Just moved into a new apartment and I'm ready to start brewing. Except I have this unique faucet... it's the type that can switch between a solid stream and a spray and also is able to extend via a snake. Does anyone have any experience with this type of sink? I'll have to check to see if the entire thing comes off, but I'm worried I won't be able to chill my wort.
I had the same faucet, too.
I used an ice bath at first. Then, I had a utility sink installed in my basement, and now I run a tube from my kitchen down to my basement, where I hook up a plate chiller.
I had considered a couple of workarounds:
1.) Splitting off the cold water under the sink with a wye connector and a stopcock.
Pros: stays out of the way.
Cons: you have to fiddle around under your sink. You introduce the possibility of leaks under your sink.
2.) A giant funnel using gravity to push the cooling water through the chiller. If you're brewing in your kitchen, you could use the loop at the top to hang the funnel from the top of the cabinet above your sink. Better yet, you can use a utility knife to cut a notch out of the side of this funnel, then stretch the faucet up and hang it so that it empties into the funnel. I'm not up to speed on fluid dynamics, but I think you could get enough pressure out of the gravity feed.
Pros: Cheap. Stowable.
Cons: Potentially messy. Ugly while not stowed. Untested.
I had the same faucet in my old apt and ran a hose from the bathroom.
You might consider chilling using an ice bath in the sink. I've found this to be pretty fast for small batches. If you need to use the faucet then what brewchez said is the way to go. Install a 'tee' fitting to the cold water inlet and reconnect the faucet to one side and a hose bib to the other.
mark
www.backyardbrewer.blogspot.com
www.thebackyardbrewer.com
I live on the third floor of an apartment building, and have a similar faucet set up. We have a garage on the first floor, and there's a hose spigot in there. I'm considering snaking a hose from the garage into my kitchen. Though I like brewchez's idea better...
There is no adaptor for that type of faucet that I know of. Maybe your bathroon sink has better potential.
If it was me I'd cut in an garden like fitting under the sink in the actual supply to the sink. Of course it would have to be done on the quite side. But no one is ever going to notice it. By the time a landlord sees it he'd wonder if it was there all along anyway. This also requires a little plumbing and soldering skills for the DIY work.
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