I need to stop by my LHBS after work to pick up the final pieces of equipment that I will need to asseble my all-grain system. The shop owner (who’s old shop system i have aquired and re-built) uses what I believe are silicone hoses to transfer hot water and wort through his system. He also uses the plastic quick connections to swiftly reconfigure the transfer hoses as needed.
Are there any concerns about using silicone hoses with fluids heated close to the boiling point?
Do any of you have suggestions on the best way to oriend the M/F couplings of a quick connection assembly? In other words should the male or female coupling go on the hoses or the tanks and pump or does this a non-issue. Finally, I noticed that s ome of these quick disconnect assemblies also are available with an “auto-stop” check that prevents flow when disconnected. Would this be a good feature to have at some or all points of the system where quick connections are used?
Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated as always. I’m almost there!
I can’t help you with the disconnect questions, since my system is not sophisticated enough to include any. I do, however, use the silicone hose for transfer from HLT to MLT to BK. I prefer it over the other high-temp hoses since it’s more flexible and doesn’t kink. It’s rated to 500F. Here’s one example… http://morebeer.com/view_product/17608/beerwinecoffee/Tubing_-Silicone_1_2%22_ID-_By_the_Foot
Thanks Mark. So, how do you secure your hoses when you attach them to the different vessels?
If you have a hard time deciding where you want male and female I’ll point out that sanitary (eg tri-clamp) connectors are unisex and as such afford a bit of extra flexibility (perhaps fewer total hoses and connectors required). They are generally a two hand proposition though and fairly expensive.
With quick connectors I would go female on all things that aren’t hoses and male on all hoses because pushing the male into the female feels more natural to me (that’s what she said). This arrangement only breaks down if you want to hard connect two things that aren’t hoses. This is where unisex fittings are useful and where you will have to make some decisions specific to your system.
Unless I am having air intake problems (air leaking into the hose from the connection) I just get a hose that is slightly smaller ID than the OD of the spur it is attaching to and let friction to the best. But I keep a couple of SS hose clamps around to tighten things up if I see bubbles forming at the attachment points. for hot liquid you might want to use something more secure though. if you have the coin quick connects sound like a great idea. I can’t imagine it matters which has the male and which the femal so long as everywhere you are going to attach a tube to has the same gender (i.e. put the female on the tubing and male everywhere else)
I bought and installed polysulphone (sp?) fittings last summer. I got the ones rated for very high heat and I’ve been using 1/2 inch ID clear plastic reinforced water hose like you find at the big box stores. No heat issues, but they are hard to connect when very cold and the o-rings need to be moistened to work easily.
I had to remove the restrictions (the little X shaped thingies) in most of the fittings after the first brew because hop and grain particles kept getting clogged in them.
I prefer to have ball valves instead of the one-way flow valves built into the QD. Too much restriction.
The only recommendation for where to put the male or female QD ends would be to have each hose the same, so you can use it in different positions. Otherwise I don’t think it matters much.
I put the female ones on my hoses, since they are more expensive and therefore have to buy fewer. Between my coolers, kettle, pump, and wort chiller, I have 7 male and only 5 female.
I would put the females on the hoses. You typically have to pull back on the outer ring or push down on a button on the female connector to get it to disengage. It can be a one-handed operation if the female is being removed, as opposed to if you have to push a button on the female fitting and pull on the male fitting to disconnect it.
Thanks again. Great advice guys. BTW Tom, thanks for the nudge. I think I’m going to go for it and try the recipe of the week for my first shot at a simple allgrain. Of course if I do, I dump the Goldings for Mt. Hood and call it Cascadian Pale Ale! 
I agree with Narvin and Tom S. on having the female QD on the hoses. That’s what I’ve seen nearly everyone else do. Also, it’s more in line with how corny kegs QD’s look and operate, as well.
+1 (i would hope you could do it one handed either way)
If you’re not paranoid about using brass, and are willing to be careful around hot fittings, try coupling item #6739K68 from McMaster-Carr and the mating plug #6739K57. I use them with high-temp tubing and they work great. I have the plugs on my vessels, pump and WIC inlet, and the right-angle couplings on the hoses. They’re very durable and considerably more affordable than polysulfone or stainless.
I ended up going with 1/2" silicone hose, polysulphone connectors and put the male ends on the stationary threads. Great advice; they worked great and the “one handability” of that configuration was, forgive me… handy.