Weldless Fittings

[Will_the-new-brewer]

I am slowly improving my brew gear and I think I am ready to get myself some weldless ball valves, sightglass, and thermometer. My HLT will get all three. My BK will only get ball valve (don't see a reason for the other two unless someone wants to share an experience).

My question is:
How far up (from the bottom) do I mount the ball valves and do I put a driptube in both?

Additionally, for HLT, would you get a sightglass that has thermometer with it?

Thanks!

 

[probablynotnick]

Height from the bottom is gonna be somewhat dependent on the type of burner you're using. You don't want to be torching the orings (or valve for that matter) with any flames that sneak around the sides of your pot. Mine is a roughly 2 inches from the bottom of the pot. You also want to consider your dip tubes, making sure that they have enough clearance from the bottom.

Definitely use a dip tube in your HLT so that you can make use of all the hot water, even if its just for cleaning. You'll probably want one in the boil kettle too, but keep it maybe an inch above the bottom of your kettle so that you leave all the hot break and hop debris in there.

I'd want my thermometer separate from the sightglass.

 

[Will_the-new-brewer]

I did forget to mention my burner. I currently use a Turkey fryer burner...oh, and I plan to get a SS heatshield with my thermomemter/sightglass setup.
I guess I could make more or buy another one for the ball valve.

What is the pro/con to having separate thermometer from sightglass? location? I do normally see thermometers higher on the pot that sightglasses.

 

[probablynotnick]

...
What is the pro/con to having separate thermometer from sightglass? location? I do normally see thermometers higher on the pot that sightglasses.

The extra distance from the kettle can make the thermometer measure low. Either way, you'll want to stir the water every now and then to make sure the temp is even throughout before taking a reading. Also make sure to calibrate the thermometer to your typical strike temp because bi-metal coil type thermometers are notorious for being off. To do that, just bring the water up to temp using a hand held thermometer (hopefully a decent digital) and then adjust the kettle mounted one to match. You can do the same on your boil kettle if you mount one there too, just calibrate at the lower end (60°F) since you don't need it to tell you what temp water boils at

 

[Will_the-new-brewer]

The extra distance from the kettle can make the thermometer measure low.

I see, thanks for the info...especially the calibration and stirring piece. I do use a digital one now.

 

[khannon]

I don't know how much a stainless heatshield is, but I took a short peice of singlewall stovepipe, flattened it, and cut my own using a pair of tinsnips.. more out of desperation than anything, but 2 years later, they are still holding up through both the "turkey fryer" and the hellfire burner.

 

[day_trippr]

[...]
My question is: How far up (from the bottom) do I mount the ball valves and do I put a driptube [sic] in both?

At the minimum, you have to allow for the bulkhead hardware to sit "flat" against the kettle sidewall on the inside. I've seen too many mistakes where folks drill holes too low such that the locking nut and washer on a bulkhead can't do their jobs effectively as they catch on the curve between sidewall and bottom or step. Considering even custom dip tubes are inexpensive there's no reason to get crazy about mounting drain valves so low on kettles. Mount it comfortably up the sidewall and get a dip tube to match.

Additionally, for HLT, would you get a sightglass that has thermometer with it?

I have separate sight gauges and old school bimetal thermometers on all three kettles and find them all useful as my 3v2p single tier rig is totally "armstrong" operated (ie: zero automation). A potential down-side to the combination unit is mounting the thermometer as low on the kettle sidewall as you'd like the sight gauge to start: even with a heat shield the gauge could get cooked. I'd go with separate units...

Cheers!

 

[Transamguy77]

I have a sightglass, ball valve and thermometer on all 3 of my keggles and the all came from Brewhardware.

On my BK I like knowing how much I have in there, I know at a glance that when I start I’m at 12.5 gallons or if I happen to boil too much off I can compensate before the end. And again at a glance I know what temp everything is. I actually have 2 thermometers on my mash tun.

It will be easier to decide where to mount them once you have them and can compare it with your kettle.

 

[day_trippr]

btw...In the age of sub-170°F whirlpooling of mass quantities of hops I'm still surprised how many folks dismiss the need for a boil kettle thermometer, never mind boil-over avoidance...
Cheers!

 

[Will_the-new-brewer]

Thanks for all the input. I will go with separate thermometers, sightglass, and ball valves for each device. With that said, I am still a fairly new brewer...I have heard of whirlpooling, but not sure what it does just yet. The good news is that I will be set up for it when it comes around.