I’m looking at adding a weldless fitting to my 10 gal tallboy kettle. I’ve read that butterfly valve’s are more sanitary, but ball valves offer better flow. However, is it necessary to disassemble the valve every time you use it? Couldn’t you run PBW through the your kettle to clean the ball valve by opening it partway?
Another question is what size diameter valve/hoses are best for a valve from a kettle to the fermenter? Is it recommended to use SS, brass, etc?
I have a 15 gal boil kettle with a 1/2" stainess ball valve that I use a pump on to recirculate during cooling/whirlpool, ive never taken it apart and never had a problem. Of course every batch runs through it 15 min at least at a full boil…
I use a stainless 1/2" ball valve with 1/2" fittings. I do not disassemble it and only clean it every so often.
Post brew kettle cleanup is a hose with a sprayer and I back flush the valve to clean anything out of it and the pickup tube. I store the kettle with the valve open to allow it to dry.
I wouldn’t bother with a butterfly valve. At our scale it seems to me that it is a solution looking for a problem.
The three piece ball valves that are sold by the likes of Blichmann can be disassembled and cleaned. Hot side I don’t worry too much about, cold side (conical) those get more attention.
The commercial brewery that I have done a couple batches at has butterfly valves, those were brushed out, then soaked in acid sanitizer before putting on the fermenter with triclamps. Less places for critters to hide for sure.
I’d like to whirlpool once I get a pump. I’m not there yet, I’m just trying things that I can do fairly inexpensive and make my brew day much easier. We have a machine shop where I work, so I have access to a machine shop, drill press, etc.
Sounds like 1/2" SS ball valve is the way to go. Do you recommend a certain valve or can I get any type of 1/2" ball valve from a hardware store or Mcmaster carr?
I never worried about cleaning the ball valve on my boil kettle. Then one day I took it apart “just to check” and it grossed me out so bad that I disassemble it every other brew day and clean it thoroughly.
It may not cause any issues but once I saw the gunk in there I can’ just leave it. It’s in the “trust but verify” category for me.
I will be the big dissenter here. If you can afford butterfly valves go with them. They are much easier to clean and way more sanitary. I absolutely hate ball valves and the blickmann ones that disassemble are huge PITA to clean. With butterfly valves you open and soak me and rinse em and sanitize them and yer good to go.
As I have said before, the only true sanitary valve is a butterfly or a diaphragm valve. Media will get trapped behind the seat in the valve cavity. With that said, the homebrew alternative is to get a 3-piece valve that you can disassemble and fully clean. The downside to a bfv or diaphragm is that the seat is closse to the flame if you are using gas. You must make sure that there is no EPDM or Viton in the seat or seals that may melt. TFE is ok.
If you’re using a weldless fitting, then sticking a butterfly valve on there would serve little benefit. As far as I know they don’t sell butterfly valves with NPT threads for that very reason. You would have to go weldless to triclover, triclover to butterfly valve, then to triclover hose fitting.
If you do a CIP with recirculating PBW after you brew, opening ball valves half-way (and opening and closing them several times) will get them clean, no need for disassembly.
There are also sanitary fully encapsulated ball valves that prevent trapping liquid behind the ball.
At a tour of Ale Apothecary in Bend OR, the owner pointed out butterfly valves he had on the barrels, those had NPT threads to that allowed him to run the valves into the wood. Those were a special item, but they can be found. He said those were from GW Kent, which made me laugh since that is only 30 miles from where I live.
I bought my fittings off your suggestion Steve. They were great prices, and he was extremely patient and helpful to the new guy (that’s me) after I had a bunch of questions. I went with the 3 piece SS ball valve, with Cam lock quick connects.
I’ll let you know how they turn out when I get them installed.
For a boil kettle, I would go with a stainless 1/2 inch ball valve. Of course, you can get a butterfly valve if you really want to. Either one is going to work fine.
You can get a good price on a 2 or 3 piece SS ball valve at bargainfittings.com. You might also want to check out weldlessfittings.com. Be sure to get a hose barb as well.