March, 1996 Volume 19,
Issue 3
Gas Quick- Connects
Youre
never quite "finished" when you make your own
brewery - theres always something to improve upon.
I fire my burners with natural gas, tapped near the water
heater in the garage. I brew in the driveway, so on brew
day I set up a 50 flexible gas line to my portable
brewery cart. Previously, I threaded the hose connections
by hand, then tightened everything with wrenches, and
tested every joint for leaks. The process took about 25
minutes to set up and 15 minutes to tear down. I had
to reduce this set up / tear down time.
Heres
something I just added to my setup that takes 5 minutes
to set up and 5 minutes to tear down: gas quick-connects.
Disclaimers: Gas
can be extremely dangerous, so if you have any
questions about what youre doing, dont fiddle
with it. I have no affiliation with these products,
Im just a happy user.
That being
said, heres what I use:
Hansens
Gas-Mate® couplings (contact me if for
information about a local distributor.) These are one-way
shut-off safety couplings designed for LP and natural gas
applications. (So it works just as well for propane
tanks.) I use 3/8" FPT size, and the plugs are made
of brass with stainless steel inner workings. The plugs
work just like garden hose quick-connects, by sliding the
sleeve to release the connection, snapping the plug in to
connect.
There is an
automatic shut-off (at the socket) when the plug is
removed. This is a nice safety feature, but always
use a shutoff valve at the source (ahead of any
quick-connects.) I use a gas ball valve at the tap tee
for rapid action, and the direction of the handle gives
an instant visual indicator of whether its open or
not.
Safety
continues: in the event of a fire, the heat sensitive
plug automatically stops the flow of gas. I hope to never
test this feature, but its nice to know its
there.
OK, price. I
went all out and got nice, brass dust covers too (when I
could have used plastic ones or none at all.) Before
sales tax and shipping, sockets are $12.50 each and their
dust caps are $3.56 each, plugs are $5.88 each and their
dust caps are $3.84 each. Including sales tax and
shipping, it comes to $29.16 per connection, and you
typically want one connection on each end of your hose.
Without the dust covers its $23.85 per connection,
but why not protect your investment?
Not cheap,
but for what it does its less expensive than other
gas quick-connects on the market. I feel that its a
lot safer than setting up and testing threaded
connections each time and it saves me a half an hour on
brew day. For me, thats worth it right there.
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