Stuck tap on burco

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PaulStat

Stuck tap on burco

Post by PaulStat » Tue Sep 30, 2008 9:41 pm

Hi All,

Thanks to jaycee I have a burco boiler for £10, the only issue i've found so far is that the tap is practically welded shut. When trying to open it, the whole tap spins and not just the open close faucet

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Any suggestions on how to free it up? Or if possible remove the tap so I can replace it with a ball valve say?

Cheers,
Paul

ciderviser

stusk tap on burco

Post by ciderviser » Tue Sep 30, 2008 11:13 pm

hello all , my first post. my burco tap had same problem when i did not wash out the sugery residue from brewing one day.a pair of stilsons and brute force did the trick. it frees up easier if you warm the tap up first. hope this works for you. as for fitting a better tap not done this yet but have 2 100 lt stock pots arriving soon so ill let you know. :)

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Stonechat
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Post by Stonechat » Tue Sep 30, 2008 11:16 pm

Have you tried using a plumber's wrench on the down spout to stop the assembly spinning round(put an old tea-towel under the jaws to prevent damage) and then wrapping a towel around the tap handle to give more purchase and then give it some Arnie action.

If that works great, if not I have seen posts from other forumees that show taps have been replaced.

I smear the threads of my Burco taps with a thin layer of petroleum jelly to help keep them turning smoothly. Do it after every twelfth brew.

Good luck :D

Graham

Post by Graham » Tue Sep 30, 2008 11:53 pm

It would probably be better to replace the tap. That type of Burco is a wash boiler, that particular tap is only fitted to their wash boilers and requires lubrication, It relies on the soapy wash-water to lubricate it. On their catering boilers there is a different type of tap fitted.

PaulStat

Post by PaulStat » Wed Oct 01, 2008 7:09 am

Graham wrote:It would probably be better to replace the tap. That type of Burco is a wash boiler, that particular tap is only fitted to their wash boilers and requires lubrication, It relies on the soapy wash-water to lubricate it. On their catering boilers there is a different type of tap fitted.
Ok but how would I actually remove it? I'm going to take it round my father in laws tonights as he has a lot more handy tools than I do, hopefully we'll be able to budge it.

PaulStat

Post by PaulStat » Thu Oct 02, 2008 9:15 am

any more ideas? For this weekend I'd just like to free it up, which I think I should be able to do.

For future brews though I'd like replace the tap with a ball valve, so I need to know how to remove this tap.

Alton_Bee

Post by Alton_Bee » Thu Oct 02, 2008 1:06 pm

Paul

Were you able to remove the tap last night at your in-laws ?

I have exacty the same looking tap on my burco - but this has decided to leak from the tap - tried replacing the washer but still leaks. I am going to replace the existing tap soon hopefully.

PaulStat

Post by PaulStat » Thu Oct 02, 2008 1:08 pm

Alton_Bee wrote:Paul

Were you able to remove the tap last night at your in-laws ?

I have exacty the same looking tap on my burco - but this has decided to leak from the tap - tried replacing the washer but still leaks. I am going to replace the existing tap soon hopefully.
he canceled on me unfortunately, my first AG brew will have to wait until Sunday instead of Saturday now.

Let me know how removing the tap goes, any ideas how you're going to do it?

bloodoaf

Re: Stuck tap on burco

Post by bloodoaf » Sat Oct 04, 2008 5:17 pm

I had exactly the same issue and although I did free it and disassemble/ reassemble it tended to leak at the worst moments - such as 30 mins into the boil!
I ended up replacing it with one from ebay and it is great and so much better to use. This is the one. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/COMPLETE-TAP-BURC ... c0.m14[url][/url]
To remove the tap you need a 1/2 inch socket wrench with a short extension to jam in the internal side of the tap assembly then the tap simply unscrews. If you really want to just take the tap apart then there is a small grubscrew on the underside of the tap that needs to be taken off first (but trust me it simply isn't worth saving)
Good luck. :D

CJBrew

Re: Stuck tap on burco

Post by CJBrew » Mon Sep 28, 2009 10:26 pm

Bit of advice if possible: I've got two Burco wash boilers, one about 44l and one baby Burco. The big'un is my main copper, the baby is a part-time HLT.
Apart from a bit of external rust they work well enough, but the tap on the copper probably needs a hop strainer to be fitted. I can't say I like the tap assembly very much though; as Graham says it's prone to sticking unless it has a nice amount of soap in the water. On a number of brews I've had to totally remove the tap in order to poke out all the hops that collected in the hole and drain the thing.

BurcoDean told me the dimensions of the internal nut:
The diameter is 17.4mm and the across flats size is 15mm. I would envisage the nut to be extremely tight and upon disassembling the tap you would destroy the sealing face on tap.
When he says "destroy the sealing face" -- I don't care about the tap -- does that mean "destroy the bit of the vessel where the tap attaches"?

I tried to use a borrowed socket wrench some time ago but the square bit was rather too small to bind against the 15mm flats on the nut. Now I may be able to borrow something from work but am not so keen to do this if it's going to ruin the vessel. On the other hand a 70l SS pots isn't going to break the bank if necessary. Hmmm...

CJBrew

Re: Stuck tap on burco

Post by CJBrew » Tue Sep 29, 2009 4:08 pm

No answers? :|

Well I have borrowed a 14mm allen wrench and some small bits of aluminium sheet from the workshop here, and am going to have a crack at removing the tap tonight. I figure if I screw it up, the SWMBO will be informed that I needed a new boiler 'anyway' :twisted:

Russ

Re: Stuck tap on burco

Post by Russ » Tue Sep 29, 2009 5:58 pm

I removed my Burco tap using radiator spanner (Big allen key) inside the tap inlet. Think I held the spout in the vice :roll: ....
Didn't knacker the boiler, think they mean you'll knacker the tap. My tap went in the bin as it was siezed. I replaced it all with 15mm tanlk connector, drilled out and a 15mm ball valve.

Workes fine :)

Russ

CJBrew

Re: Stuck tap on burco

Post by CJBrew » Tue Sep 29, 2009 9:07 pm

I removed my Burco tap using radiator spanner (Big allen key) inside the tap inlet. Think I held the spout in the vice :roll: ....
Didn't knacker the boiler, think they mean you'll knacker the tap. My tap went in the bin as it was siezed. I replaced it all with 15mm tanlk connector, drilled out and a 15mm ball valve.

Workes fine :)

Russ
Pleased to report that it came off just fine (on both boilers). I had to stick a length of copper pipe (15mm stuff) in the spout bit to brace the tap against turning the nut. I think the taps will go in the "spare burco bits" box, although God knows why.

Off to screwfix for two tank connectors, two ball valves and some more 90' fittings then...

I might have to investigate the existence of 15mm drill bits at work. There's plenty of workshop equipment -- drills etc. No way I want to file out two of those buggers with the round file again, it took ages.

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Re: Stuck tap on burco

Post by Glamrox » Mon Nov 02, 2009 11:32 am

I had a similar problem with the tap on my recently purchased burco, I have managed to get the old tap off and have a tank connector, ball valve and piping etc. My question is do I need to use any form of washer when attaching the tank connector to the burco or will it be OK providing it is nice and tight? I know it's a basic question but I normally avoid plumbing tasks like the plauge!

CJBrew

Re: Stuck tap on burco

Post by CJBrew » Mon Nov 02, 2009 2:43 pm

I had a similar problem with the tap on my recently purchased burco, I have managed to get the old tap off and have a tank connector, ball valve and piping etc. My question is do I need to use any form of washer when attaching the tank connector to the burco or will it be OK providing it is nice and tight? I know it's a basic question but I normally avoid plumbing tasks like the plauge!
I have put a polythene washer on the outside -- it's just the right size -- available in packs of 5 at Homebase for a quid or two. If nothing else this will protect the outer surface as you tighten a nut against it, assuming you hold the inner nut still.

However I think nice and tight is the order of the day. Plenty of PTFE tape on the tank connector threads and a good tight seal.

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