How to fit a ball valve and hop stopper to a Buffalo boiler

Hi guys,

Ordered all the parts for this and have an issue I'm looking for help on.

When trying to screw in the parallel nipple into the valve I can only get a few turns before it stops, I can't screw it fully in, this leaves a large gap when screwing in the reducer so is nowhere near watertight. Contacting BES they state that the thread on the 20306 is tapered so the parallel nipple wouldn't screw in far, everyone else seems to have managed so am I missing something!?

All help appreciated.
Cheers
Dan

The catalogue says that 20306 is parallel so one or more of the following must apply:
1. The catalogue is wrong and they are now supplying a different part.
2. You have been sent a duff part.
3. You were told nonsense.

Can anyone remember the size of the hole on the boiler.

Can anyone remember the size of the hole on the boiler.

The fittings are 3/8" BSP so probably about 17mm.

Hi guys,

Ordered all the parts for this and have an issue I'm looking for help on.

When trying to screw in the parallel nipple into the valve I can only get a few turns before it stops, I can't screw it fully in, this leaves a large gap when screwing in the reducer so is nowhere near watertight. Contacting BES they state that the thread on the 20306 is tapered so the parallel nipple wouldn't screw in far, everyone else seems to have managed so am I missing something!?

All help appreciated.
Cheers
Dan

Dan - Did you get to the bottom of this issue?

Just throught id double check before ordering the parte (the buffalo is in the post!!)

Cheers

I have the parts in my hand right now and one side of the tap has a taper thread and the other parallel so the parallel nipple will only fit on that side. It's tight on the first try so make sure it's in to the correct side or you may damage the thread.

OK here's the problem. The ball valve shown in the OP has the handle in the open position pointing away from the boiler however the ball valve delivered to me is the other way round (as shown on the BES site) and there appears to be no way to fix it

PS mods please fix the forum to open links in a new tab/window!

Well that's it fitted only took 5 mins, turned the tap handle upside down and have filled it with warm water and some oxyclean to remove the staining and water treatment additions from the heat plate. My old hop strainer fitted so the one comming from the homebrew shop will get used in my mash tun as the SS false bottom that came with it gives a stuck mash from time to time.

[Joe1002]

Does the tap open fully with the handle upside down?

[Joe1002]

PS mods please fix the forum to open links in a new tab/window!

We are trying to keep the forum as 'vanilla' as possible so future upgrades will be simple and the forum more stable.

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OK here's the problem. The ball valve shown in the OP has the handle in the open position pointing away from the boiler however the ball valve delivered to me is the other way round (as shown on the BES site) and there appears to be no way to fix it

I don't understand what you are saying. Open the ball valve and fit it to the boiler. How can yours be the other way round?

I don't understand what you are saying. Open the ball valve and fit it to the boiler. How can yours be the other way round?

Because one side of the ball valve has a taper thread where hose tail adapter fits mine is on the opposite side from yours.

Does the tap open fully with the handle upside down?

Yes it does, but as the location catches are no longer in use you can turn it to far and open the valve again.

I don't understand what you are saying. Open the ball valve and fit it to the boiler. How can yours be the other way round?

Because one side of the ball valve has a taper thread where hose tail adapter fits mine is on the opposite side from yours.

I've screwed a parallel nipple into my ball valve where the hose barb normally goes. I managed to easily screw it all the way in so it's clearly parallel on this side too.

It's listed on the BES website as

BSP Parallel Female x Female

so I would expect it to be parallel on both sides. Have you queried this with them as they have clearly changed the part?

I've contacted them asking so should have an answer soon.

Im waiting with anticipation as my boiler has been dispatched to me and I am itching to get on with it!

rpt - Presumably the reaon you went with 3/8BSP was because it was the largets tap without having to modify the hole? Also, are there any other mods/things to look out for with the buffalo 40l?

Thanks very much for the guide. For those with problems with the parallel nipple and the valve:

I ordered the parts this week and ran into the same problem (parallel nipple would only screw a little way into the valve, say a 1/4 of the nipple's length). In my case the issue was the same on both sides of the valve.

I resolved it by using the original rubber washer from the buffalo boiler backed by a m16 stainless washer (so rubber against boiler, stainless against valve) in place of the Teflon washer. The extra thickness making up for the limited distance the nipple would screw into the valve. The M16 washer is just the right size to go over the thread and fully cover the rubber washer. Forms a nice tight seal, seems to work fine without leaks.

rpt - Presumably the reaon you went with 3/8BSP was because it was the largets tap without having to modify the hole? Also, are there any other mods/things to look out for with the buffalo 40l?

3/8" BSP is exactly the right size for the existing hole. I would have preferred to use 1/2" BSP because that is the standard in home brew kit, but it would mean enlarging the hole.

The other potential issue with the Buffalo is problems with it cutting out during the boil. I managed to do 20 brews without any issue while others seem to have trouble from the start. I found a loose connection which was causing the thermal cutout to overheat and tightening this has fixed it. Others have replaced the cutout with a higher temperature part. I wouldn't let this put you off getting a Buffalo as the problem is easily fixed.

Not put off by the buffalo issues i have read - which is lucky as arrived today! What kind of efficiency / boil off rate do you get from yours? Id be interested as a starter before i adjust on the basis of the performance of mine.

A slight variation on the theme... I use a 90 degree elbow out of the boiler to keep it closer to the kettle so im less likely to knock it!

Just ordered one of these for £95 in Nisbets sale so will be cracking on with this how to, although not till after Christmas as it's a present from the wife.

All my bits just arrived from BES (had hop stopper and silicone tube already) so will hopefully put this all together tonight and do my first brew tomorrow night.

Just done this for mine so easy! Love the mod! Thanks


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Couldn't resist the 95 quid Buffalos so caved in and ordered everything on Thursday. It all turned up next day and it took all of 10 minutes to follow this brilliant guide today! Didn't have any problems with any of the parts they all fitted together perfectly.

And I've finally got around to building my Gatorade mashtun by repurposing the tank connector and tap from my old burco boiler, so it's a brand new brewery! Although I've always done BIAB so this is a whole new learning curve when I get the chance to brew again

The design of the Buffalo has changed and the hole is no longer round. I don't know how easy it is to fit a tap now.