Where to find 1-inch diameter stainless braid?

[coolharry]

Hey everyone,

I'm trying to assemble all these parts for my mash tun, and I'm coming up a bit short. I've decided to try the stainless loop featured in Palmer's book, but I can't find a 1-inch diameter water heater connector in any of my local hardware stores; largest I can find is 3/4-inch diameter. I found a bunch of threads from about 5 or 6 years ago saying home depot and the like, but I guess that's changed over the years.

Anyone know where to find them?
Otherwise, anyone using a 3/4-inch diameter? If so, how do you like it?

 

[eobie]

1 inch in not necessary. 1/2 inch would be fine.

 

[davis119]

i found mine at depot last year..... but 3/4 would be fine...... most will say the loop is pointless since the wort will only be sucked throught the first few inches

 

[Stauffbier]

Some people might be mistakenly calling 3/4 braid a 1 in. braid. I have a 3/4 water heater braid in my cooler and it works beautifully!

 

[coolharry]

Yeah I just want to do the loop so I don't have to deal with plugging one end of the braid, it just seemed easier to loop it.
I feel like I'm running into this problem a lot. Went to the closest Home Depot to get the copper tube for my wort chiller only to find out they no longer stock the 3/8" x 50' at that location. I went to four different places trying to track down Red Devil TSP 90 to make my homemade PBW. I get frustrated until I get home and have a home brew and then I remember why I go through so much trouble to find this stuff. definitely worth the hunt in the end!

 

[coolharry]

Some people might be mistakenly calling 3/4 braid a 1 in. braid. I have a 3/4 water heater braid in my cooler and it works beautifully!

A light bulb went off with that post. They're probably giving a measure of the internal hose, so the braid would most likely be a bit larger than that.
Man this place is awesome. :rockin:

 

[davis119]

A light bulb went off with that post. They're probably giving a measure of the internal hose, so the braid would most likely be a bit larger than that.
Man this place is awesome. :rockin:

theyy would be giving the fitting size i have 3/4 not 1"
but tthen i got a cpvc cap 3/4" or 1" (i forget the braid stretches) and a hose clamp and it plugs the end perfect

 

[Stauffbier]

A light bulb went off with that post. They're probably giving a measure of the internal hose, so the braid would most likely be a bit larger than that.
Man this place is awesome. :rockin:

That is exactly it!

 

[coolharry]

It doesn't say anywhere on the label and the guy working didn't know; can any one verify that these "sharkbite" water heater connectors are indeed stainless?

 

[davis119]

It doesn't say anywhere on the label and the guy working didn't know; can any one verify that these "sharkbite" water heater connectors are indeed stainless?

doubt it........ u dont need shark bite.... get one with a npt fitting and then use brass

 

[Stauffbier]

If it's a metal braid then it is most likely stainless steel. There is a slight chance that the braid is actually plastic painted silver, but I doubt those are.

 

[coolharry]

doubt it........ u dont need shark bite.... get one with a npt fitting and then use brass

Oh trust me, I don't want the sharkbite one, but its all that home depot carries now apparently. I couldn't even find a compression tee with NPT fittings there cause all they stock is that quick connect sharkbite stuff.
I guess I'll have to run to Menards now that I know the 3/4" diameter is good and see what they've got as far as NPT stuff.

I'm gonna have to celebrate once I find all these parts. :cross:

 

[davis119]

Oh trust me, I don't want the sharkbite one, but its all that home depot carries now apparently. I couldn't even find a compression tee with NPT fittings there cause all they stock is that quick connect sharkbite stuff.
I guess I'll have to run to Menards now that I know the 3/4" diameter is good and see what they've got as far as NPT stuff.

I'm gonna have to celebrate once I find all these parts. :cross:

i dont know why i thought you were asking if the actuall fitting part of the connector was stainless not the mesh..... only the smaller 1/2" stuff comes in the silver plastic as far as i know........

many have said go with 1/2" it works fine so instead of going through all this trouble id go with thier advice... i used the bigger stuff just cuz it was there

 

[coolharry]

Menard's to the rescue! Even found the stainless washers! The only thing they didn't have was a 24" length of the water heater connector, but I know I can pick that up at Home Depot. Time to make the jump to all grain!

 

[Stauffbier]

I only have a 12" connector, and it works wonderfully!

 

[coolharry]

Finally got everything together. And I had no problem getting the tubing out of the stainless braid, it slid right out. Filled it to almost the top with hot water from the tap and no leaks although the whole bulkhead does wiggle a bit. A few quick pics of the final product. And I just found out today that my wife ordered me NB's dead ringer all grain kit to start with! Can't wait to get an AG batch under my belt

 

[Stauffbier]

Finally got everything together. And I had no problem getting the tubing out of the stainless braid, it slid right out. Filled it to almost the top with hot water from the tap and no leaks although the whole bulkhead does wiggle a bit. A few quick pics of the final product. And I just found out today that my wife ordered me NB's dead ringer all grain kit to start with! Can't wait to get an AG batch under my belt

Time to put some mileage on that MLT!

 

[coolharry]

Time to put some mileage on that MLT!

For sure! gotta fill those four empty carboys/buckets, they look so lonely back there.

 

[Stauffbier]

Have you treated your brass fittings that are inside of the MLT?

 

[coolharry]

Have you treated your brass fittings that are inside of the MLT?

I have not. How do I do that?

 

[Stauffbier]

Check this out...
http://www.howtobrew.com/appendices/appendixB.html

 

[coolharry]

Thanks man! I will definitely have to do that before dead ringer brew day

 

[Stauffbier]

Thanks man! I will definitely have to do that before dead ringer brew day

 

[coolharry]

Is the treating only necessary before the initial use, or is it something that should be done semi-regularly? Say once or twice a year?

 

[Stauffbier]

Is the treating only necessary before the initial use, or is it something that should be done semi-regularly? Say once or twice a year?

My guess is that once would be fine, although It couldn't hurt to do a good scrubbing and re-treat every few months if you wanted to. I would think if you do a good job of cleaning your hardware every time you brew (without scouring the surface- just a gentle cleaning) that it's not really necessary, though. So long story short, I'd say it's personal preference.

Perhaps someone who knows more about metallurgy can enlighten us more....

 

[ThreeDogsNE]

"Pickling" the brass removes lead from the surface. You only need to do this once, unless you go wild with cleaning it and buff it all to shine like new. If you don't expose fresh brass, and just rinse it off, you should be fine. You don't need to scrub the brass at all, unless it came to you oily, and shouldn't need to scrub it later if you take reasonable care of it.

It is, after all, a mash tun that is used on wort prior to the boil. Sanitation is crucial post-boil, but not pre-boil. You'll have 144*-168* water in there for something like two hours tops, and then the wort gets boiled. Boiling will kill pretty much any bacteria brought over from the mash. Mold spores might possibly survive boiling. When I started brewing I was obsessively sanitizing everything, until the light finally came on that sanitize the mash tun was a waste of time, effort, and heartburn. I just clean mine now with a brush and hose after use to remove any visible organic residues, then turn in upside down to dry. I make sure it is dry before closing it up, leaving it for a few days usually, because I don't want it to get moldy, and don't get back to it for while. Save the scrubbing for something where it makes a difference!