What is the Proper Tubing Size?

[Broken Crow]

Thread is getting old, but owing to disability it takes me a long time to do anything..
I'm finally trying to give the 3mm EVABarrier, swaged over a 1/4" swivel-nut a try. I didn't bother with hot water, I just got aggressive with the heat-gun. ...in the pics is as far as I was able to get the line over it and I may have used a bit too much heat.
Please; Let you the jury weigh in:

 

[sibelman]

Those connections look fine, @Broken Crow . Only very minor deforming of the tubing ends. I see no problems in these super-clear close-up photos.

I have no heat gun so must rely on hot water and an awl when I do this. I'm wondering (not to hijack -- OK, a bit of a hijack): how many gallons of beer before replacing EVAbarrier. Mine's about 3 years old, so about a dozen batches in each of four beer lines.

 

[Broken Crow]

Those connections look fine, @Broken Crow . Only very minor deforming of the tubing ends. I see no problems in these super-clear close-up photos.

I have no heat gun so must rely on hot water and an awl when I do this. I'm wondering (not to hijack -- OK, a bit of a hijack): how many gallons of beer before replacing EVAbarrier. Mine's about 3 years old, so about a dozen batches in each of four beer lines.

I was worried about deformation too, but looking close and wiping it....at the end, it's mostly keg lube... I do worry though, what effect to O2 permeability the heat gun may cause.
I too have wondered how long to wait before replacing lines...I figured I'd do it when the colour tone changes. I keep pictures of them when brand new and look at them with the same lights when the pic was taken, but yeah; Not a highjack, but still the same area this thread's evolved into. I'm curious too, about others criteria for new lines.

 

[sibelman]

what effect to O2 permeability the heat gun may cause.

I've read that the inner lining can be disarranged by inserting the barb. That doesn't appear to have happened to your connections though it could be hard to tell.

I suppose heat could alter the properties of the plastics somewhat... maybe. But it's brief and probably not that hot, else you'd probably see greater deformation.

Keep in mind that the affected area (which is probably just fine anyway) is tiny, so not gonna be a major source of oxygen intrusion even if imagined to be somewhat more permeable than the virgin tubing.

In other words, though it's guesswork, I think you can relax on this point.

 

[DuncB]

I'd say well done with that connection, it looks good.
Regular caustic and sanitising to control beer stone and bugs is my priority. Not sure I've seen deteriorating performance on my evabarrier at 3 years. Swapping a new piece in for a comparison would be difficult as I'm not blind to the change

 

[Broken Crow]

I'd say well done with that connection, it looks good.
Regular caustic and sanitising to control beer stone and bugs is my priority. Not sure I've seen deteriorating performance on my evabarrier at 3 years. Swapping a new piece in for a comparison would be difficult as I'm not blind to the change

There's a thread on here I can't find, where folks have posted experience and pics of Star San deteriorated Duotight fittings. I have to use a 'monotight' 6.35mm fitting for the Nuka-shank end.... I'll probably just stick with hot PBW followed by a rinse and toss the first cup after cleaning. (...IF it works out!)

 

[mac_1103]

I'd say that's pretty impressive, considering how proud of myself I was for getting 4 mm over 1/4" barb without breaking anything, including fingers.

 

[DuncB]

The thread you are seeking details the issue with starsan. The .problem seems to occur when starsan is sprayed on the duotight or copies and then left to dry. This means higher concentration of acid, new duotight is a different formulation said to be resistant. Internal use is fine as it will be flushed out by water or beer. Certainly warm PBW or caustic line cleaner then water flush and then starsan has not caused beer or connection issues for me.