Faucet Adapters: Why Every Homebrewer Should Own One

A faucet adapter is a very small and simple piece of equipment that, believe it or not, can make a huge difference in homebrewing. It is designed for one purpose, which is to allow the attachment of garden hose threads (GHT) to a standard kitchen faucet.

Most homebrewing equipment that is designed to attach to a water supply is built for use with utility sinks or fittings that have a male thread with a 1-1/16” outer diameter (OD), like that of a standard GHT fitting.

Unfortunately, most indoor kitchen faucets are equipped with a smaller female thread to allow for connection of an aerator. The faucet adapter allows you to bridge this gap by syncing up the two different thread types.

There are two big ways in which the faucet adapter can save you a lot of hassle when you’re a homebrewer:

• Chilling wort

• Cleaning bottles, carboys and tubing

Here’s why you should add a faucet adapter to your brewing arsenal.

Wort Chiller

Most wort chillers come equipped with a standard female GHT input fitting which is great if you have a garden hose-threaded faucet in your home or don’t mind moving the heavy brew kettle outside post-boil to attach the chiller to your outdoor faucet.

Though chances are, you don’t have a GHT faucet where you brew and/or you don’t particularly enjoy lugging around a heavy kettle filled to the top with 200-plus degree wort. (Not only does this pose a danger, but it’s an easy way to contaminate your beer.)

With a faucet adapter you can easily attach the GHT input hose of the wort chiller to your kitchen faucet with ease, and proceed to chilling the wort immediately. This allows you to avoid all the trouble, giving you an opportunity to focus on brewing the best beer possible. The secure connection also eliminates the need to worry about leaks and water spraying into your wort.

Jet Washer

Another piece of equipment that pairs up perfectly with the faucet adapter is the jet bottle washer. This device features a GHT female input and is designed to create a high-pressure flow system from a standard kitchen faucet by directing the water into a condensed stream.

Additionally, the apparatus is bent into a V-shape making it perfect for cleaning bottles and carboys. With the water directed upwards, you can place a bottle over the tip, turn on the water supply and have the stream of water quickly and easily remove dried-on beer, yeast byproduct, or any other gunk that would otherwise be very difficult to remove from the inside of the bottle.

The jet bottle washer tip is even small enough to insert into most tubing found in siphons and racking kits and creates enough pressure to clean it out. The amount of time and frustration you eliminate is alone worth buying a faucet adapter.

Construction & Installation

The faucet adapter’s construction is pretty straightforward, and it’s unlikely that you’ll have any issues with it.

One side has a 15/16” OD male thread to attach to the kitchen faucet and the other side has a 1-1/16” OD male thread to attach to a GHT-compatible fitting. The adapter also comes with two rubber O-rings to create proper seals on each end to help prevent leakage.

How to Install the Faucet Adapter

1. Simply unscrew the aerator from the kitchen faucet while being careful not to lose the O-ring.
2. Set the O-ring aside for safekeeping, as you’ll need to replace it whenever you’re done using the faucet adapter.
3. Screw the faucet adapter into its place, inserting the 15/16” OD side into the female threaded faucet.
4. Make sure that the O-ring is properly seated and test out the connection by slowly turning on the water supply to ensure that it’s secure and free of leaks.
5. That’s it. Now you’re ready to attach your brewing equipment to the other 1-1/16” GHT side.

Improve Your Brew Day Today

If you’re looking to make your brew day a little more efficient and effortless, a faucet adapter is certainly a smart and inexpensive way to upgrade your brewing process.

A faucet adapter not only gives you the power to chill wort, but also makes it ridiculously easy to wash bottles, fermentation vessels and racking equipment while using your kitchen faucet as the power source.

Are you currently using a faucet adapter? Let’s hear your thoughts down below.