# Elbow Piece For Kettle Pickup?



## Acasta (19/3/12)

I'm planning some updates to the brewery in the near future and I'm stuck on the idea for a kettle pickup.
I like the look of the skin fitting and bent copper, however I don't have any copper off cuts and I'm not really confident in bending it in the first place.
How does a elbow piece facing down sound? Servers a similar purpose by taking from the side and would be easy to install.

Like this:




P.S. Drawing in paint is awesome.

I'd love to see some other people's example. Picture can say 1000 words.


----------



## pk.sax (19/3/12)

just get a cheapo 90 Degree Elbow 1/2" BSP to 1/2" tube compression fitting and stick a straight bit of copper in there.

Problem solved.


----------



## Midnight Brew (19/3/12)

If this is for that SS 100L pot you just beat me to  I'd go all stainless and get a beerbelly deluxe pickup to keep the bling going


----------



## Acasta (19/3/12)

Haha nah I'm keeping her aside for now. This is for a 50L aluminium pot I have.

PracticalFool, what advantage do you see in doing that over the elbow facing straight down?


----------



## seemax (19/3/12)

Stainless steel right angle ... pointed straight down as close as possible to the bottom ... add some extra all-thread cut to size if needed.

With a good whirlpool and whirlfloc or similar you can basically drain most of the wort (easier for since my 80L pot is 46cm wide) without much trub.


----------



## pk.sax (19/3/12)

you can slant the tube to one side, all the pics are like that! lol... whirlpool?

+, A straight elbow may or may not reach the bottom of the kettle. Well, in my keggle it won't, straight bottom pot, I guess it will.

One definite thing thats popping into my head, huge opening of simple elbow might cause a super suck that pulls the trub in?! I guess its do and see!


----------



## Acasta (19/3/12)

seemax said:


> Stainless steel right angle ... pointed straight down as close as possible to the bottom ... add some extra all-thread cut to size if needed.
> 
> With a good whirlpool and whirlfloc or similar you can basically drain most of the wort (easier for since my 80L pot is 46cm wide) without much trub.


I'm pretty anal when it comes to trub, so I use a hop bag the size of my pot and when using a cane to siphon I put all the way to the bottom and get about 500ml trub then clear wort comes through till the end. Sounds like what your pickup does, and hopefully what mine will do haha.



practicalfool said:


> you can slant the tube to one side, all the pics are like that! lol... whirlpool?
> 
> +, A straight elbow may or may not reach the bottom of the kettle. Well, in my keggle it won't, straight bottom pot, I guess it will.
> 
> One definite thing thats popping into my head, huge opening of simple elbow might cause a super suck that pulls the trub in?! I guess its do and see!



Thats what I asked haha, because everyone else does it but I don't understand why. I do have a flat/curved up pot and I think it may work well.
You mentioned the large opening of the whole which I was also concerned about. I guess If I fit it and have problems I can always go back to your original idea. I was even considering using a large hose piece on the end as a short tubing type thing.


----------



## QldKev (19/3/12)

I can't see why it would not work. Have a look at how easy my setup is here http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=63425 in the kettle. I did use a short bit of pipe, with no bends; in your case you could just face the elbow down, but would need to be pretty accurate in measuring where the hole should go.

QldKev


----------



## pk.sax (19/3/12)

can always stick a 1/2" straight compression fitting (chrome plated) into the elbow later and a piece of copper if it came to that! I bought an extra FB while I was down ther and will setup the new kettle with one.


----------



## Cocko (19/3/12)

If you are dealing with a male thread on the inside, then you could simply use:





Or if your tap/hole is a little higher





Really helps with whirlpooling and draining from my experience.

If these are not long enough, than compression fitting as PF said, is the next option IMO.

OR, straight compression on back of tap and bent pick up tube round to the corner of the pot.

Cheers


----------



## pk.sax (19/3/12)

yep, the reason why I'm ditching my surrent kettle to HLT duties is that I can't fit a pickup to it


----------



## Yob (19/3/12)

Midnight Brew said:


> If this is for that SS 100L pot you just beat me to  I'd go all stainless and get a beerbelly deluxe pickup to keep the bling going



fitting the pieces is a doddle if you have the right tools eh mate?

@ Acasta - invest in a carbide tungsten hole saw thingy... eats through SS like the proverbial hot knife, go slow, spray water almost constantly to keep the bit cool.

Offer still stands for the HLT too if you dont wanna fork for the bits and pieces, bring em round and will fit it all in no time. Ive even got some spare copper if you need it.

:icon_cheers: 

Yob


----------



## Acasta (19/3/12)

Cocko said:


> If you are dealing with a male thread on the inside, then you could simply use:
> 
> View attachment 53164
> 
> ...


I will probably go with the second one, locknut and hopefully fit through with a ball valve on the other end. Are you saying that this method, or the tube bent around method is better for whirl pooling and draining?



iamozziyob said:


> fitting the pieces is a doddle if you have the right tools eh mate?
> 
> @ Acasta - invest in a carbide tungsten hole saw thingy... eats through SS like the proverbial hot knife, go slow, spray water almost constantly to keep the bit cool.
> 
> ...



Thanks Yob I really appreciate the offer! I've got a mate who claims to have all the gear to get it all done. But he can be a bit all talk, so when he fucks up Ill be over yours with a few brewskies!


----------



## Midnight Brew (19/3/12)

iamozziyob said:


> fitting the pieces is a doddle if you have the right tools eh mate?



The right tools dont account for shit if you dont know how to use them correctly. I'd be still burning the flesh from my hands siphoning if you hadnt drilled that hole for me yob. :icon_cheers:


----------



## Parks (19/3/12)

Acasta said:


> I'm planning some updates to the brewery in the near future and I'm stuck on the idea for a kettle pickup.
> I like the look of the skin fitting and bent copper, however I don't have any copper off cuts and I'm not really confident in bending it in the first place.
> How does a elbow piece facing down sound? Servers a similar purpose by taking from the side and would be easy to install.
> 
> ...


This is exactly what I have in my 40L crown urn and it works great.


----------



## Acasta (19/3/12)

I havn't seen any pics yet fellas. Where's your Bribe spirit?


----------



## Parks (19/3/12)

I hope you're as surprised as me that I got my ass up off the couch and took these photos


----------



## Acasta (19/3/12)

haha thanks Parks! Whats the clearance on that? Looks good.


----------



## Parks (19/3/12)

Acasta said:


> haha thanks Parks! Whats the clearance on that? Looks good.



Maybe 1cm, pretty much leaves the urn empty especially with the raised cover on the element.


----------



## brettprevans (19/3/12)

Or u use tge elbow on the under side and make a bottom draining mlt. No wastage. I love mine


----------



## Acasta (20/3/12)

citymorgue2 said:


> Or u use tge elbow on the under side and make a bottom draining mlt. No wastage. I love mine


I spent a while trying to find the a tge elbow was. But im guessing you ment 'the'? Thats the route I plan to take with my MT, however for the kettle I want to avoid any type of sink hole effects where it would draw lots of trub in. I am still expecting kettle loss after all.
Thanks.


----------



## brettprevans (20/3/12)

Acasta said:


> I spent a while trying to find the a tge elbow was. But im guessing you ment 'the'? Thats the route I plan to take with my MT, however for the kettle I want to avoid any type of sink hole effects where it would draw lots of trub in. I am still expecting kettle loss after all.
> Thanks.


sorry mate i read the post on the phone. i didnt see kettle. yeah kettle you want a side pickup for sure for the reasons you outlined


----------



## argon (20/3/12)

I totally derailed a thread a few weeks ago with mention of my kettle pickup, so here it is again. Especially good since you mentioned you're anal about trub transfer.



argon said:


> Exactly the same as a mash tun. Here's a couple of shitty pics.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


----------



## Cocko (20/3/12)

Acasta said:


> I will probably go with the second one, locknut and hopefully fit through with a ball valve on the other end. Are you saying that this method, or the tube bent around method is better for whirl pooling and draining?



I doubt the thread will go deep enough into you ball valve but could be wrong.

I have only used the elbow F to F in my last to kettle and it was great for whirl pooling... I even got high nines and a 10 in the 'rate my trub'  

I now use a bent around pick up tube but the new kettle has 3 element sticking into it which makes whirlpooling a little harder, still ok but nothing like the elbow.

qldkev also rates high 9's, check what he is using if whirlpooling is of importance.. and Thirsty drains his kettle to with a few ml, so check out what he does if losses is more important.

2c.

TB's here: http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...st&p=889007

QK's 9.8 here: http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...howtopic=63425#



Cheers


----------



## Batz (20/3/12)

You have a 1/2'" thread inside your kettle? let me know I'll send you a SS set up for nix.

batz


----------



## Acasta (20/3/12)

Cocko said:


> I doubt the thread will go deep enough into you ball valve but could be wrong.
> 
> I have only used the elbow F to F in my last to kettle and it was great for whirl pooling... I even got high nines and a 10 in the 'rate my trub'
> 
> ...


Thanks! The wealth of information on this site never ceases to amaze me. On my MT I've got the thread from a hose nipple, then a washer and on the other side a ball valve. Not the greatest connection but it works haha.

Holy shizen. Those pickups are epic. I'd say it also has alot to do with the nice tight trub cone in the middle too. I don't seem to achieve that when I attempt.



Batz said:


> You have a 1/2'" thread inside your kettle? let me know I'll send you a SS set up for nix.
> 
> batz


I have nothing on the kettle yet, shes still virgin! I'm hoping to go down the most effective route. I'll PM you.


----------



## Online Brewing Supplies (20/3/12)

Batz said:


> You have a 1/2'" thread inside your kettle? let me know I'll send you a SS set up for nix.
> 
> batz


I have a 1/2" thread can you send me a new pick up ? :lol:   
Nev


----------



## Batz (20/3/12)

Gryphon Brewing said:


> I have a 1/2" thread can you send me a new pick up ? :lol:
> Nev




You are a pick up, not best in Perth by far.......but if it's a slow night?


----------



## Online Brewing Supplies (20/3/12)

Batz said:


> You are a pick up, not best in Perth by far.......but if it's a slow night?


You know Perth, its always a slow night.  
Nev


----------

