thin wall stainless fittings worth it?

[tuckermtn]

Seems to me that there are two different options when it comes to stainless fittings in 3/4", 1", etc mainline. There are the thin wall ones that you can buy at lapierre or CDL and then there are the thicker wall ones that you can get a FW Webb, etc. I have used both. The Webb fittings for something like a barbed to threaded pipe adapter (like you would use to run pipe in to the manifold on a releaser are $3 or $4 per while the thin wall maple fittings are $14 or $15 per.

I am working on swapping out my plastic fittings in many of the mainlines- plan on doing this over several years as cash flow allows.

I understand that the thin walled maple fittings mean less restriction. Less restriction means more fluid and vac transfer. Also less area for sap to back up and get mungy. But is the less restriction really that important to justify 3X the price?

would love to hear from some of the installers (Jason G?) or big producers on this-

thanks-

[Dennis H.]

Watch the ones at the hardware store they most likely are not SS. Only 3 or 4 buckets tell me that there most like are steel.

[maple flats]

Be very careful, at $3-4 indeed I'd be sure to check for a SS label. Most if not all in regular plumbing fittings that shine and "look like" ss are indeed steel but not stainless. In my estimation the SS are a better choice for a couple of reasons. 1. they hold far better, will not pull out (when clamped properly) while the cheaper fittings, both plastic and steel will. 2. they have a much smaller shoulder and thus have less held in the leading edge of the fitting to spoil until your next flow.
Personally, I have both SS and plastic, but most of the fittings I've put in in the last 2 years have been the Lappierre SS fittings. Yes they are costly, but the advantages out weigh the cost factor.

[mapleack]

Yes you can get cheap stainless fittings from FW Webb. Maybe 10 bucks cheaper. They have a smaller ID than the lapierre fittings, which have full size ID. 10 dollars is approximately 80 gallons of sap bulk. I've seen ice plugs block these and plastic fittings, sometimes for over an hour until they thaw. I've even used a torch when I realized flow was lower than it should be and went looking. Back to the 80 gallons, if your mainline is up for ten years, how many frozen plug mornings do you think it will take to cost you 80 gallons? If your entire woods is steep this may not be a problem, but if you have low grade sections like me, the full bore fittings are worth the money IMO.

[GeneralStark]

I am debating this as well. I too am switching over to stainless Y's and T's for my lateral mainline to wet/dry mainline connections. For these I have settled on the true maple stainless fittings sold by CDL and LaPierre and perhaps others. I had considered building the T's from stainless pipe T's and stainless hose barb adapters, but I have since decided against this for a number of reasons.

For valves, I am still debating what to do. I have several mainlines that have a valve directly upstream of the T in the lateral mainline where the dry line connects. CDL has some stainless Y's where one branch of the Y has threads instead of a barb. I was hoping to find a T with threads on one side of the straight part of the T to thread on a valve and eliminate the need for a short section of mainline pipe and then two hose barbs on the valve. I have not been able to track this type of T down, so I have been planning to use the 2nd alternative and go with the 2 hose barb adapters per valve. I have a bunch of the non-maple stainless barbs from FW Webb (these are indeed good stainless fittings) but I'm not sure about the more restrictive ID. I want to do it right once and am starting to think about laying down the cash for the maple stainless inserts.

Has anyone found a stainless maple T with threads on one side? How do others handle valves in their 3/4" or 1" mainlines?

[maplecrest]

eric, i have used the thin walled for a few years. webbs did not have a 1-1/4 straight insert so i tryed a thicker with deep barbs. found that was hard too seal. barbs are too deep to seal for high vac.leaked vac

[Amber Gold]

Last season, I started switching over my woods from plastic wye's to S/S...more of a concern with plastic wye's pulling out anc concerned w/ plastic breaking. After seeing ice plugging up at the plastic fittings for a 1/2hr plus, I'm upgrading the entire woods to eliminate restrictions caused by plastic fittings. Currently I use three wye's to tie in the wet/dry line to the branch mainline, then I have a short section of pipe, male adapters for a valve, a short section of pipe, then a combination elbow, then branch mainline. My latest idea after the three wyes is a short section of piep, put the valve in, close nipple, female threaded tee for the vac. gauge, then a male adapter for the branch mainline. This will make the valve/gauge setup all 3/4" ID and no restriction. I've noticed ice blocks at the valves at the releaser and I need to eliminate these as well.

Eric, thanks for the heads on the Webb s/s fittings...I was going to ask them for a price, but if the ID is smaller, then I'm not interested.

I have a road crossing I take apart after the season. I used to use camlocks, but found the barbed fitting wasn't big enough and they always leaked, so I switched to just a coupling and pulling the coupling apart every year. If I switch to s/s fittings with their larger ID, will I still be able to get the coupling apart?

[maple flats]

Likely not, but you can likely release some tension. cut the fitting out carefully, to do this leave about 1" tail and cut the tubing. Then slit the tubing very carefully, trying not to damage the barbs, slit the tubing up to the fitting and then split it using 2 pair of good pliers or even vise grips. The barbs are not as pronounced but there are more barbs and they are sharp enough to grab the tube wall. Since the tubing will stretch some each year, you will be able to connect again without adding any tubing. Unless you are lots tougher than me you will need a mainline tool and a flair torpedo to reconnect in cold weather or you will need a helper with plenty of push. I use the Lappierre mainline tool with adapter kit and a torpedo to flare the end slightly. It is also possible to do without the torpedo if you have a very sharp kinfe with a small blade and shave a taper on the inside of the tubing. You only need about a 45 degree at the very end to get the fitting to start.
These fittings after clamping WILL NOT PULL APART. I use them and I tension my mains with a 2000# come-a-long when hanging them and then I further tension using side ties. Never had one fail. However do not tension like that if you have even 1 plastic fitting, it will most likely pull apart. During the off season, I loosen the side pulls giving the most tension.

[tuckermtn]

Jeff- to clarify- did you have problems with the deep barbs on the non-maple fittings from Webbs or was it with the thin wall maple ones?

thanks to all for replys...keep em coming

-Eric

[maplecrest]

non maple from webbs

[lookin 2 learn]

Webb in Southern Vermont also stocks thin wall Lapierre stainless fittings