bolt over fillport?

Hey guys

This probably seems excessively ghetto. But I can't seem to find that many fillports. And the ones I do find they seem to be all 1/2 not 3/8s. Personally I don't even see the point in paying 12-15 $ for a fillport I'll only use a couple of times, if not only once, a year. Not to mention I can't even find a 3/8 fillport in Canada.

Think it would be possible to use just a 3/8s bolt and tie it off?

thematrixiam said:

Hey guys

This probably seems excessively ghetto. But I can't seem to find that many fillport. And the one's I do find they seem to be all 1/2 not 3/8s. Personally I don't even see the point in paying 12-15 $ for a fillport I'll only use a couple of times in not only once a year. Not to mention I can't even find a 3/8 fillport in Canada.

Think it would be possible to use just a 3/8s bolt and tie it off?

Click to expand...

I've seen that several times. Anything to seal it (I think I've even seen a AA battery). Just stick it in there and make sure it's snug then throw a zip tie or two for safety and you should be fine.

Of course make sure you aren't using something which will cause bad chemical reactions with the other metals in your loop, etc.

You can get brass plugs at a hardware store. That's what I use. This one is $1.41, pretty steep.

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

I use one of these and it works great. Plus it will accept pretty much any fitting.

http://www.dangerden.com/store/danger-den-fillport.html

Not sure what shipping to Canada will run though..

Swiftech makes some less expensive drain/fill ports... i bought two the other day... $7.99 a piece.

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/8...emote_Fill-Port_Fitting_-_Black_12FPF-AL.html

If your looking for a cheap fillport try this one.$4.95 screw a barb or comp. fitting into it and good to go http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=59_346_345
Question to Derek1387. That swiftech fillport is aluminum. I know it's not going to be in contact with the rest of the loop really, but isn't it bad to mix metals as most people have copper in their loops?I mean copper eats aluminum i'd be a little worried about that

If you have a kill coil you should be fine I would assume

A kill coil will stop bacteria growth, but it won't stop galvanic corrosion. Mixing metals in a loop is always bad. If your fluid is 20%+ antifreeze it'll mitigate it somewhat, but that's not an ideal situation either.

so no aluminum.

So basically:
Aluminum bronze
Naval brass, yellow brass, red brass
tin
copper
50/50 lead tin solder

which in terms of finding parts would probably mean brass or copper.

No aluminum period. Steel would be a bad choice too if you were considering plugging the line with a bolt (water drops will condensate on it and rust).
Use brass/copper/nickel/silver/plastic instead.

I made my fill port back before fill ports were invented.
I just rummaged through the brass fittings bins at the hardware store until I had a 3/8" port. An electrical panel nut from my junk drawer held it in place. It was larger than those commercially available units too, holding a funnel easily.
I used a 1/2" female pipe to 1/2" copper compression fitting, and a 3/8" barb with 1/2" male pipe threads. A little JB Weld/Araldite and copper flashing to cover the hole on the compression nut coverts it to a cap. Spray paint the cap and the electrical panel nut (color coordination is important!). About $6 in parts and fewer items in my junk drawer.
Ghetto, but glorious!

3/8" tubing should go on a 1/2" barb if you dip the tube in boiling water to soften it. I'd never wrestle like that for a whole system, but a single fill port should be fine.

Am I reading the galvanic corrosion chart wrong? It looks like there would be a reaction with silver and copper. The reason I listed those metals (eg. aluminum bronze) is because they are on the same level of nobility, roughly -.3 to -.4. Silver appears to have a -.1 nobility. My assumption is that because they are not the same there would be a reaction. Or is it just that the reaction with silver/copper is less than aluminum/copper?


here's a chart.
http://www.azom.com/work/ycdTWC2o7CJUrDMpADF3_files/image003.gif

As a side note. I went and picked up a brass 3/8s barb to FIP 3/8 and a MIP 3/8 cap. That way I can worm clamp the barb in, and then just unscrew the cap as I need to. There's no O-ring with this fitting, but I assume they should be fine.