Valved SS Quick Disconnects?

[jeremyh]

Hey gang. Longtime lurker, but I've finally reached a point where I'm stumped so I have to ask.

Are there stainless steel quick disconnects out there that have an auto-sealing valve in them so that we don't leak whatever is in the hose all over the rig/floor?

I've seen the plastic ones, but I'd prefer stainless if we can get them. I'm looking to go threaded 1/2" NPT to male/female QD.

I've attached a photo of our (nearly) completed rig. Still needs a little organization.

 

[day_trippr]

Morebeer.com lists SS QDs with internal valves. They carry both MPT and barbed versions.

The potential down side is they're not what one would call "full flow"...

Cheers!

 

[Golddiggie]

Are you looking for something like what you use on air compressors that seal up when they are NOT connected to a male fitting? I've not seen any like that for brewing. The ones I've seen seal up when the male and female parts are connected, and won't leak. If you break the connection, anything left in them will leak out if you don't do something about it.

I actually have a good number of the morebeer style QD's on my brewing hardware right now. I also picked up some camlock QD's to try out. I haven't decided, yet, which ones I'll keep for the long term. It's really going to come down to how the camlock QD's compare and how they fit together where I'll be using them...

 

[jeremyh]

Are you looking for something like what you use on air compressors that seal up when they are NOT connected to a male fitting?

Yup. That's exactly it. Our (my) problem is with liquids leaking all over the rig when we're connecting/disconnecting hoses and I had thought that a seal-on-disconnect type of connector would be ideal. For instance, when transferring from the MLT to the BK, we use one hose and then from the BK to the plate chiller, we use another. Swapping out those hoses usually means some leakage. Up until now, we've been using the Blichmann quick connects—which are fine—but it can be a PITA when you need to change over hoses and you have hot wort oozing onto your hands while you're unscrewing the connector. A QD would definitely make this...snappier.

How do other folks deal with this? Is there some solution I'm missing? I had thought maybe a 3-way ball valve for those connections where I'd normally change hoses but maybe that's over engineering it?

 

[Bobby_M]

Even QDs where the female parts seal will drip when disconnecting due to the trapped liquid in the male part and in front of the sealing part within the female. IMHO, it's not worth the substantial flow restriction that the sealing mechanism gives you. I keep a damp rag nearby and deal with the small drips. When I upgrade my rig, I thought about integrating some small removable drip trays below the drains on all my vessels that can be thrown in the dishwasher.

This illustrates the one small advantage of hard piped or "valve reconfigured" flow system.

 

[jeremyh]

The drip tray is where I was headed. How about the idea of 3-way SS ball valves at places where you'd normally swap hoses mid-brew. That way, at least, you wouldn't have to worry about de-coupling hoses until after you're done and ready to clean.

 

[Bobby_M]

I have seen plenty of rigs that use a bunch of three way valves or two valves after a tee which does the same thing. It doesn't look like your rig really requires a ton of disconnecting and reconfiguring though. Always disconnect the highest side of any hose connection and hold it upright. If you need to completely remove that hose, drop it into a bucket.

I have an old bath towel that I fold into a thin strip and just leave it on the floor like a bath matt in front of my single tier. Before that I'd just let the garage floor get sticky and then hose it off after.

 

[jeremyh]

Before that I'd just let the garage floor get sticky and then hose it off after.

Sounds like us right now.

We'll continue to play and see what happens. If I discover anything "magical" that helps others, I'll let y'all know.

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

Get 3-way valves, and attach CO2/air to push the remainder of the liquid into the containers.

MC

 

[jeremyh]

Yeah. That's seeming like the best way. That way, we can flush the whole system. FWIW, if we go that route, wouldn't it make sense to run PBW through the lines, let it do it's magic, flush, and then force air to clear them? That way we don't have to disconnect and clean after each brew and maybe just do a thorough cleaning every 10 brews or so? Does everyone disassemble and clean every part of their brew rig after every brew, let it dry, and then put it back on?

 

[OneHoppyGuy]

Morebeer.com lists SS QDs with internal valves. They carry both MPT and barbed versions.

The potential down side is they're not what one would call "full flow"...

Cheers!

All the SS disconnects I have used from MoreBeer do not have a shut-off.
We just used a set on a stand.

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

Yeah. That's seeming like the best way. That way, we can flush the whole system. FWIW, if we go that route, wouldn't it make sense to run PBW through the lines, let it do it's magic, flush, and then force air to clear them? That way we don't have to disconnect and clean after each brew and maybe just do a thorough cleaning every 10 brews or so? Does everyone disassemble and clean every part of their brew rig after every brew, let it dry, and then put it back on?

I don't have a brew stand, but I do remove and clean the hoses after use. Just a quick push of water does the trick.

MC

 

[day_trippr]

All the SS disconnects I have used from MoreBeer do not have a shut-off. We just used a set on a stand.

So, you disagree with the text on the morebeer page I linked that says "When used with the male QD these quick disconnect seal up very well in either flow direction"?

Cheers!

 

[jeremyh]

I think I know what he means. When they seal up very well, it means that the seal between the two connectors is good when they're connected. It doesn't mean that they seal up when they're disconnected.

 

[day_trippr]

I think I know what he means. When they seal up very well, it means that the seal between the two connectors is good when they're connected. It doesn't mean that they seal up when they're disconnected.

Ah, ok. So those only look like air compressor line terminations. Thanks!

Cheers!

 

[cpirius]

I've been looking for connector that can seal like this, but not for running beer through. I want one to go just after the ball valve on the bottom of my kettle. That way when the kettle is empty I can shut the ball valve, attach a CO2 line and push the remaining beer in the line and in my counterflow chiller up and into my fermenter. I want to get a conical fermenter on a stand, and the only way for me to set it up is to have it be higher than the counterflow chiller, so gravity wont do it for me. The pump has the be the first think in the chain so that it can get primed with beer, so it can't push the rest out. This kind of sealing quick connect seems like an easy way to get the CO2 in the line.

Anyone else do something like that?