Ball Valves

I use a 3-piece so it can be dismantled for cleaning, basically the one you linked to. I only use a bazooka screen with whole cone/leaf hops, otherwise I don't use an attachment of any kind.

 

I think they are, I've put them on all of my equipment. I like the stainless camlocks.

 

I'm a fan of the kettlevalve. The o-ring is held in place by a groove, which helps to ensure a good seal. I use one on my mash tun in conjunction with a kettlescreen.

 

I have both a one piece and three piece ball valve . . . they operate identically, but everyone "uuh's and aah's" over the three piece. Many want to touch it. I took el grande apart once and it only marginally needed cleaning. I would not buy a three piece for the cleaning attributes, but would definitely buy for the aesthetics.

Quick disconnects are like microwave ovens . . . once accustomed it's difficult to live without. I'm a big Amazon shopper, but get my brew hardware from brewhardware.com because they rock (not affiliated) and have all the do-dads you can imagine.

Unsolicited advice: You will probably want a diptube to feed your ball valve. Placement of the diptube is different for a HLT vs BK. My HLT pickup is ony 1/8" above the kettle bottom. Due to the "slurp" effect it will drain all but the last couple of tablespoons of water (desirable) . . . never have to tip the pot. My brew kettle pickup is a good 3/8" above the kettle bottom because there are some things in the chilled wort you do not want transferring out. There are work-arounds, but give this some thought.

Placement of the ball valve determines the height of the diptube which is critical. Suggest a "practice mount" on a scrap piece of metal (or plywood) to see how it goes and to practice with Señor Stepbit. Once you sort this out you probably want to make your center punch strike and initial pilot hole from the interior. While you have the tools out, consider drilling your thermo/sight gauge opening . . .

 

The three piece I'm familiar with (which is actually five - two halves of valve, ball, clamp, and gasket) are a joke imo. They get dirty over time and can leak in ways I've never experienced with regular valves. They're a bitch to reassemble on top of everything else. I use a couple that were given away and am about to retire them. I'd never spend money on one.

 

Negative . . . you don't want a stinkin' barb fitting. If you are going the QD route (my favorite) your entire setup will be "barbless".

Your ball valve will have a 1/2" threaded female fitting. To this attach a 1/2" male NPT with a male QD (Cam F). Use a little bit of pipe tape and never touch it again the rest of your life.

This will connect to a 1/2" female QD with a 5/8" straight tube (your 1/2" silicone hose slips over this), called a "Cam Big C". After heat-shrinking your hose on the fitting you won't touch it again until the hose is so stained that people start to talk.

Here's what it will look like:


The beauty is you can use use this to add strike water or sparge or switch to your BK and whirlpool through a pump or chill through a plate chiller or drain to your primary . . . all with the same fittings. Grab the rings to make the connection and you get to keep the skin on your fingertips

Your didn't mention the inside of your kettle, but pretty sure you want to add an elbow to pick up the hot water/wort. Remember, it's not necessary to have the ball valve at the absolute lowest point . . . the elbow can take care of that. As long as you have a head of pressure (liquid above the ball valve) and the receiving vessel is lower, the liquid will travel "up" the diptube and will transfer. Gravity can sometimes be your friend.

Here's my HLT elbow/pickup tube (called a High Flow Elbow Barb):

This is also available with a threaded fitting if you want to add a threaded bazooka filter on your BK. I used the straight fitting for ease in cleaning.

To make life less stressful, throw in a couple of spare parts: a couple of flat silicone gaskets for the bulkhead and clear silicone camlock gaskets.

Pretty sure I've named the parts correctly, but when you place the order ask them to confirm. Everyone at brewhardware is a homebrewer and knows what works together.

 

HLTs don't need anything except a simple ball valve.
Mash tuns are fine with a false bottom, silicone tubing and camlock connection (or suitable alternative)
Kettles work flawlessly with a simple ball valve also...your recirc attached to an IC will suffice quite nicely if using hop bags...IMHO

 

Definitely the best value option. I recommend camlocks and triclovers but the added of expense of triclovers is very hard to justify considering the relative inexpense of the camlocks. Triclovers are definitely the easiest to clean / most sanitary and do not leak though.

3 piece all the way OP. Anyone who has ever cleaned one knows the value of being able to do so.

 

How often do you take yours apart to clean?

 

Typically every 10 brews or so since I originally cleaned them every 20 brews and they were always very dirty by that point. It's been my experience that, at 10 brews, they will have minimal to no buildup which is what I want to maintain.

 

Have you ever tried cleaning them with PBW without disassemby (or even a basic ball valve) more frequently? I ask this, because I too have noticed a build up of beerstone if I go too many batches without a thorough cleaning. I normally hot water flush for 1/2 hour after every batch which has seemed to keep infections at bay. Cheers

 

In the past I'd do a post brew CIP on my system probably every 3-5 batches. Kettles were thoroughly rinsed with water after each batch at a minimum of course. I certainly agree that if I had taken the time to CIP after every brew (as I should have) then ball valve build up would have been reduced....not eliminated though.