings on his Blichmann kettle for 14+ years with no problems. Another well known member, that is a pro as well, basically said the same thing except he mentioned they were fine to use on the hot side which sorta left the door open on whether it was ok to use them on the cold side due to sanitary issues.

I wonder if the cleaning process of the SS Brewtank 10 gallon brite tank would involve removing the weldless fittings to assure there's nothing caught behind the nuts inside the tank and that they are sanitized properly....

 

[eric19312]

I wonder if the cleaning process of the SS Brewtank 10 gallon brite tank would involve removing the weldless fittings to assure there's nothing caught behind the nuts inside the tank and that they are sanitized properly....

Wow I hope not, that things got a lot of weldless fittings.

 

[Jag75]

A friend of mine that owns a pub has the Ss brewtech brite tank and hasnt had any issues in 5 years now . He loves it

 

[speavler]

the sample valves have a gasket on the inside of the vessel. if you over-tighten, it squishes the gasket out from under the nut. I did this once on my ss brewtech fermenter and it did leak. had to sanitize my arm, reach in and adjust the nut. Only happened the one time in 2 years.

 

[Vale71]

I wonder if the cleaning process of the SS Brewtank 10 gallon brite tank would involve removing the weldless fittings to assure there's nothing caught behind the nuts inside the tank and that they are sanitized properly....

You don't have to if you don't want to but if you were to get a persistent infection those fittings are the first place I would look at to try and fix the issue.

 

[Jtvann]

@Jtvann and @Bobby_M, I appreciate you posting and the advice you gave.

I read a post from a well known member that he has used weldless fittings on his Blichmann kettle for 14+ years with no problems. Another well known member, that is a pro as well, basically said the same thing except he mentioned they were fine to use on the hot side which sorta left the door open on whether it was ok to use them on the cold side due to sanitary issues.

I wonder if the cleaning process of the SS Brewtank 10 gallon brite tank would involve removing the weldless fittings to assure there's nothing caught behind the nuts inside the tank and that they are sanitized properly....

Yes, you need to remove the weldless fitting every time for cleaning. The same goes for every other type fitting such as TC when working on the cold side. It may not be an absolute must, and I'm sure someone will argue whether its necessary. For me, on the cold side, everything needs to be sanitized. You take off one of the weldless fittings and see if it appears to be clean after your sanitiation routine. If it's not clean, it cant be sanitized.

Yes, it's a lot of weldless fittings, but peace of mind from an infected batch is worth the 15 mins of work.

 

[CodeSection]

A friend of mine that owns a pub has the Ss brewtech brite tank and hasnt had any issues in 5 years now . He loves it

What size brite tank is your friend using and does it have weldless fittings or welded fittings? Being that your friend has a pub, he may have a 20 gallon or 1 bbl which comes in welded fittings.

Yes, you need to remove the weldless fitting every time for cleaning. The same goes for every other type fitting such as TC when working on the cold side. It may not be an absolute must, and I'm sure someone will argue whether its necessary. For me, on the cold side, everything needs to be sanitized. You take off one of the weldless fittings and see if it appears to be clean after your sanitiation routine. If it's not clean, it cant be sanitized.

Yes, it's a lot of weldless fittings, but peace of mind from an infected batch is worth the 15 mins of work.

I was afraid of that...needing to remove those weldless fittings each and every time. That is why I was concerned about using them as one would think the "wear and tear" would eventually cause a leak. Welded and TC fittings are so much easier to remove, clean and sanitize. Plus, they are so much stronger.

For a 10 gallon batch in the SSB brite tank, there is .5 gallon headspace (total volume 10.5 gallons). Spike's CF10 holds 14 gallons. So, the headspace for a 10 gallon batch would be roughly 4 gallons plus the space in the lid. If you are carbonating in either vessel, the headspace is mute since there is CO2 there, correct? Thus, other than cost and possible leaking around the lid gasket, there is not necessarily a down side to Spike's CF10 if it was used as a bright tank, correct?

 

[speavler]

It's not a fermentation vessel, so I don't think you'd need to do a full break down after each use. Plenty of folks using keg washers may only do a periodic full break down on kegs. Having said that, I do a full break down on my kegs after each use, so whatever. Also, I've never really understood the brite tank at the home brewing scale. Seems easier and cheaper to just brite in kegs.

 

[CodeSection]

It's not a fermentation vessel, so I don't think you'd need to do a full break down after each use. Plenty of folks using keg washers may only do a periodic full break down on kegs. Having said that, I do a full break down on my kegs after each use, so whatever. Also, I've never really understood the brite tank at the home brewing scale. Seems easier and cheaper to just brite in kegs.

I'm one of those brewers that cleans everything. Many just rinse out their kettles with hot water after a brew....I use Craft Meister Alkaline Brewery Wash every time.

I'm not so sure if kegs are easier but I will take your word for it. To me, having no experience with kegs, it seems as if you are doubling the work for a 10 gallon batch unless you buy a 10 gallon keg. Though, they definitely are cheaper. Maybe not that much cheaper when you factor the cost of a freezer. Then there is the lifting...then back problems....then medical bills and out-of-pocket expense.

In my case, kegs are not an option....

 

[Jag75]

Yeah I think its 1bbl system

 

[CodeSection]

....For a 10 gallon batch in the SSB brite tank, there is .5 gallon headspace (total volume 10.5 gallons). Spike's CF10 holds 14 gallons. So, the headspace for a 10 gallon batch would be roughly 4 gallons plus the space in the lid. If you are carbonating in either vessel, the headspace is mute since there is CO2 there, correct? Thus, other than cost and possible leaking around the lid gasket, there is not necessarily a down side to Spike's CF10 if it was used as a bright tank, correct?

I guess I answered my own question. Upon further research, it appears the extra headspace is possible and has no negative effect except the use of more CO2 https://discussions.probrewer.com/showthread.php?46516-25-head-space-in-brite-tanks-Why. I read another post that says even 50% headspace is ok.

Probrewers mention there was a way to clean the bright tank without opening it up using a cleaner in such a way to save the CO2. I don't understand their method so I will be busy in the days to come reading up on the process.

 

[Wayne1]

To clean under pressure, you would have to use an nitric acid/ phosphoric acid blend with detergent, such as Acid #6 from Five Star Chemicals or Ultra Niter from Birko.
You would have to CIP with a pump.
This is a eye protection, rubber gloves and protective footwear situation.
This is not a procedure I would suggest in a homebrewing environment.

 

[CodeSection]

To clean under pressure, you would have to use an nitric acid/ phosphoric acid blend with detergent, such as Acid #6 from Five Star Chemicals or Ultra Niter from Birko.
You would have to CIP with a pump.
This is a eye protection, rubber gloves and protective footwear situation.
This is not a procedure I would suggest in a homebrewing environment.

Thanks for the education Wayne! I will heed your advice. I'm striking out everywhere regarding the bright tank. I spoke with a welder today and to tig heliarc weld three ferrules including purging O2 and filling with argon gas while welding, it will cost $200-$300.

So, at the 10 gallon Brite tank sales price plus the welding cost, I would be better to buy the 20 gallon Brite tank Brewmaster Edition. However, looking at the 20 gallon Brewmaster Edition sales price, for only $88 more I can buy another CF10.....

Amazing to go and come around full circle...and end back where you started.

 

[speavler]

hard to go wrong with a unitank.

 

[Jtvann]

Thanks for the education Wayne! I will heed your advice. I'm striking out everywhere regarding the bright tank. I spoke with a welder today and to tig heliarc weld three ferrules including purging O2 and filling with argon gas while welding, it will cost $200-$300.

So, at the 10 gallon Brite tank sales price plus the welding cost, I would be better to buy the 20 gallon Brite tank Brewmaster Edition. However, looking at the 20 gallon Brewmaster Edition sales price, for only $88 more I can buy another CF10.....

Amazing to go and come around full circle...and end back where you started.

Or just use the brite tank as it was designed and clean it? Its not that difficult.

Nothing wrong with a unitank either though. It provides the same features plus more.

 

[Vale71]

hard to go wrong with a unitank.

Unless you plan on using it as a serving vessel, in which case you'll have to deal with the issue of not being able to cool the beer using glycol below a certain level. Unfortunately it seems that the brite tank has this issue too, just look at where the temp probe is positioned. As soon as the liquid drops below that level you will not be able to regulate temperature anymore, so you'll have to either quaff too much beer for one single person in a single session or transfer what's left to a keg in any case.
This is actually the reason why I'm still using kegs instead of a brite tank. If I have to go to the trouble of mantaining a kegerater then I might just as well use that instead of a brite tank and save quite a little bit of money and space too.

 

[CodeSection]

Unless you plan on using it as a serving vessel, in which case you'll have to deal with the issue of not being able to cool the beer using glycol below a certain level. Unfortunately it seems that the brite tank has this issue too, just look at where the temp probe is positioned. As soon as the liquid drops below that level you will not be able to regulate temperature anymore, so you'll have to either quaff too much beer for one single person in a single session or transfer what's left to a keg in any case.
This is actually the reason why I'm still using kegs instead of a brite tank. If I have to go to the trouble of mantaining a kegerater then I might just as well use that instead of a brite tank and save quite a little bit of money and space too.

Good point on being unable to adequately read and control the temperature once the beer level goes below the temp probe level when using as a serving vessel. In my case, I am not planning on using it as a serving vessel.

 

[Vale71]

That's what I thought you were going to do with it, my bad.
If you just plan on using it for conditioning then I think you should fork out the extra $$ and get a Unitank with welded fittings instead. That way you'll avoid having to transfer with all that entails (CO2 consumption, possible O2 pickup, possible beer losses) and won't have to worry about weldless fitting harboring infections.
But of course that's easy to say when it's not one's own money...

 

[Blazinlow86]

It's not a fermentation vessel, so I don't think you'd need to do a full break down after each use. Plenty of folks using keg washers may only do a periodic full break down on kegs. Having said that, I do a full break down on my kegs after each use, so whatever. Also, I've never really understood the brite tank at the home brewing scale. Seems easier and cheaper to just brite in kegs.

When you brite/crash in keg all the stuff your trying to remove ends up in the bottom of your keg and then back in your beer anytime the kegs moved. Not a huge deal to some who don't move there kegs but it's a deal breaker for most trying to make a profession end product not just "homebrew". Cheers

 

[CodeSection]

That's what I thought you were going to do with it, my bad.
If you just plan on using it for conditioning then I think you should fork out the extra $$ and get a Unitank with welded fittings instead. That way you'll avoid having to transfer with all that entails (CO2 consumption, possible O2 pickup, possible beer losses) and won't have to worry about weldless fitting harboring infections.
But of course that's easy to say when it's not one's own money...

Don't feel bad. I appreciate the advice as others, including myself, may not have thought of that issue if they were using it as a serving vessel. Just think, you may have saved other brewers getting frustrated from learning this first hand after spending money on an unitank.

Yep, I'm buying another CF10...

 

[Blazinlow86]

Don't feel bad. I appreciate the advice as others, including myself, may not have thought of that issue if they were using it as a serving vessel. Just think, you may have saved other brewers getting frustrated from learning this first hand after spending money on an unitank.

Yep, I'm buying another CF10...

Just a reminder that this is only a issue if your stuck using a glycol setup for whatever reason. With a stand-up freezer or fridge this isn't a issue. cheers

 

[CodeSection]

Just a reminder that this is only a issue if your stuck using a glycol setup for whatever reason. With a stand-up freezer or fridge this isn't a issue. cheers

A stand-up or chest freezer is not an option in my circumstances. Maybe it may be possible when I build out the CO house basement.

 

[Blazinlow86]

A stand-up or chest freezer is not an option in my circumstances. Maybe it may be possible when I build out the CO house basement.

I'd glycol is a better fit for your setup it's the right choice. I was mostly just pointing it out for others that may want to serve out of there unitank as it's really handy. I've been lazy and have almost gone thru a entire 12 gallon batch thru the sample port. One day I'll add a tap to the chamber. Cheers