Amanco Hired Man Hopper Drain Tap

Amanco Hired Man Hopper Drain Tap

Has anyone got one for sale?

I can't stop mine leaking.

The thread measures 0.5" across the first thread and has 19 threads per inch which according to Zeus is 1/4 BSP or the equivalent American NPT.
As it is mounted in the bottom of the hopper it needs to be of the 'straight through' type as can be seen. I would prefer an original Amanco one IF possible.

Anyway here it is.

Have you tried lapping the surfaces with metal polish.

Maryalice

maryalice wrote:Have you tried lapping the surfaces with metal polish.

Maryalice

I have, but after 117 years I think it's warn beyond repair. No amount of tightening of the adjustment screw will stop the leaking.

That tap handle has had some abuse in its lifetime !

Do you have access to a lathe, take that edge off where it leaks and that will allow it to move further in and then relap.

Maryalice

blue cat wrote:That tap handle has had some abuse in its lifetime !

In an attempt over the years by previous owners to stop the leak the adjusting screw has been tightened so much that pliers must have have had to be used to open and close the tap

maryalice wrote:Do you have access to a lathe, take that edge off where it leaks and  that will allow it to move further in and then relap.

Maryalice

So, I took it apart again and although the photograph seems to show a shoulder on the taper there is none so I spent a lot of time with more metal polish (Autosol) to get a better internal finish. When I re-assembled the valve I realised that I could install a small brass washer between the adjusting screw and the tap body to further pull the moving parts together and 'hey presto' no leak, the action is slightly stiff but I can cope with that. I'll have to see how it goes this weekend at Cromford when the water gets hot. Anyway thanks for the suggestions it pointed me in the right direction.

Martyn

I recently became the owner of a 1924 2.5hp Ruston Hornsby APR and last weekend it got its first outing, it ran very well and the only issue I had was the two idiots learning how to run it I've never owned an open crank particularly with too many things to twiddle with including four brass taps, two to drain water, one too drain the sump and one to drain the petrol. I lost petrol because that tap was open, water because one tap was in the shut position when actually open, by the end of the day I think we cracked it.

Maryalice