• Welcome to National Homebrew Club Ireland. Please login or sign up.
July 18, 2025, 12:15:24 PM

News:

Want to Join up ? Simply follow the instructions here
Not a forum user? Now you can join the discussion on Discord


Silicone Hosing

Started by Damo, November 17, 2013, 08:24:31 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Damo


johnrm

Ya beat me to it Damo!
I can hook up with the White van man and handle the distro down this way.

johnrm


LordEoin

How's this any better than the tubing from homebrewwest?
5*11mm reinforced or 8*14mm reinforced

It's not reinforced and looks more like the cheaper stuff you get for €1.90 per meter.
3/8inch PVC

pob

Quote from: LordEoin on November 18, 2013, 03:39:23 AM
How's this any better than the tubing from homebrewwest?
5*11mm reinforced or 8*14mm reinforced

It's not reinforced and looks more like the cheaper stuff you get for €1.90 per meter.
3/8inch PVC

Not as much better as different, depends what you are using it for, only recommended for low temperature usage.

(I'm sure as our plastics expert will better explain and correct any wrong bits)

Some Googly bits:

---

http://homebrew.stackexchange.com/questions/6867/benefits-and-drawbacks-to-different-tubing-types

I used to use the clear vinyl tubing also. The pros for this kind of tubing are

    it's transparent, so you can see the contents clearly
    it's relatively inexpensive
    it's food safe at room temperature

But there are some significant cons also

    at typical mash temperatures, the tubing becomes soft, and doesn't support the weight of the wort, so it collapses and kinks, sometimes cutting off flow
    it's not food safe above 135F, 57C, since there is risk of leeching plastic into the wort. Also the pressure tolerance drops with higher temperature.

So, pvc tubing is recommended for cold wort transfers only, such as when racking.

For hot transfers, there are a couple of alternatives

Silicone tubing

Pros

    Highly temperature resilient, up to 480F,250C. Can be put in the oven at 350F to sterilize.
    Semi transparent - you can see the presence of liquid and/or air bubbles
    Fairly rigid, doesn't kink under typical brewing use.
    Flexible, has a bend radius of a couple of inches
    Little absorbtion and cross contamination
    No "memory" effects - can take on any shape after being coiled

Cons

    Max pressure is 30 psi. Fine for pumps, but will balloon if connected to water mains.
    Can be split/shred by sharp objects, such as the hose barb and worm clamp - special worm clamps can be used to avoid this.
    Can be expensive - look around for good deals.

Thermoplastic tubing

Pros

    temperature resillient, up to 275F, 135C
    very thick walled, rugged, does not collapse or kink
    retail price cheaper than silicone

Cons

    completely opaque, not possible to see the contents
    inflexible - has a minimum bend radius of around a foot - coiling smaller than that restricts the flow even though it doesn't kink.
    memory effects - after being coiled for storage, it will want to stay in a coil
    difficult to clean and sanitize without a pump. The rigidity made it difficult to put this in a bucket of PBW or sanitizer.

There is also norprene tubing, although this is more expensive than both of the other tubing types, and also fully opaque, so it's seldom used in brewing, other than for peristaltic pumps.

I've upgraded my brewery twice from the original PVC hoses, and over the years have used all 3 hose types. None of these hoses are completely ideal, but I have settled for silicone for most of the brewery since it was the easiest to work with - mash recirc, transfers between kettles, dumping to fermentor. I use braided vinyl for water supply and the water out side of the wort chiller since it can withstand mains water pressure, and regular garden hose isn't food safe.

---

LordEoin

ok, so it's better for hot water.
grand job.

1. johnrm 2 x 3m 1/2"ID
2. lordeoin 2 X2m

@john - the post says they go up to 2.8m, not 3.

johnrm


Garry

1. johnrm 2 x 3m 1/2"ID
2. lordeoin 2 X2m
3. Garry    6 x 1m 1/2"ID

johnrm

1. johnrm 2 x 3m 1/2"ID, 2 x 1m 1/2"
2. lordeoin 2 X2m
3. Garry    6 x 1m 1/2"ID

johnrm


Garry

Small mod!

1. johnrm 2 x 3m 1/2"ID, 2 x 1m 1/2"
2. lordeoin 2 X2m
3. Garry    1 x 2m, 4 x 1m 1/2"ID

Damo

November 23, 2013, 06:46:34 PM #11 Last Edit: November 23, 2013, 07:03:41 PM by Damo
As per Johnrm's request:

Total due

1. johnrm    8m 1/2"     €20.04
2. lordeoin   4m 1/2"     €10.04
3. Garry      6m 1/2"     €15.04

Lad's, all packed and ready for dispatch.

The NHC express, CH. should be heading southbound on Wednesday. (Limerick, Cork and Waterford)

anyone else?

LordEoin

1. johnrm    8m 1/2"     €20.04
2. lordeoin   4m 1/2"     €10.04 - payed, with fee
3. Garry      6m 1/2"     €15.04

johnrm

1. johnrm    8m 1/2"     €20.04 - paid with fee
2. lordeoin   4m 1/2"     €10.04 - payed, with fee
3. Garry      6m 1/2"     €15.04

johnrm

1. johnrm    8m 1/2"     €20.04 - paid PayPal with fee
2. lordeoin   4m 1/2"     €10.04 - payed, with fee
3. Garry      6m 1/2"     €15.04

Oi, Garry! Baseball bat ready for ya...