Quick disconnects

[twd000]

I am piecing together my system based loosely on The Electric Brewery. I am pricing out stainless qd's and seeing $15 to 20 per fitting from Midwest plus shipping. Will add up since I have seven pairs to make up. Is there a cheaper alternative or do I need to bite the bullet and get the these?

 

[dryboroughbrewing]

you could go with camlocks, they're appreciably cheaper, they work well and they're commonly available. I have camlocks from proflow dynamics, BobbyM, Stainless Brewing, and Bargain Fittings and they all work a treat.

 

[cfrazier77]

I recommend camlocks as well. They are about $10/12 a pair for SS and are better connectors in my opinion.

 

[WiseEyes]

Not to hijack this thread but could someone explain camlocks to me. I see that there are several different types of camlocks with different letters what do i need to buy?

 

[dazed]

They can be had for less if you shop around I've seen 9.95 for male and 14.95 for female with free shipping over 59$

 

[BadNewsBrewery]

Bobby M's website (http://www.brewhardware.com/fittings) has a pretty straight forward description of what each letter means.

My advice - take the time and draw out ALL your hoses, pumps, kettles, and anything that needs to be connected together. Then write 2 letters next to each connection point. M or F for the pipe thread, and M or F for the camlock. So if you needed a MALE (M) NPT and MALE (M) Cam Lock, you'd order an "F" type camlock. If you wanted it to be Female (F) NPT and M Cam Lock, you'd order the A.

What I did to make things slightly easier - all my hoses are Female camlocks. Some are Type B and the hose slips over the threads (though could go with Bobby's "Big C"). Some are Type D with a street elbow (Bobby's BL kit)... but all the hoses have the female type camlock. That way I knew all the fittings on the pumps or on the plate chiller or on the kettles would be male type cam lock, and then it was only a matter of figuring out if I needed Male NPT or Female NPT.

Of course, I had to order about 2 or 3 times and got a few extra pieces, but that's because I'm a "Do as I say, not as I do" type person...

The only down side of camlocks - they get a little hot. The advantage of putting the female camlock on the hose - you can disconnect it using the pull ring and hold the hose by that - the rings tend to stay cooler.

-Kevin

 

[Broham1]

Bobby M's website (http://www.brewhardware.com/fittings) has a pretty straight forward description of what each letter means.

My advice - take the time and draw out ALL your hoses, pumps, kettles, and anything that needs to be connected together. Then write 2 letters next to each connection point. M or F for the pipe thread, and M or F for the camlock. So if you needed a MALE (M) NPT and MALE (M) Cam Lock, you'd order an "F" type camlock. If you wanted it to be Female (F) NPT and M Cam Lock, you'd order the A.

What I did to make things slightly easier - all my hoses are Female camlocks. Some are Type B and the hose slips over the threads (though could go with Bobby's "Big C"). Some are Type D with a street elbow (Bobby's BL kit)... but all the hoses have the female type camlock. That way I knew all the fittings on the pumps or on the plate chiller or on the kettles would be male type cam lock, and then it was only a matter of figuring out if I needed Male NPT or Female NPT.

Of course, I had to order about 2 or 3 times and got a few extra pieces, but that's because I'm a "Do as I say, not as I do" type person...

The only down side of camlocks - they get a little hot. The advantage of putting the female camlock on the hose - you can disconnect it using the pull ring and hold the hose by that - the rings tend to stay cooler.

-Kevin

This

 

[IslandLizard]

What BadNewsBrewery ^^ said.

Use camlocks, forget the QD's. Apart from their higher cost, QDs are narrower and constrict flow.

Using Bobby M's "Big C" allows a 1/2" path all the way through.

 

[bullywee]

I have used various QDs on my last 3 systems

High temp plastic QDs - expensive for plastic and I had to drill out the "cross" to get good flow

MoreBeers SS QDs - expensive but worked great!!!! No complaints

Kent QDs - cheap and that might be their only good point ....... Yet to brew with them, just did some test runs and I'm not liking them


I might just go with the camlocks

 

[BigFloyd]

Camlocks all the way. Got all mine from Bargain Fittings. They're close by, so I get my order the next day.

For the female ones that connect to your 1/2" ID silicone tubing, I like the threaded ones (type B) a lot. They don't restrict flow and the hose fits securely onto the camlock threads.

 

[twd000]

see, this is why I post Q's here! off to research camlocks....