Beware Of Ball Valves

[Sully]

I want to replace my urn tap with a 3-piece as I have no idea what is inside an urn tap and want to avoid infections. I have heard that the urn taps are standard size (looks like 1/2 inch)

Where would I get a SS 3 piece from and how much ?

I bought a couple of 3pce BV from Tony Powell in Geebung - $25ea

T & S Valves quoted me $15 ea + gst + $10 shipping but never sent thru a proforma invoice so I looked locally and TP was the cheapest I found. There is another mob just over the Gateway but I cant remember the name of them for the life of me. They were pretty much a similar price.

Cheers


Sully

 

[Bribie G]

What sort of tap is on your urn? Mine's 1/2 inch BSP on the inside with a plastic screw in tap that can lock open. On mine, I just unscrew the plastic bit and it pulls out completely giving easy access to clean out the whole tap. I can't see any need to replace the tap on mine. Also, I once tried to unscrew the whole tap (before I figured out how to open it up) and couldn't move it anyway!

I didn't want to break anything so never even investigated that:

Wow just went out into the brauhaus and did what you suggested, that plastic unscrewed after a few nervous moments that I had maybe literally screwed something, and guess what there was a couple of bits of hop flower in there going nice and ripe

Thanks for that and, having dismantled it I can see that it will be easy to keep sanitised now.

It had been niggling at me because when FatGodzilla came up and inspected my equipment B) one of the first things he mentioned was a mate who had persistent infections that originated from a kettle tap.

 

[bulp]

Damn you (shakes fist in air) After reading this thread concious (spellink) got the better of me and stripped my kettle tap , only a little bit of goo but all clean now
Cheers :beer:

 

[redbeard]

I use no valves and I am happy .

Do you use hot rocks from a wood fire in your copper as well Barry ??

:lol:


cheers

 

[Jazzafish]

I tend to agree a bit with Afromaiko. From what I can work out its the half open position that will get the water in there when you are rinsing. I would also leave my valve in a half open position when not in use.

Anybody know where I can get some of the caustic stuff someone mentioned. And what name its sold under.

You can get a light caustic in your supermarket. You'll often find it next to the draino. It is in a blue container. If you watched fight club, Tylor pours caustic crystals on "Jack's" hand when making soap. It goes hollywood from there, but it can be nasty stuff if you use it wrong.

If you want to get some of the stronger cleaners, it is also a good idea to have some saline rinse in case you get it in your eye, and maybe some vinegar around in case it irritates your skin as it's a strong alkaline. Doesn't bother me in its diluted state, but it does bother others.

Lets face it, as a home brewer you'll probally not wear a nuclear suit when cleaning. That is fine if your careful... though glasses and gloves don't make you a sissy and are a good idea. I just like brewing naked

 

[browndog]

I cottoned onto this when I first started brewing and found by taking the valves off the kettle and tun, turning the hot water tap in the laudry sink on and sliding the tap over the end of the spout then slowly turning the tap on and off a few times all the crud is washed out.

cheers

Browndog

 

[fraser_john]

There is an extremely lengthy thread about this problem, raised by Tony who chased an infection for months! Still searching for thread.......

 

[warra48]

I usually now boil my kettle taps for about 10 to 15 minutes before installing them on my kettle.
Some months ago when I first did this, and after fishing it out, I moved the handle back and forth, and a quantity of crud squirted out from around the ball valve. Obviously the crud was under pressure from expension from boiling. Normal flushing and cleaning hadn't dislodged the crud prior to this.
I've been intrigued for a while about whether these valves can be disassembled, and I'll give it a go with one of mine. It's only about $10 to $15 to replace if it goes wrong.

 

[SpillsMostOfIt]

I take the handles off my valves, allowing me to turn the ball around 360 degrees. The garden hose or some other thing goes on the hose tail and gives the whole enchalada a good blow while I turn the ball like a demented ... oh, hang on ... like anyone who has met me knows what I'm like. Occasionally I give them a boil in a very weak iodophor solution - for the acid, which seems to clean things nicely at temperature - usually some that has been lingering in a spray bottle for a while. I might be wasting my time with that, but it seems to work.

 

[jlm]

Took mine apart yesterday after seeing this thread (although it has been on the to do list for a while). A little gunk in there, not as much as in the original post. Soaked in PBW overnight and it still needed a good scrub with an old tooth brush to dislodge it.

 

[Simon W]

There is an extremely lengthy thread about this problem, raised by Tony who chased an infection for months! Still searching for thread.......

You mean this one? 400 Liters Lost To Infection

Essential reading for anyone with any valve.

 

[fraser_john]

You mean this one? 400 Liters Lost To Infection

Essential reading for anyone with any valve.

Thats the one!