Tap size?

[googoomuck]

Hi guys, came into town to get a new tap to convert my fermenter to a kettle but never thought of measuring the tap. Is the tap on a 33l fermenter 1/2 or 3/4 inch?

[googoomuck]

Didn't see your reply till now, I went with 3/4 I'll see how it fits when I get home. I got a SS tap but it's zinc coated. Will that be ok in the boiler for an hour? Can you actually get all copper nuts? Everything I seen today is brass or zinc coated. I think I read somewhere about not having zinc or brass near your brew?

[Will_D]

Most HB shop plastic buckets fitted with a plastic tap would need a 1/2" bsp tap. 1/2" is the inside diameter of the fitting, so over the trhreads its more like 3/4"

If you have bought a 3/4" bsp tap then you need to make a bigger hole!

A stainless steel tap is just that - all ss and expensive.

If you bought a ball valve tap in B&q/Woodies/Plumbers then its nickel plated brass and quite safe to use.

Zinc is not used on pipe fittings - it is the stuff of galvanised sheets and railings and the like

They don't make copper nuts! They are all brass and quite safe to use.


HTH Will

[googoomuck]

Most HB shop plastic buckets fitted with a plastic tap would need a 1/2" bsp tap. 1/2" is the inside diameter of the fitting, so over the trhreads its more like 3/4"

If you have bought a 3/4" bsp tap then you need to make a bigger hole!

A stainless steel tap is just that - all ss and expensive.

If you bought a ball valve tap in B&q/Woodies/Plumbers then its nickel plated brass and quite safe to use.

Zinc is not used on pipe fittings - it is the stuff of galvanised sheets and railings and the like

They don't make copper nuts! They are all brass and quite safe to use.


HTH Will

Great thanks for the info. I bought it in a local hardware shop, so can bring it back if it doesn't fit. What does bsp stand for?

[Will_D]

"bsp" British Standard Pipe: Its the standard european and others (but not Uncle Sam land) for screwed pipe fittings.

Screwed pipe fittings are the other form of plumbing fittings that are not "compression fittings" for copper and plastic pipes.

Typically you will see 1/2" and 3/4" bsp. This is the diameter of the hole through the fitting.

Have just posted a bit more info on Nigels thread: #13:

http://www.nationalhomebrewclub.com/forum/index.php/topic,6607.0.html

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

A lot of German Breweries use wort transfer pumps with zinc impellers and an interference fit. They are not "adding " zinc as yeast food to the brew, under the Reinheizgebot you see it is forbidden. The fact that the zinc is being eroded from the impeller into the brew is supposedly an accident 
Yeast needs zinc for procreation, without it you won't end up with enough healthy yeast cells and could have a stuck fermentation. Copper on the other hand can be toxic to yeast, that is why in commercial breweries, stainless steel is preferred over brass, which is a copper alloy.

[googoomuck]

Cheers for the replies and info lads. The tap is a tight fit and works, but there is a small leak. I imagine a bit of playing around with it should sort it