Tap Assembly

Material Choice 

The taps and thermometer mount for the vessels were made from brass plumbing fittings.  Stainless steel would be a preferred material but is cost prohibitive at this stage of my brewing career.  I estimate stainless steel fittings would have been around 3-4 times the price of the brass fittings I used.

All fittings were purchased from my local Bunnings Warehouse and are shown in this picture:

Taps

The pictured tap assembly consists of, in left-to-right order:

  • 1/2" brass tap fitting, female
  • 1/2" male tap fitting to 3/4" male threaded adapter
  • 3/4" female to 1/2" male reducing bush
  • 15mm nickel plated brass ball valve
  • 15mm (ID) x 150mm threaded tube
  • 2 x 1/2" flanged nuts
  • 1/2" compression fitting nut and olive 

Note, I could have avoided using the 1/2" to 3/4" adapter if a 1/2" male tap fitting adapter was available at the time I purchased.

Thermometer Mount

The thermometer mount assembly consists of, in left-to-right order:

Gaskets

To get a water-tight seal, a gasket is required on the inside of the vessel.  Rubber is no good in this situation - the high temperatures may cause it to leach chemicals into the brew.  This may impart an off flavour to the beer.  The recommended gasket material is food-grade high temperature silicone.  I was a bit stumped on where to get this - the local Clarkes Rubber didn't carry it.  Then a genius on Aussiehomebrewer came up with this idea:

I bought this from my local Big Dubya for about $10.  Simply trace around the flanged nut and cut it out with a sharp blade.

The Finished Article

The taps are assembled using high-temperature teflon tape.  Leak test and adjust if necessary.

Here is the outside view of the HLT:

And here is the inside, showing the gasket.  Note, the copper pickup extension is not yet fitted.

 Here is a pic of the inside of the brew kettle.  The pickup tube is 1/2" stainless tube (kindly supplied by Mark at Marks Home Brew) connected with a compression fitting: