Tank to pipe fittings.

[HootSkywalker]

Hello.

Eventually when I am able to decide what the job requires (when I'm knowledgeable enough to decide upon such matters), I would like to learn to braze but until then, in my situation it would be very handy to be able to have very temporary connections for as many things as possible for various reasons..

I've never really got into anything manly like plumbing or any sort of DIY, so I apologise if I seem like a wet drip. I won't use plumbers putty or other such foolery to seal the joint, as I've read the information on this excellent website. I hope however, to exploit the sort of flexibility that such a setup (3/8" hole drilled EVERYTHING for the pipe and then just putty up) provides while I'm working out the design of my still.

If I were to use this fitting, am I right in thinking I could drill a hole into a vessel and use spanners to connect the pipe by means of compression?

This would be extremely helpful, and if there's any reading material I could be referred to, such as any sort of 'connectors 101' then I'd be very grateful.

I would test the tank fitting (and the rest of the vapour path) for leaks by means of an acid run.

1. When that says 15 "mm" -- does it mean the inside bore of the hole in the vessel, the size of the spanner to fix it or indeed the outside bore of the pipe that would penetrate it?

2. Upon decompression of the pipe from the fitting, would I need to change; the olive, the pipe or both, the next time I wished to use either or all?

As I say, I'm not quite ready to go brazing (or trying to braze) perfectly good pipe up just to scrap it when I work out there's something I've missed out.

Many thanks in advance.

[Salt Must Flow]

That fitting comes with an EDPM rubber sealing washer. That's no good inside of a still. I suppose you could wrap it with PTFE tape.

The specs only say 15mm so I don't know exactly what that means. I wouldn't buy from them if they can't list meaningful specs.

I don't think you have to replace the olive just because you loosened the compression nut. You should be able to remove, reinstall and tighten the compression nut again.

What exactly are you trying to do with this fitting?

[MooseMan]

Hello.

Eventually when I am able to decide what the job requires (when I'm knowledgeable enough to decide upon such matters), I would like to learn to braze but until then, in my situation it would be very handy to be able to have very temporary connections for as many things as possible for various reasons..

I've never really got into anything manly like plumbing or any sort of DIY, so I apologise if I seem like a wet drip. I won't use plumbers putty or other such foolery to seal the joint, as I've read the information on this excellent website. I hope however, to exploit the sort of flexibility that such a setup (3/8" hole drilled EVERYTHING for the pipe and then just putty up) provides while I'm working out the design of my still.

If I were to use this fitting, am I right in thinking I could drill a hole into a vessel and use spanners to connect the pipe by means of compression?

This would be extremely helpful, and if there's any reading material I could be referred to, such as any sort of 'connectors 101' then I'd be very grateful.

I would test the tank fitting (and the rest of the vapour path) for leaks by means of an acid run.

1. When that says 15 "mm" -- does it mean the inside bore of the hole in the vessel, the size of the spanner to fix it or indeed the outside bore of the pipe that would penetrate it?

2. Upon decompression of the pipe from the fitting, would I need to change; the olive, the pipe or both, the next time I wished to use either or all?

As I say, I'm not quite ready to go brazing (or trying to braze) perfectly good pipe up just to scrap it when I work out there's something I've missed out.

Many thanks in advance.

I don't think you're a drip, you are asking perfectly valid questions from the point of view of someone with little DIY skills, and you are framing your questions politely and with consideration.

Ok, 2 questions for you then, to get this rooted out.

1. What is the vessel you want to put a fitting into? I ask this as, if it's an open top pot, the job is far easier than if it's a keg.

2. Is the intended fitting for an element, in the side of the keg, or to fit the riser, or some other purpose?

[HootSkywalker]

Hi, thanks for the replies.

My intention would be to put a pipe on top of say, a pressure cooker, a thumper or anything like that. I've never used a thumper (I know opinion is a bit divided on the subject) and it would be handy to quickly be able to set anything like this up on the fly. Just for the fun of it.

Having a small pot setup like that might be useful, but it would be nice to be able to disassemble it, store it then pull it out to do a random gallon.

So I suppose what I'm asking is can I use these on the flat surface of any vessels or devices I might add to the vapour path, then use compression fittings as a poor man's Tri clamp until I'm confident I can make my own flanges and that my soldering is up to the job?

Duely noted the remarks about the seal EDPM washer, and the lack of information on that website.

I've not got as far as thinking about heating elements yet as I'd like to be have a degree of control and I don't understand how to build a proper controller yet. I need to do a lot of reading before that but I'm really looking forward to the electrical side of things but I have no practical electrical experience.

I'm just using my electric stove top for the time being. (My current, professionally made still is the same).

Thanks

[EricTheRed]

Do yourself a favor and look into triclamp fittings.
Modular
Inter changeable
Easy

[Salt Must Flow]

Hi, thanks for the replies.

My intention would be to put a pipe on top of say, a pressure cooker, a thumper or anything like that. I've never used a thumper (I know opinion is a bit divided on the subject) and it would be handy to quickly be able to set anything like this up on the fly. Just for the fun of it.

Having a small pot setup like that might be useful, but it would be nice to be able to disassemble it, store it then pull it out to do a random gallon.

So I suppose what I'm asking is can I use these on the flat surface of any vessels or devices I might add to the vapour path, then use compression fittings as a poor man's Tri clamp until I'm confident I can make my own flanges and that my soldering is up to the job?

Duely noted the remarks about the seal EDPM washer, and the lack of information on that website.

I've not got as far as thinking about heating elements yet as I'd like to be have a degree of control and I don't understand how to build a proper controller yet. I need to do a lot of reading before that but I'm really looking forward to the electrical side of things but I have no practical electrical experience.

I'm just using my electric stove top for the time being. (My current, professionally made still is the same).

Thanks

Using a pressure cooker is a no go. They're typically aluminum and the large rubber gaskets they use are also a no go. You're going to have a really hard time putting together a still without being able to solder. You don't have to "braze". To solder you just need a small propane torch, silver solder and proper flux. Soldering copper is SUPER SIMPLE and paste flux works great. A child can literally solder copper, it's that easy. Soldering to stainless is not quite as easy, but if I can get it done, anyone can. For stainless you need torch, silver solder and liquid flux like Harris Stay Clean flux.

You don't have to use compression fittings if you can solder. You can just use a bulkhead fitting, copper threaded adapters and copper pipe. To disconnect, you can just use a copper union. Many like using Tri-Clamp Ferrules instead of copper unions. You can use that compression fitting, but you'll be stuck with bending copper tubing (potentially kinking it) without being able to solder elbows and/or other copper fittings.

I once went to a local Salvation Army store and bought a small stainless pot with lid. I did all the modifications to the pot & lid then lastly soldered the lid onto the pot.