main port and return port fittings

I've added some pics to the fittings gallery to show how I'm coming through the kettle wall at the main port and the return port. Originally, I thought I'd have a TC ferrule on both the inside and outside of the kettle at the main and return ports (similar to the way Stout Tanks and Kettles has designed their mash tun return port), but welding a TC ferrule into the inside of the kettle down near the bottom for the main port proved to be too difficult.  It took me a while to figure out another way, and I eventually settled on modifying some rotating racking arms from St. Pats. Unfortunately, it's just about impossible to link to specific pages on St. Pats's website, so you have to click on Rotating Arms in the left column and then scroll down about 2/3 of the way down (or I took some screen shots and uploaded them here and here).

For the mash tun main port pick up tube (not pictured below), I left the horizontal part of the tube (for lack of a better way to describe it) alone and simply cut off the vertical part so it could point straight down inside the kettle.  For the boil kettle main port dip tube (pictured below), I shortened both the horizontal part of the tube and the vertical part. The ability to rotate this pick up tube from the outside of the kettle should (if necessary if I don't get a good trub cone following the whirlpool) enable avoiding picking up junk off the bottom of the kettle.

boil kettle dip tube

boil kettle dip tube

I used the same St. Pats racking arms for the return port, except for these I basically cut off all but an inch or so of the arm and welded on a reducing tube stem fitting from McMaster-Carr (which was also slightly modified).  The pics below show how this is designed to work so that you can basically create any type of internal kettle fitting you want to attach to the inside of the return port (mash wort return, sparge arm, whirlpool wort return, etc.) The pumps used on the system have a 1/2" exit, and the tubing from the pump to the return port is 1/2" ID. The tube stem fittings allow for a 1/2" OD tube, and a stainless 1/2" OD tube has an ID of .46", so there's not too much further restriction coming in through the return port like this when using the stainless tubing.  With 1/2" OD copper tubing, the ID is 3/8" but I only plan to use copper tubing internally for sparging and mash wort return, so hopefully that additional restriction won't be a big deal.

return port fitting idea

return port fitting

return port fitting