Ohio 1/2" Dixon Sanitary Tri-Clamp Encapsulated Ball Valves

PLEASE DON'T PM ME ABOUT THIS SALE. Instead, EMAIL ME at [email protected] if you are interested. I'll update the number available as they are purchased.

I have SEVEN (7) BRAND NEW 1/2" Dixon Sanitary Tri-Clamp Ball Valves for sale. Brand new these ball valves cost around $75 each (plus shipping). I'm selling them for $45 each shipped.

Here are the specs from Dixon's Website:
These 2-way ball valves are quarter-turn, straight through valves that use a ball to shut off by sealing around matching seats to create uniform sealing. Ball valves are used in situations where tight shut off is necessary. Providing superior ease of operation, these ball valves can maintain and regulate high volume, high pressure and high temperature flow. They offer rugged construction, providing for a long service life and comparably low cost. Pneumatic and electric actuators are available for automated control.

Did you get that last line? For all you automated guys, these ball valves can be automated with pneumatic or electric actuators. Pretty sweet.

The ball valves are encapsulated which means you don't have to worry about wort/beer/water/etc. being left in the ball valve because the Virgin PTFE seals keep the wort/beer/water/etc. from entering inside the valve compartments.

These are heavy duty ball valves that you will buy once. Repair kits are available for these (should you ever need one). Shoot me an email if you are interested ([email protected]). I take PayPal and will ship USPS Priority Mail to anywhere in the lower 48. Get them while they are available. Here are pics.

Bump. Price lowered to $45 each. Let me know.

Bumpity...bump, bump. Bumpity...bump. Look at these ball valves go. Oh wait they aren't. They are still available.

BTW sorry for the lame Frosty reference. It came to me as i was writing "bumpity." It's not even close to Christmas.

I'll give you $20 per and take them all.

bulletproof said:

I'll give you $20 per and take them all.

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Nope.

Let me do some research on these, they may work. I had a hard time finding 1/2" tri clamp parts last time I looked (site glasses, sampling ports, etc) but was hoping to find somenfor my electric brewery build.

radiant-designer said:

Let me do some research on these, they may work. I had a hard time finding 1/2" tri clamp parts last time I looked (site glasses, sampling ports, etc) but was hoping to find somenfor my electric brewery build.

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Whether you decide to buy these or not here's a link to a post I put up for a guy asking where I get my 1/2" tri-clamp stuff. Maybe it'll be helpful.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/chugger-pump-enclosure-build-398679/index2.html#post5035368

Hey hafmpty, thanks for that link! I found it very helpful.

Unfortunately I don't have any 1/2" stuff, what advantages are there to the smaller ports? I figured with as cheap as the 1" / 1.5" stuff is I'd pretty much use those exclusively.

Either way, bump for sharing good resources!

I'm also scratching my head figuring out if I can make these work with my setup. If so, I might go for two of them, and possibly even four. I'll try to figure it out over the weekend...

How much are the actuators or whatever you'd need if you did want to go fully automated?

dallasdb said:

How much are the actuators or whatever you'd need if you did want to go fully automated?

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I'm not sure about that. Sorry. If you dig around on the Internet you could find it. That's not something I do so I don't actually know where to look. I know Bradford sells their own brand but they are spendy because they are designed more for industrial environments. You could use them, but I would assume "aftermarket" actuators would be a cheaper way to go.

Still available.

hafmpty said:

Still available.

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Your issue is your price. I understand what you might have paid - and my response isn't in an effort to lowball you on a price and buy them (I've got no use for them).

http://www.brewershardware.com/Tri-Clover-Ball-Valves/

You want $45 shipped for a 1/2" 3 way valve. Can get a 1/2" economy unit for $32 or a 1" 3-piece for $40.

Mashinations said:

Your issue is your price.

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Thanks for your post Mashinations. I realize the price is higher than the other economy ball valves from Brewers Hardware. There are reasons for that. There are major differences between these and the ball valves Brewer's Hardware sells. These differences are what make them worth the higher price. I'm not trying to get the initial $80 out of them. It would be ridiculous for me to think I could. The price is more than fair though and I'm in no hurry to sell them. That said, I don't mind "bumping" them every now and then.

I think part of it comes down to the different "style" of brewer. The guys who want "top quality" parts for their "top quality" brewing systems and know the difference between these and the "economy" ball valves will be interested in these. While the guys that want to save a bit of money and are not interested in "top quality" may be more interested in the economy ball valves you mention. Either way is fine.

For the money though, I'd definitely spend the little bit extra and get these. But then again, that's my "style." Not everyone is like that, and that's fine with me.

hafmpty said:

Thanks for your post Mashinations. I realize the price is higher than the other economy ball valves from Brewers Hardware. There are reasons for that. There are major differences between these and the ball valves Brewer's Hardware sells. These differences are what make them worth the higher price. I'm not trying to get the initial $80 out of them. It would be ridiculous for me to think I could. The price is more than fair though and I'm in no hurry to sell them. That said, I don't mind "bumping" them every now and then.

I think part of it comes down to the different "style" of brewer. The guys who want "top quality" parts for their "top quality" brewing systems and know the difference between these and the "economy" ball valves will be interested in these. While the guys that want to save a bit of money and are not interested in "top quality" may be more interested in the economy ball valves you mention. Either way is fine.

For the money though, I'd definitely spend the little bit extra and get these. But then again, that's my "style." Not everyone is like that, and that's fine with me.

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The 1" three piece valve, at $40, is the exact same valve you're selling but in a 1" size instead of 1/2". Totally understand that the 1/2" economy valve is not a direct comparison.

http://www.homebrewstuff.com/1-2-3-pc-sanitary-ball-valve-tri-clamp.html

That one, I think is probably the most likely direct comparison at $37.

Bump away...

Mashinations said:

The 1" three piece valve, at $40, is the exact same valve you're selling but in a 1" size instead of 1/2".

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I would have initially thought the same thing. But brewing equipment research can be an unlikely way to learn all kinds of new things. The company I bought these from are local and the guy that sold me the ball valve explained some of the differences. I thought I would attach a picture so you (and maybe others) could see the difference.

If you look at the attached diagram, part 4 is an encapsulated ball valve seat and part 4a is a non-encapsulated ball valve seat. As you can see from the picture, the encapsulated seat surrounds the steel ball (giving it a friendly hug) while the non-encapsulated version does not. Because the encapsulated seat is touching the entire surface of the ball valve, there is very little room for stuff go get trapped. This is where the primary difference lies, particularly in their uses.

Here's a picture of the actual seats. You can see the difference maybe a bit more clearly here:



The top one is an encapsulated seat. The others are not. When you are working with sanitary conditions and you won't want any crud in your valves to be left behind, it's best to use an encapsulated ball valve. This reduces the amount of material that is able to be left inside the ball valve and harden/dry/get contaminated/etc.

Normally I wouldn't care about this, but I just recently took apart one of the non-encapsulated ball valves that I use post chill and it was pretty nasty inside. I clean this too after every batch! Even with cleaning, there are "nasties" that can get trapped in the ball valve. That was enough reason for me to look around for a better alternative. That's when I found out about these kinds of ball valves.

The ones that you link to are the NON-encapsulated kind. In addition to that they don't have the ability to be automated. See the difference in the kind of handle on them. No biggie for those that aren't interested in automating. There are other differences here and there too, but I'm not all that interested in going into them. I have a 1/2" version of the one you linked to and I can tell you they are in fact very different. The build quality alone of the $45 ones I'm selling is noticeable. Not to mention the internal stuff I can't see.

In addition to the quality, these is they are made by Dixon/Bradford, a company that has been around for a long time. They are the "trusted name" in sanitary fittings. That means should you ever have a problem or need a replacement part, it'll be available. Some of the other valves are off-brand or no-name brands. If you ever had a problem or need a replacement part, you might be S.O.L.

Anyway, all this information is hopefully useful is actually selling these babies. For those interested in buying these, they are great ball valves. I'm keeping the six I use and selling the rest. They are the only ball valve you'll ever need to buy. Heck, they could probably be an inheritance to your grandson or granddaughter when they start brewing.

Mashinations -- The valves you link aren't really a fair comparison. First off, valves with 1/2" ferrules are hard to find and tend to be more expensive. (The ones you link are either 1" TC or 1.5" TC with a 1/2" bore.) Second, these are encapsulated, while the ones you're linking all appear to be non-encapsulated.

Well consider me suitably schooled. I still don't think it's worth the extra cost... I have 1" units myself and don't find much if any crud builds up in them (open them at 45 degrees and dip them a few times into a sanitizer bucket and break down every 5 brews or so).

If someone is looking to automate them - clearly yours would be the valve of choice.

Still available. The price is still $45 each...unless someone is interested in buying the lot, then I might negotiate.