Wort Transfer Tubing

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Trough Lolly

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My 10 Gal Rubbermaid cooler arrived from Texas this morning :)

Before I fire it up, I need to get some transfer tubing to move the mashed liquor from the mashtun to the kettle and some more tubing to transfer the hot post-boil wort from my keg shaped kettle to the Counterflow Chiller.

Can anyone recommend a supplier of transfer tubing that handles hot wort without melting or breaking down? Can you get this sort of food grade high density tubing from local hardware suppliers like Bunnings?

Cheers,
TL
 
To move the wort from the MLT to the kettle I use Hot Water PVC tubing. See pics in the gallery here.

I use an immersion chiller so don't have a solution for the kettle to CFWC. I'm sure there must be flexible tubing style options, but getting it from Bunnings maybe a stretch.

Doc
 
From the boiler to the CFC I use a flexible coupling, this means the keg boiler can be gently tipped to get the last of the wort out from the whirlpooled trub.

The coupling is rubber inner, braided ss outer, as used by plumbers to hook up gas to HWS and for the cistern hookup. It does have a narrow bore, so don't want any whole hops going through.
 
TL

Goto Bunnings and buy 10 m roll of rain water/drinking water hose - 12mm - food grade - rated to 80degrees - i use this for all my wort transfers.....

No problems so far....
 
GMK said:
TL

Goto Bunnings and buy 10 m roll of rain water/drinking water hose - 12mm - food grade - rated to 80degrees - i use this for all my wort transfers.....

No problems so far....
Ken,
Do you pump your wort? I imagine that the tubing would collapse with boiling wort through a pump.
cheers
Darren
 
Doc said:
I use an immersion chiller so don't have a solution for the kettle to CFWC. I'm sure there must be flexible tubing style options, but getting it from Bunnings maybe a stretch.

Doc
CFWCs like the one Goliath sells screw straight onto the kettle tap with a connector.
 
Silicone tubing is going to be the best stuff possible, but it's not cheap. Most 1/2" silicone tubing has thick walls but yet is still nice and limp, regardless of temp, and it is fully food grade and stands up to fenominal temps well in excess of what you would see in the brewery-short of burning it. Try Purple Pig, Medical stores or morebeer.com (probably the cheapest option).

I've been using the PVC tubing (rated to 80C) and while it has worked it drives me absolutely nuts. I have been trying to use this PVC tubing for transferring from fermenter to keg and the stiffness of it is a PITA and when hot it goes really floppy. When I was at morebeer last month I bought 1/2" silicone tubing for about $10AUD per meter and it rocks. I'm spewing I didn't buy more. I ended up buying 5 feet but after using it I now want to use it everywhere and I'm even considering buying more from the states.

I love it. I don't use a pump yet, so I'm not sure how it would go under suction but being thick walled I expect it would stand up better than a PVC equivalent. Perhaps if your pumping a braided option is a better choice or a more ridgid tubing.

Cheers, Justin
 
So does anyone know of the best place to buy Silicone Tubing in oz?
 
i hear Vicfit is the go for silicone tubing. MAH got some a few months back
 
Darren said:
GMK said:
TL

Goto Bunnings and buy 10 m roll of rain water/drinking water hose - 12mm - food grade - rated to 80degrees - i use this for all my wort transfers.....

No problems so far....
Ken,
Do you pump your wort? I imagine that the tubing would collapse with boiling wort through a pump.
cheers
Darren
My tubing is the reinforced mesh - it is blue.

I pump through it no problems.....
 
I use the same stuff as Ken and have no problems with hoses collapsing, the suction side is quite short at about 15cm. I use a march pump if thats any extra info.
 
I am using the clear (Nylex I think) tubing with impregnated braid. It is not rated for 100 but I used it from the kettle -> pump -> CFC last brew without any ill effects, there is very little pressure on it.

CFCKettleCoupling.jpg


I put a nut-and-tail on it for easy connection. I got this from the purple pig but I reckon you would get it most places.
 
Oh and someone at work mentioned they had drums of teflon tubing in the warehouse that were going to be scrapped. He said he would grab some for me next time he came across it. Only problem is I think that it is 12mm which might be a bit difficult to attach.
 
roach said:
i hear Vicfit is the go for silicone tubing. MAH got some a few months back
YEP I got silicon tubing from VcFit, but it was 3/16" to use as beer line (fantastic stuff 100% inert and remains flexible at cold temps - $2.50 p/m).

I'm not to sure about using silicone tubing for hot wort transfer unless it was either thick walled or reinforced, otherwise it will collapse.

I use a Nylex hose very similar to Sosman. It's not rated to 100C, but I think that has more to do with bursting pressure, rather than any leaching at higher temps. It's impregnated with a braid so it doesn't collapse. Works a treat.

Before buying this hose I shopped around extensively, asking hundreds of questions. The basic answer was that in Australia it's very difficult to get high temp hose that is A) affordable and B) of a small enough ID for HBer needs.

Cheers
MAH
 
I acquired a reel of Zeus FEP tubing, ID is about 8mm.

This is related to PTFE "FEP Tubing is often referred to under the trade name "Teflon Tubing". Teflon is actually three different plastic resins: FEP, PTFE, and PFA."

see
Flourinated tubing properties
Zeus FEP

If you dig around those sites and google, you will find some interesting uses such as heat exchangers.

Some of the properties as related to brewing:
  • Can handle high temperatures (depends on pressure).
  • Very clear.
  • Very inert.
  • Can be formed (I haven't tried this yet).
  • Is about as flexible as heatshrink tubing, perhaps slightly better - ie it kinks easily.
If anyone is interested in some, email me and we can work out a deal. Do your research first to find out whether it is suitable for your intended application.
 
I use the blue nylex food grade stuff from magnet mart... i had issues with it wanting to kink, under weight on curves, so ive replaced the nasty bit with copper tube (1/2 in annealed) that i had left over from my post-chiller, and only use the tube to join, (with a couple of hose clamps, otherwise it leaks when it gets hot, glad i found that one out on a test run).
 
Just a quick follow-up to the silicone tubing issue...

A bit of junk mail crossed my desk today, including some info and pricing on Silicone tubing... as follows

1mm x 3mm - $15/10m
2 x 4 - $27/10m
3 x 5 - $35/10m
4 x 6 - $37/10m
5 x 8 - $55/10m
6 x 9 - $55/10m
7 x 11 - $110/10m
8 x 12 - $120/10m

says that it is rated for a temp range of -60 to +200 C



dreamboat
 
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