I can't believe there is any suspicion the brass itself would fail, but
rather the barbed connection itself.  I think it would be advisable to put a
spring clamp on to more fully support the interface.

Karl Wolz

|-----Original Message-----
|From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com]
|On Behalf Of Jim Felder
|Sent: Tuesday, July 03, 2012 5:55 AM
|To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
|Subject: Re: Brass Coolant Connectors = Failure?
|
|I would think brass fittings would be good to over 1000
|degrees. Brass guides are pretty standard as valve guides in
|engine heads, where the temperatures often exceed event that.
|Brass fittings are used in airplanes, trains, automobiles,
|steam engines, industrial equipment-everything short of
|salt-water marine applications-and have been for for several
|centuries. Leave it to the internet collective wisdom to
|propagate the rumor that brass would fail at 160 degrees, not
|all that high above body temperature.
|
|: )
|
|Jim
|
|On Tue, Jul 3, 2012 at 7:27 AM, Derek Drew
|<derekdrew@derekmail.com> wrote:
|> The information throughout the Internet seems to be that
|brass barbed
|> fittings are good to 160 degrees (at 2XXpsi).
|>
|> I called Dixon Brass and they said not to use the brass
|barbed Ts and
|> pipe joining fittings for engine coolant where the coolant would go
|> over 160 degrees (as it would in a car).
|>
|> This seems to imply that we cannot use brass in the coolant
|system, at
|> least not the common barbed fittings, almost all of which, where a
|> rating is given, are rated to 160F.
|>
|> So, I called McMaster and they said that you absolutely CAN
|use brass
|> barbed fittings in the coolant system of a vehicle, and said the 160
|> degrees rating was a sort of a mistake that keeps getting repeated
|> over and over again, but that its source was originally from the
|> rating of *hose* that was connected to the brass fittings, but that
|> the brass fittings themselves will absolutely stand up to
|the needs of
|> an automotive cooling system (210F?).
|>
|> Does anyone have any further info or experiences?
|>
|> Has anyone on this list ever had a FAILURE of a brass coolant system
|> barbed fitting?
|>
|> The reason I ask is that there are some of these fittings in my
|> coolant system right now, and I have to decide whether to go
|dig them
|> all out and replace them with OEM VW plastic fittings, or Gates
|> plastic hose fittings.
|>
|>
|> _______________________________________________
|> Derek Drew
|> Washington DC / New York
|> derekdrew@derekmail.com
|> Email is best normally but...
|> PHONE: 202-966-7907 (Call the number at left normally) (alt/cell for
|> diligent calling only): 703-408-1532
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