20 Litre Kero drum tap

[Fuzzie]

Not sure where to put this thread, but finishing seems as good as any.

I recently bought one of the 20L drums of Diggers kero from Bunnings and got one of the nylon type taps they have in the box next to the drums.

The first problem was actually getting the plug out so I could screw in the tap. It seems the plugs are designed to fit no ordinary tool I couple locate. However once I got past that hurdle I screwed in the tap and syphoned off some kero and the tap was nice and smooth to use.

Today, only a couple of weeks later, I went back to the drum and the tap was frozen. I did manage to shift it using a bit of force, BUT trying to turn it off was a nightmare. A few seconds later I'd had a kreo shower (i guess it killed the nits) and there was a lot of kero on the ground. Thankfully I got the tap shut and it doesn't seem to be leaking.

It would appear to me that the nylon type tap is incompatible with kero. Has anybody had any experience with bulk kero and taps? Diggers/Bunnings don't have metal taps to fit the drums.

Where can I find a kero tolerant tap suitable for infrequent use?

[Big Shed]

If Bunnings can't answer that question (), perhaps a phone call or email to Diggers would do the trick?

Edit:

or you could have a look here

[Fuzzie]

I'd expect Diggers to know what is going on but not necessarily Bunnings.. The Bunnings staff were quite helpful. They rang a couple of different Diggers support lines and Diggers Sales reps, to no avail. Apparently they didn't have an answer either, other than to try and locate a metal tap. The help desk in Bunnings is following this up and are going to try and locate some.

However in the meantime I'd guess I'm surely not the only person to run into this problem. Is it a bad batch of nylon taps and I should just try another one or is there a basic incompatability between nylon and kero?

[China]

Have a look here Steel Ball Tap 3/4 (18mm) Bib Cock - Drum Taps & Pourers - Paintdirect - Accessories Direct to You!

[ubeaut]

Most nylon/plastic taps are a bit on the useless side when it comes to petrochemicals Turps, kero, white spirits, etc, etc.

I have switched to the one below for our 200 litre drums of turps and it is much better than most of the others by a long shot. Have had some absolutely terrible ones over the years and to date this one is the best.


We use specially imported ones from UK for shellawax, metho, etc. have to be careful as metal ones will send a lot of our stuff black. Especially anything shellac or metho based. However at the cost of an arm and a leg each, even these special ones don't like to work with petrochemicals.

[Batpig]

Dear Fuzzie,

How about a good old Garden-Tap. With a bit of luck, maybe one of those translucent blue or red "neoprene" washers might stand-up to the Kerosene. If not, you could always try one of those dedicated Garden-Tap "leather" washers.

The only thing is - there's a certain type of brass Adaptor-fitting that you will need to be able to get the Tap to screw in to the Container. If you look closely, you can make it out in the 2nd photo below; it's between the black rubber washer, and the white plastic container. The black rubber washer is there to seal the joint between the Garden Tap and the Adaptor-fitting in question, and there's just a hint of Thread-Tape to be seen where I've screwed the Adaptor-fitting into the container.

The Adaptor-fitting is like a short piece of brass that has been hollowed by machining a female-thread on the inside, and a male-thread on the outside. I don't think I've ever seen them at Bunnings, but they'd grow on trees at any decent Plumbing shop.

Best Wishes,
Batpig.

Attachment 160309
Attachment 160310

[Fuzzie]

Thanks guys.

Big Shed and China, that all stainless bibcock looks like a likely option. Bunnings actually have something like it in the irrigation section. Might give it a try.