18 replies to this topic

[gnef]

I received an email ad from Austin Homebrew with stainless cam locks for what seem to be very reasonable prices. I don't know much about them though. I assume they aren't as good (sanitary) as tri-clover fittings?For the price, they seem like a nice alternative to what I have right now - stainless hose barbs.Thoughts?link: https://www.austinho...51d1b56dc780701

[Dave McG]

I use much larger versions (2 to 6 inch) at work for pumping water out of manholes. The cam portion never contacts the liquid, and all of the surfaces that do contact it are very smooth, so if you sanitize the gasket they should be just as clean as tri clovers. Camlocks do have some disadvantages, but they are minor. With the larger ones, if you have it misaligned they are difficult to engage the cams. In the smaller sizes, I doubt that would be an issue. I think the main sanitary difference is in the gasket, you have to handle the gasket a bit more to get it in place (or leave it in place and not sanitize it separately), and with tri's, you might be able to autoclave it. I'de say it's a trade for a touch more convienience vs. price. I never saw the small ones in SS before, I would have no reservations about using them in my own set up if I ever upgrade.

[HarvInSTL]

AHS is normally pretty high on some items, and their regular price on these are ridiculous compared to where most people get their camlocks.https://store.proflowdynamics.com/modules/store/316-Stainless-Steel_C68.cfmAnd here is some good reading on these particular cam locks.https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/stainless-camlocks-review-158649/

Edited by HarvInCoMo, 07 September 2010 - 09:29 PM.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

So are these just for moving wort around?

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

after scanning over the HBT thread I'm not quite seeing the advantage of these. I see a lot of people have them hooked up to their kettles/mash tuns. why not just slip a silicon hose on the end of a barb and call it a day? I've been doing this on my mash tun for about a year and a half now. very easy to take on and off and doesn't leak.

[HVB]

after scanning over the HBT thread I'm not quite seeing the advantage of these. I see a lot of people have them hooked up to their kettles/mash tuns. why not just slip a silicon hose on the end of a barb and call it a day? I've been doing this on my mash tun for about a year and a half now. very easy to take on and off and doesn't leak.

Zymo, are you talking just about these or any quick disconnect? I have several QD in my set up but I am always swapping hoses between vessels and pumps so for me it makes a lot of sense. If I only had one or two hoses I may not be so inclined to use them but they really make things easier.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

Zymo, are you talking just about these or any quick disconnect? I have several QD in my set up but I am always swapping hoses between vessels and pumps so for me it makes a lot of sense. If I only had one or two hoses I may not be so inclined to use them but they really make things easier.

I guess I'm referring to the use of QDs in the kettle/mash tun world. I currently only have one bulkhead draining out of my mash tun so obviously a QD wouldn't help me personally since I have nothing to swap between.I'm just trying to get why not just pull hoses off of barbs to swap things around? Do the hoses need to be clamped on? I don't really know what kind of forces we are dealing with here.

[HVB]

I'm just trying to get why not just pull hoses off of barbs to swap things around? Do the hoses need to be clamped on? I don't really know what kind of forces we are dealing with here.

For me, with pumps, I need to have a tight connection. I do not want to have any air leaking into my pump causing me to loose its prime. On my 4 vessel system , one is a heat exchanger, I have 7 inputs and 2 pumps. the qd's allow me to make very fast connections.

[BlKtRe]

I will stick with the brass hydraulic QD's from McMaster. Flick of a finger they are on/off and no leaking. Even tho the cams are stainless, the cost is cheaper for the hydraulic fittings and would work better id think....

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

I will stick with the brass hydraulic QD's from McMaster. Flick of a finger they are on/off and no leaking. Even tho the cams are stainless, the cost is cheaper for the hydraulic fittings and would work better id think....

do you have a link? I didn't realize the sealing was an issue. That explains the need for QDs.

[ChefLamont]

Those are pretty neato. I might have to look into them when I start to get the brewery back up and running.

[BlKtRe]

do you have a link? I didn't realize the sealing was an issue. That explains the need for QDs.

From the FAQ...Brass QD's

Several people asked about my QD's when I posted the brew cart pics. I finally got around to looking up what I bought. I bought brass. I just couldn't spend what poly ones would have cost. I got them from McMaster-Carr. They're called 'Brass Coolant Hose Couplings' and are found on page 241. I got 10 male connectors ( p/n 6739K59) and 6 female hose connectors ( p/n 6739K64) for less than $40.

[HVB]

I use the same one BlktRe posted. George posted them a while back on the other board and they work great.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

I will stick with the brass hydraulic QD's from McMaster. Flick of a finger they are on/off and no leaking. Even tho the cams are stainless, the cost is cheaper for the hydraulic fittings and would work better id think....

seems like the cost is pretty much the same (around $8 for a set).

[gnef]

Yea, the cost is what attracted me at firstThanks for the links, HarvInCoMo, or is it Fuhrer now?That HBT thread sounds very positive, and the street elbow to female cam lock looks nice - especially since I have spare street elbows (I just need a bench grinder now).One thing keeping me from getting them though, is that I currently whirlpool immersion chill, and I would need to sweat a copper 1/2'' fitting on to the copper tubing I have right now or get a swagelok for it. I am not particularly blessed in the copper sweating, and I don't like the price of swageloks (I also don't want to go with a brass fitting because the whole reason for considering the cam locks is to keep everything stainless as much as I can).

[gnef]

I am still seriously considering this. I just received my swagelok fitting, and I am pricing out the camlock fittings. I always like to get extra, which is bumping up the cost to just under $100 before shipping. If I were to get just what I needed now, it would probably be closer to $60-70 before shipping, but I like to have things on hand when I need them.I will think it over the weekend, and probably make a decision on Sunday.I have been thinking about making everything as much as I can stainless (I know it doesn't matter that much), but still have the garden hose hookups to be concerned with, which are brass. Are there any sources for Stainless garden hose x 1/2'' NPT fittings? I've found stainless garden hose to barb, but I'd like a direct connection if at all possible.

[gnef]

I received the fittings yesterday, and installed them last night. Here are some pictures:Once I've used them, I will report back of my impression of them. They look pretty good. I replaced the original o-ring with a food grade silicone one in the female ends. I also finally added a mash tun return using the fittings (i used to just drape the tubing on top of the mash to vorlauf), and fittings I had around (I always buy extra so I can make things on the fly when I need to).

[HVB]

Interesting to hear how you like them. Looks like they should have a good flow seeing they are not restricted.

[gnef]

I just used them for the first time today. They worked quite well. I have no complaints, and oddly enough, it was easier to use these than just the hose barbs.They all sealed well, and I had no problems with leaking. I did replace the gaskets with food grade silicone o-rings.I think I may use a street elbow on my recirculation setup though, as the tubing kinked a couple times, but it has done that before as well.I would highly recommend these, especially considering if you just buy what you need, they are pretty affordable.The inside diameter on the female piece that goes on my tubing is a bit smaller than 1/2'', but I already read about that. I don't find it to be restrictive enough for me to worry about, and pumping times did not seem any longer than normal.