Copper fittings

[Kevin O'Roundwood]

So I was having a shufty in the attic hunting down a leaks and didn't I find a rake of copper piping offcuts! Not enough to start my copper fortune exactly but more than enough to convince me to look into making a hop strainer & grain filter (for my future AG gear).

I was looking at fittings and from what I can see there seems to be two types - compression and solder.
http://www.plumbingproducts.ie/product.php?id_product=323
http://www.plumbingproducts.ie/product.php?id_product=436

So what do people tend to use for fittings that will be submerged in precious wort?

Compression fittings seem to be brass - is this alright in the wort?
Is the fit of solder fittings tight enough that you could use them without soldering them?

From what I can make out the commercially available cooler mash tuns seem to use solder fittings but I don't know if they're loose or have been soldered.

Also that website seems to have very good prices for ball valves - assuming they're the same as what most home brew shops supply...

[delzep]

You can crimp the solder fittings with a pliers to that they're not too loose but can still be disassembled for cleaning

[Kevin O'Roundwood]

Good stuff - looks like the solder fittings are a goer so

[Kevin O'Roundwood]

Just to complicate things further - anyone know what the difference between 'endfeed fittings' and 'solder fittings' is? They look about the same to my eyes minus the o-ring and sized in metric.

http://www.plumbingproducts.ie/category.php?id_category=186

Also was in Woodies last night looking at the solder fittings. Looks like the o-ring actually contains solid solder - any issue with this reacting with the wort? Especially if it's upset by being given a squeeze of a pliers?

[Damien M]

Try and not use the ones with the Solder pre installed, there is all kinds of stuff in the solder. The joints don't need to be water tight as they will help with the straining and for washing afterwards .  If you have the ones with the solder melt it out with a blow torch first or buy without.

[Kevin O'Roundwood]

Yeah that's what I was thinking alright. Twouldn't be good...

Annoying that the endfeed fittings seems to be only in metric though

[Shanna]

If in doubt about whether there is lead solder in use then avoid using them. Lead even in small quantities is pretty noxious.

Shanna

[fishjam45 (Colin)]

dont buy plumbing fittings in Woodies - you'll be paying well over the odds for stuff thats a lot cheaper in a builders merchant

[Kevin O'Roundwood]

Absolutely - I was just curious I swear. Good to actually pick them up and have a look at them but they were 6 or 7 times more expensive than what I've seen them on line