B3 CFC Fittings?

[fotog]

Hello:

I'm putting together an AG system and will be incorporating a B3 Chillius Convolutus into it.
I'm going to put QD's on the water in/outs as they come with standard 3/4 hose fittings.
However, on the wort in/outs it's 1/2 copper tube and I'm not sure how to do put QD on it or even if I should. Should I attach short hose on each end with clamps and put QD's on the hose ends?
Just wondering what others might have done with there CFC.
Thanks

Rob

[Dr Scott]

I would stay away from the tubing for anything more than a temporary fix.

You can use compression fittings ( CompxMPT/FPT) on the copper tubing and then the fitting (QD?) of your choice. This way you have less chance of crud sticking in bad places. and/or having to replace the hose repeatedly.

Another way of thinking is to go threadless (tri-clover) on the cold side (wort out) thus minimizing the chance of introducing any unwanted bugs into the cooled wort.

Cheers,
Dr Scott

[Guest]

Thanks for the info Dr. Scott.
I enjoy listening to you on the show.
I'm listening to the "Drunkcast" archive right now and you seem well on your way to fulfilling the show's title!
Take care.

~Rob

[Dr Scott]

The drunken show was alot of fun, indeed. But things got kinda blury near the end. Drinking all those beers in a normal, albeit fast manner, was OK. But the, "got to chug 1/2 a beer" thing really did me in. I remember I could drink like that in college... and then get up and do it again the next day! My how things change...

Cheers,
Dr Scott

[danman]

Sorry to revive such an old post. I'm thinking of converting my fittings to tri-clover, mostly because I like how quickly and cleanly they disassemble...right now I'm using threaded 1/2" SS with teflon tape and I take everything apart and soak in PBW after every brew...PITA. My only concern is that there may be some PSI/flow issues going from 1.5" clover valves and tees to, 1/2" ID tubing. Doc, and experience with this on your system? Also, what is your cleaning/sanitization routine after brewing? Where are those pics of your brew system...couldn't find them.

I'm trying to reduce my after brew cleaning time as much as possible (we just had a baby and my brew days need to be shorter!), while maintaining proper cleaning and sanitization.

[Dr Scott]

Tri-clovers are great. I use them on all my cold-side connections

Don't worry about the flow problems, It hasn't slowed me down any.

If you are going to convert to tri-clover on your CFC, You'd be better off sending it to B3 and having James take care of it. It needs to be silver soldered and the Tri-clover blanks need to be drilled. They are SS and need to be step drilled w/ cobalt drills. If you don't have them, it's a costly investment.

To sanitize I heat water in my HLT during the boil, and recirculate through the CFC and tubing and back into the HLT. After the wort in is the fermenter, I use the hot water to rinse out the CFC and that's about it.

My brew house is in the Gallery section on the BN webpage
Hope this helps...

Cheers,
Dr Scott

[danman]

Great, thanks! Right now I'm using the Therminator for chilling, I like it a lot and haven't had any problems with infection...which seems to be a concern for a lot people. That said, I'm thinking about switching over to the immersion/whirlpool technique that Jamil uses because of it's simplicity and effectiveness.

Does your pump have Tri-Clover connections, as well?

[Dr Scott]

No, valves and Plastic QD's. I was going to hard pipe the whole thing but this setup works well. This way I don't have to change any of the hoses during the brew, which is what I was after.

Cheers,

Dr Scott