TC tee inner diameter

[swanwick]

I am going to be connecting from a vessel's TC port to a TC tee and then from the other two sides of the Tee to TC's with 5/8" barbs for 1/2" hosing.

Does it matter what the ID (inner diameter) on the TC tee is as long as it is at least 5/8" (or probably 3/4" since the ID of the barb is probably 3/4"). It seems that most for sale have >5/8" ID.

I know it is strange not to have a ball valve in the equation, but one is the Herms Input and the other is the HLT input (above liquid level). They are both connected to a pump output that has a ball valve. Long story, but I am trying to automate and I only have so many outputs from the controller (uniflex) I can use to control automated valves so I have to conserve.

• TC Tee 1 (HERMS input)......side 1 is mash re-circ and side 2 is sparge
• TC Tee 2 (HLT input)......side 1 is from the filter after garden hose and side 2 is HLT re-circ

Note: for sparging I could go straight to Mash Tun rather than through HERMS to get to Mash Tun, but this way, it saves having to clean out the HERMS coil after brewing.

OK, sorry that went a little off the rails. Even if you are not 3 vessel HERMS, the first two paragraphs of the post are still hopefully answerable.....I was just trying to give context. Happy to share my valve/hose diagrams for anyone that is interested.

 

[GilSwillBasementBrews]

I’d say it wouldn’t matter. Any T I have seen was larger inner diameter than 5/8 or even 3/4 for that matter. But I am referring to 1.5” TC Tee. If you’re talking a smaller diameter TC T than disregard my post.

 

[swanwick]

I’d say it wouldn’t matter. Any T I have seen was larger inner diameter than 5/8 or even 3/4 for that matter. But I am referring to 1.5” TC Tee. If you’re talking a smaller diameter TC T than disregard my post.

All that specificity that I was trying to provide and I forgot the most important spec! Yes, talking about 1.5" TC connections. Thx.

 

[mattd2]

Wall thickness of sanitary tube is normally 1/16" so the 1.5" tee will have an ID of 1.375".

The only issue with mismatching IDs like this is depending on how it is arranged (most issues are with horizontal piping) is the larger tube may not completely drain, or air can get trapped in the top of the tube.

 

[Bobby_M]

Wall thickness of sanitary tube is normally 1/16" so the 1.5" tee will have an ID of 1.375".

The only issue with mismatching IDs like this is depending on how it is arranged (most issues are with horizontal piping) is the larger tube may not completely drain, or air can get trapped in the top of the tube.

A bit late to the thread, but since you brought it up, I can clarify some things. I think the OP is generally referring to the typical flange size for a 1.5" sanitary piping system which measures 2" across. A tee that is compatible with that flange does typically use 1.5" OD tubing on all straight legs of the tee, but that's just the assumed standard. There are several other iterations available now. For example, a 1" TC TEE also uses the 2" actual diameter flanges. I also make a reduced tube version all the way down to 3/4" OD with the same flanges to make larger manifold assemblies have less trapped fluids but still retaining the most ubiquitous flange size. We also do it with elbows and crosses.