# Beer Tap Voltage?



## phil_dawson (26/1/11)

Hi Guys

Managed to aquire a preloved Becks tap for the home bar and along with the beer line there are 2 wires coming out of the bottom. I assume these are too illuminate the tap but after scouring the tap (and the internet!) I cant see what voltage it needs. I really dont want to pop the globes etc so does anyone know what the voltage would be? Is there a standard or should I just start low and build up?


Thanks in advance!

Phil


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## matr (26/1/11)

Can you pull the globes out and check them? They may have the voltage on them.

Cheers, Mat


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## zabond (26/1/11)

is there a plug on the wires?if not it probly runs off a transformer 6v- 12v or 24v,if the wires are the same colour[like a tablelamp]prob 240v[unlikley]as Mat said there should be a voltage on the globes


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## DU99 (26/1/11)

get a multi tap power pack..globe should be only low voltage


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## jasonharley (26/1/11)

Put a photo up showing the assy and the wires ... if the wires are thin (approx 1.5mm dia) then they are likely to be 9V or less 

5 eyes


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## raven19 (26/1/11)

Surely small globes and power near liquid would be low voltage - piccies would help for sure though.


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## phil_dawson (26/1/11)

Pic attached. Insulation is white with no voltage written on it. Wires themselves are orange and purple. I was hope not to rip it apart to look at the globes but I'm sure it isnt that hard if need be.

Thanks alot for the speedy responses guys

and HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY! 

UPDATE: Pulled the top out and there is a white LED disc thing. No indication of voltage on it either! Might have to start with 6v and go up to 12 if need be.


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## jasonharley (26/1/11)

work your way up in testing it.... Try a little lithium battery first (hearing aid batteries) ..... then try a AA size and if that does work then try a 9 volt ... you should try and inspect the globes to see ifd you can replace them and test them ..... yeah the size of the wire looks like low voltage to me.

by the way ther US patent sites have a number of iluminated fonts ... many of these are either lithium battery or AA size battery driven 

best of luck and let us know how you go

cheers
5 eyes


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## leiothrix (26/1/11)

If it is an LED it will also need a current limiting resistor to stop it burning out.

There may already be one hiding in the black heatshrink too.


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## zabond (27/1/11)

it looks like there is a resistor under the heatshrink LED's are also polarity sensitive,also as there looks to be a circuit board under the square heatshrink it may be a blinking light,remove the heatshrink and send pics also pic of light assy face


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## DJR (27/1/11)

If it's an LED start with 3.3v (standard LED voltage) and work your way up from there

2 AA batteries and a bit of wire would be enough to see

Don't go 12v straight away - if you put the current in the wrong way (pos into negative and vice versa) with enough voltage into an LED it will blow


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## phil_dawson (27/1/11)

Ok thanks again for your replies.

As they are orange and purple which one is positive and neg? The white disc IS the led itself it just sits behind the Becks Vier font cap. I tried with a D battery and didnt get any action so will try 2-3 AA's then up it to a 6v trial.

B)


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## cdbrown (27/1/11)

I have a few taps that are illuminated and purchased a power pack to go with them (all from the UK). When I get home tonight I'll post the details of the output.


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## cdbrown (28/1/11)

24VA 1A is what the power pack says is the output. I have the purple connected to black terminal and orange to the red terminal.


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## cdbrown (28/1/11)




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## phil_dawson (28/1/11)

Hmm, looks like yours is more of a professional outfit. Mine is a straight wire without fuses or anything else, basically a round white LED disc with 2 wires :unsure:


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## cdbrown (28/1/11)

Nah mate - that's the power pack I purchased to supply the power to the taps. Has spring terminals on the side - enough to light 4 taps. That pic is just to show you the power output that is being provided to the taps. So you connect the two wires to that for the power. Batteries aren't going to do what you need. 24VAC is what they need.

All the taps I have, just have the orange and purple wires coming out the bottom. Apart from two smoothflow taps which have more wires due to it having it's own electric pump built into the base of the tap. Not sure what I need to get them running.


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## Brown_hound (28/1/11)

The suggestion to start low, then step up voltage is the way to go...

1.5, 3, 6, 9 etc...

Just to the right of your terminal block is an inline resistor... This can be either in the negative or the positive, but is always in series with the led itself... It is there as a current limiter, or rather governor... 

Being an led, and part of such a simple setup, it is almost certain to be a dc supply, not ac..

A wrong polarity will not blow an led, the led simply won't work... Being a diode, it only allows the flow of electrons in one direction... Anode to cathode. The inline resistor is there to stop excessive current from blowing the led.

Hope this helps


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