Connectors - Cam & Groove, Tri Clamp or other?

[k1100t]

Trying to finish of my jumbo spreadsheet of all the bits and bobs I need to buy to upgrade the home brewery. I can't decide on what connectors to use between the pots and pumps etc. I'd love to eventually have Tri Clamp pots, but can't afford them at the moment, but was thinking I could use Tri Clamp fittings anyway. If I put some of these Triclamp 1.5" TC - Male 1/2" BSP fitings into the ends of the normal ball valves, then I could at least use Tri Clamp between all the taps and the pumps.

Just wondering what most people use? Is it worth going for that kind of Tri Clamp fitting over Cam & Groove, or do other just use hose barbs...?

Thanks,

--
Bob.

[bobsbeer]

I had the same dilemma, but went for cam and groove, which work well. Given that you do quite a bit of taking apart and putting together with a brewery during cleaning etc, ease in that part is important. I haven't used tri-clamp fittings, but they look more fiddly to connect.

[k1100t]

I had the same dilemma, but went for cam and groove, which work well. Given that you do quite a bit of taking apart and putting together with a brewery during cleaning etc, ease in that part is important. I haven't used tri-clamp fittings, but they look more fiddly to connect.

I did wonder about that, which I suppose is the root of the question.

Cheers,

Bob.

[Fil]

camlocks ( cam n groove) work well on the HOT side, but i would remove the keyring rings from each of the lever ams before use as in the smaller sizes these can become a hassle and hinderence rather than a help.

Easily overlooked when planning is the fact that metal fittings when used to plumb up HOT pipes n tubes, the metal fittings will also GET HOT, camlocks are a darned sight easier to manipulate through a hand preserving cloth/towel or glove than triclamps (Ive used both triclamps and camlocks HOT!)

by using male camlock connectors on the pots and h/w and female lever fittings on the tube lengths you can minimise cost by limiting the number of connecting hoses, for example i only ever need 2 x hoses at any one time..

[Hogarth]

When it comes to the clean-up, do you have to remove the hoses from the camlock barbs and clean underneath? ie, does wort seep in between them? Or is that the sort of thing you do occasionally/never?

[Kev888]

Camlocks are quicker/easier to use and very effective in my experience. However, they have gender so you need more types and have to standardise on which way around you do things.

Triclamps are considered more sanitary. They don't have the gender issue, and a range of different bores and other items (like thermowells) can be more easily accommodated within a single triclamp size, so they're pretty flexible. They're also sometimes better for connecting things into (fairly) rigid pipework, since coupling/decoupling doesn't need them to move in and out of each other. However they're more cumbersome to use (especially when hot) and even more expensive. There may be little benefit wrt being more sanitary if they then have to be fitted to equipment using threads or other adaptors.

My theoretical preference would be camlocks for hot/frequent swapping of hoses, and triclamps for the post-boil cold side (especially if you aspire to tri-clamp fermenters any time soon). Which is fine... except that in practice theres often some overlap between the two - so adaptors may be needed or compromising on one or the other throughout. Personally I'm slowly replacing camlocks with triclamps, but there isn't much hose-swapping needed on my system; your choice may differ.

[Kev888]

When it comes to the clean-up, do you have to remove the hoses from the camlock barbs and clean underneath? ie, does wort seep in between them? Or is that the sort of thing you do occasionally/never?

They're not much different to any other barb, really. Personally, I do annually disassemble for a more thorough clean, and cut the end off the hose if its looking worn before reassembling, but a decent cleaning process is enough day-to-day, especially if you're able to run boiling stuff through them. Many of the professional hoses are permanently crimped onto the barb, so I guess they're the same. I'll be interested to hear if anyone has had problems by not disassembling, though.

[bobsbeer]

I have never disassembled mine, and never had a problem. I have some of the wide bore camlocks and they are on the tube real tight so probably would need to cut the silicone to get them off.

[Kev888]

Yeah, thats true; the tube does need to fit snugly, by stretching a bit on the barb. The common 1/2" hose is fine for stretching snugly onto 15mm pipe, but some hose barbs are a tad smaller, so a smaller tube would be preferred for them.

[Fil]

Hot side hoses get rinsed and dried, no disassembly or further cleaning here,

I dont use camlocks on the cold side(post cfc). and tend to employ SS tube and friction fitting of silicone tube over it as needed.. the tube ends wear eventually so need chopping back a couple of inches every few months of regular brewing..

for full bore hoses without the restriction narrow bore hosetails offer consider 18-19mm ID silicone tube secured over 1/2" bsp weld nipples screwed into Female threaded camlocks you will need a jubilee clip to secure the tube over the inch or so of weld nipple but wont run the risk of hop debris etc clogging up a narrow bore hosetail

[barneey]

Tri-clamps all the way for me, everything is then interchangeable cold side, warm side, FV.

[k1100t]

Tri-clamps all the way for me, everything is then interchangeable cold side, warm side, FV.

I've never used Tri Clamp, just how easy is it to clamp together...?
Looks like you might need three hands depending on what you're clamping...

Cheers,

Bob.

[barneey]

Easy enough with practice. Not as easy a QDs and some C&G can be stiff to operate. Also try disconnecting a C&G or QD without hand protection if it hot. C&G also imho get more difficult to engage when warm. I recently built a VA with a triclover try and do that with the other fittings.

[k1100t]

Easy enough with practice. Not as easy a QDs and some C&G can be stiff to operate. Also try disconnecting a C&G or QD without hand protection if it hot. C&G also imho get more difficult to engage when warm.

Does the clamp round the two Tri Clamp flanges not get so hot then?

I recently built a VA with a triclover try and do that with the other fittings.

I'll show my ignorance... VA...?

Cheers,

Bob.

[Jocky]

When it comes to the clean-up, do you have to remove the hoses from the camlock barbs and clean underneath? ie, does wort seep in between them? Or is that the sort of thing you do occasionally/never?

I have big bore cam locks without the long barb. It takes a bit of work to get the silicone hose over them, and it needs a (proper stainless) jubilee clip to keep it in place, but they've stayed super clean, and the flow is great compared to the normal bore barbs.