Attaching a ball lock post to a fermenter at tap level - good/bad idea?

[Toastkid]

I use bulkhead fittings; you can get them in 1/4" or 3/8" (also the metric sizes work fine e.g. 6mm works for 1/4")

Last lot I bought were these ones: 1/4" Push Fit Pipe Fittings for American Fridge and RO Unit Elbow, Tee Piece etc | eBay

View attachment 34351

Cool thanks. Am i right that they don't need a seperate insert to go inside the pipe (like speedfit do for example)?

Re the drilling large round holes, i always use a flat drill bit, this sort of thing. Funnily enough I used one this morning to drill loads of holes in the bottom of a gorilla bucket to use it for sparging.

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

You're welcome :-)

Am i right that they don't need a seperate insert to go inside the pipe (like speedfit do for example)?

Correct - no insert needed, you just push the pipe in and it grips; then if you need to release it you just push on the blue collar and pull it out. Known as John Guest or 'JG' fittings although most are just non-branded versions which are fine. I've used tons of the 1/4" and 3/8" versions and you can easily find inline taps, elbows etc etc, as well as adaptors to BSP and metric threads. For gas flow it's simpler and considerably cheaper to go with 1/4" but for liquids you want the 3/8" to get a decent flow rate.

Re the drilling large round holes, i always use a flat drill bit, this sort of thing.

Yes I used those for years... good for woodwork, but not idea for a neat hole in thin sheet. Shell out three quid for a cheapo set of stepped bits and I guarantee you won't regret it :-)

 

[Buffers brewery]

I'm actually swinging towards just drilling a hole in a fresh bung and putting the hose through that, maybe with a bit of silicone. I think you're right that tightening the ball lock post down onto the screw could easily just shear a hole in the plastic lid. What sort of push fit do you use? One that the 10mm (3/8") beer lines go into? Something like this i guess? JG Speedfit Plastic Push-Fit Equal Couplers 10mm 10 Pack

I use these...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/8mm-x-1-...123818?hash=item1cdedd372a:g:CfgAAOSws65d5qoI
with 8mm tubing. Needs a 1/4 BSP nut to secure.

 

[Toastkid]

You're welcome :-)


Correct - no insert needed, you just push the pipe in and it grips; then if you need to release it you just push on the blue collar and pull it out. Known as John Guest or 'JG' fittings although most are just non-branded versions which are fine. I've used tons of the 1/4" and 3/8" versions and you can easily find inline taps, elbows etc etc, as well as adaptors to BSP and metric threads. For gas flow it's simpler and considerably cheaper to go with 1/4" but for liquids you want the 3/8" to get a decent flow rate.


Yes I used those for years... good for woodwork, but not idea for a neat hole in thin sheet. Shell out three quid for a cheapo set of stepped bits and I guarantee you won't regret it :-)

That's great thanks, I will get some and use them in my closed transfer experiment. Am boiling a TT Landlord clone as i type this :)