Water line to garage, cheap

[Razorback_Jack]

I have an idea!!! (My wife groans here)
Is it a good idea or a bad idea?

I’m trying to move my brewing completely to the garage ... Mash n Boil, 7 gallon Chronical with FTSs and cooler, EdgeStar two-tap kegerator. The only thing making this complicated is having to take equipment (buckets/whatever) outside and fill ‘em up with the garden hose... or to the kitchen. I want water in my garage to fill up buckets for StarSan, for rinsing, and to run my immersion cooler with cool tap water. I don’t need a drain, I’ll nudge them over to the driveway for emptying. (Do PBW or StarSan hurt grass? Hmmmm)

Laundry room is right next to the garage. My idea is to put a splitter of some kind on the cold tap for my washing machine, and run a hose to my garage via that, with a ball valve on the end. Is this a great idea, or a terrible idea? Anyone have in mind what equipment I would need to make it work? I actually have a pet door installed in that particular wall between garage and laundry, so I could thread the hose through that if I can make this work. What fittings would I need? What gauge of hose and ball valve? Any ideas?

Jackson

 

[FloppyKnockers]

With the proximity of you water source and point of use, there's really not a whole lot of thinking here. GHT splitter at the washing machine cold water valve, shut-off at hose end, and a potable hose - you're set!

If your supply and drain for the washing machine share the same wall as the garage, I would open that wall up a bit and plumb in some angle stops and a drain to put in a utility sink.

 

[Razorback_Jack]

Excellent! I thought it was as easy it sounded, just wanted to run it by some other crazy people too!

Any effects of brass on the effectiveness of StarSan? I won’t be drinking any water that’s coming through the brass splitter or the brass shut-off, but I’ve heard/read some people talk about “pickling” brass. Again, mainly concerned about the water carrying anything from the brass into the StarSan.

Y’all stay safe, stay healthy, and wash those hands! Keep ‘em off your face and keep ‘em holding beer!

 

[augiedoggy]

make sure you get the potable hose.. RV hose is your best bet.

 

[SanPancho]

You could also buy some cheap food grade vinyl tubing and a set of male and female hose ends. Cheaper than similar length of RV hose I’m betting.

 

[NeoBrew]

You don't have your location listed. Do you live in an area that freezes? Is the garage heated?

If freezing is an issue you should buy a frost free hose bib valve. They are commonly called sillcocks. They are set up so that the valve shuts the water off on the warm side of the wall. You also need to make sure they drain the horizontal part when it is shut off. It's best to take the hose off when you are done using it in cold weather.

 

[Razorback_Jack]

You don't have your location listed. Do you live in an area that freezes? Is the garage heated?

If freezing is an issue you should buy a frost free hose bib valve. They are commonly called sillcocks. They are set up so that the valve shuts the water off on the warm side of the wall. You also need to make sure they drain the horizontal part when it is shut off. It's best to take the hose off when you are done using it in cold weather.

In Ft Worth, so not concerned about freezing. Even in a hard freeze, a hose in my garage will not freeze. Draining the hose will he a difficult since it is 35 ft long, but I’ve thought of that. Not due to freezing temps, just don’t want musty water sitting in the hose for very long. I can drain it in the driveway outside the garage door, next morning after brewing perhaps.

 

[Razorback_Jack]

make sure you get the potable hose.. RV hose is your best bet.

make sure you get the potable hose.. RV hose is your best bet.

Thanks! I bought some drinking water hose, lead and PBA free. More concerned about chemicals and/or lead in the brass shutoff and splitter. Would a TSP soak n scrub take care of that, or is brass a constant leacher?

 

[ITV]

Does your laundry room have a utility sink? If it does you can hook up a garden hose to the faucet (provided the faucet has garden hose threads) and have the choice of warm water for cleaning equipment or cold water for chilling.

Do you plan on using the water for brewing? If it is just for chilling/cleaning there is no need for food grade hose.

I have both setups, a utility sink in the basement that I run a garden hose thru the garage wall (PVC pipe with a threaded end cap) for cleaning and a drinking water safe sillcock for brewing water.

 

[Bobby_M]

Even an RV hose makes the water taste like rubber so PEX would be a better choice.

 

[augiedoggy]

Even an RV hose makes the water taste like rubber so PEX would be a better choice.

im not sure about all rv hose but the white stuff we use is not made of rubber and there is no rubber flavor... then again I heard for the first time a couple weeks ago, people complaining pex leaves an aftertaste and I get none of that either from the pex in our building so maybe I just cant taste it

 

[Bobby_M]

Many years ago I got an RV hose and left water in it for an hour and tasted it. Rubber. Maybe they are different now.

 

[Zemillard90]

Do you have access to the lines for the laundry room? If so, I agree with Bobby M that PEX would be the way to go. I installed two of these yesterday to run PEX lines to my brew room, easy to install.

 

[Scout]

You have an attached garage, and the laundry room is on one wall? If that's the case, cut out some drywall and stub out some water lines for your sink and drain. Unless there's more to it?

 

[dochawk]

1/4" copper tubing is inexpensive--look in the hardware store/Lowes for the parts to attach refrigerators or swamp coolers. (If you're adding to a boiler, it could flow enough, but not for a quick fill)

Any hose you use, though, should be food grade . . .

I came to *hate* Pex after working on lines in my daughter's house . . . it's raison d'etre is apparently to sell expensive connectors and the tools to fasten them . . .

 

[day_trippr]

Well, otoh, it really is inadvisable to run copper into unheated areas in zones prone to sub-freezing temperatures.
Like, most garages. Pex can survive where Cu 'splodes.
Having dealt with burst Cu pipes a couple of times in my life (zero fun) I'd chose Pex every time...

Cheers!

 

[Deadalus]

1/4" copper tubing is inexpensive--look in the hardware store/Lowes for the parts to attach refrigerators or swamp coolers. (If you're adding to a boiler, it could flow enough, but not for a quick fill)

Any hose you use, though, should be food grade . . .

I came to *hate* Pex after working on lines in my daughter's house . . . it's raison d'etre is apparently to sell expensive connectors and the tools to fasten them . . .

If you ever need pex fittings try supplyhouse.com or pexuniverse.com. Way cheaper than Lowes. Can't help you much regarding the crimper tool, but a good plumber's torch will set you back more than the crimper tool. I know you can just punch on the 1/4".

To the OP, you can usually find lead free brass fittings. Not sure about the splitter though.

 

[SEndorf]

I'm not sure of your configuration, but it sounds like your laundry room and garage share a wall. You might check with your local codes. That wall may need to be a firebreak where you can't be punching holes in it.

 

[dochawk]

If you ever need pex fittings try supplyhouse.com or pexuniverse.com. Way cheaper than Lowes.

I'll keep that for the future, but when you need them *right* now because the house water has to be shut off until it's fixed . . .

 

[dochawk]

Well, otoh, it really is inadvisable to run copper into unheated areas in zones prone to sub-freezing temperatures.
Like, most garages. Pex can survive where Cu 'splodes.
Cheers!

sub-freezing temps in the garage . . . an interesting concept

I used to stick buckets of lager in the garage to ferment here in January . . .

We drop below freezing at all a couple/few times each winter, but not very far (although my water main line into the house used to be shallow enough that we had to leave a tap drizzling all night. Having "found" it while tilling the front yard, it is now deeper . . .).

In fact, I finally got my tomatoes to survive the winter with 6 mill plastic sheeting on my hothouse and a space heater . . .

But, yeah, exploding copper would be *nasty*. And then there's that firewall thing . . . (although I think that I have a regular interior drywall wall between laundry and garage (and dining room, too)

 

[Razorback_Jack]

Is PEX pipe really necessary if I’m not using the water for drinking? The water will be used to rinse, to create StarSan solution, and to flow through my immersion chiller. Not for wort. Is that a bad idea?

 

[day_trippr]

I have to say, being ancient and having gone from soldered copper through first-gen PEX to the current generation, it's sooo easy to run and fit PEX I wouldn't think twice about using it and having a legit run that meets code...

Cheers!

 

[NitrogenWidget]

I use an RV hose attached to my kitchen sink and run out the window to my patio.
I can use warm water when it's colder out so my hands don't freeze plus i'm starting at a warmer temp for brewing.
I only brew outside though when it's 50 or higher because my mickey mouse burner struggles when it's colder.