Hello; Does any-one have experience with restoring brass taper type fuel taps.
I believe they are called "taper cock"
I have fitted these to my BSA but they still are prone to seapage over time.
I have taken them apart, and tried to lap the surfaces together with fine grinding paste, without much success. Whould jeweler's rouge be more suitable.
Thanks Keith

email (option): keithatkinson@hotmail.com

I have bought new ones like this in the past and never again. They will not seal, and if you try to lap them in you take off more metal and make things worse. They're rubbish..! Throw them away and get a tap with a rubber seal

email (option): horror@blueyonder.co.uk

Trick is to grease them when they become stiff, its as simple as that.
That's why they work when new.

I have 2 bikes using that type & I find it works for me,

Laping wont work as your getting a uneven effect across the extent of the taper due to those big holes that the fuel passes.

Worth noting that I'm the only person here that has good things to say about them but try the grease thing first, it doesn't cost much to try it.

Hi Fred, I have tried that, as when new and work, they are very stiff. But the petrol soon washes the grease away, so you'll be taking them apart quite often. Well done if you get them to work ok. I have better results from my old cork taps.

Just one point about new rubber seal taps. I'm finding now that the tap needs opening and a small drill bit pushed up to make sure these are clear after a short time of being used. It seems like the petrol is swelling the rubber which is restricting the flow. As they are new taps, you've usually gone through every other possibility of why the bikes not running right, first.

email (option): horror@blueyonder.co.uk

No, honestly, I'm not taking them appart often, maybe a year ... One I did after 6 months but after constant use.
you need to use a fuel proof grease I wouldn't have them on the bikes if they kept failing, three bikes are technicality indoors, in an extension to my house & they would stink if they leaked.
I think the grease was from the marine place near me.

I do have a bike with the cork type that is also good & I hear people have problems with them but that's fine aswell.

I've used the conical ("taper") taps in the past without trouble. In a couple of instances I've had to extend the spring so that it kept the cone in firm contact with the body. Never needed to use grease. As for the cork types, most of the time they go bad because the bloke turns the handle before installing it, when it's dry, thereby damaging the cork right out of the box. The cork needs to be wet before operating the valve, every time including the first time you turn it.

PS: until they changed the plumbing code a few years ago, we used to use a different type of conical taps for cooking gas. If the design is good enough for that, it should be good for liquid fuels.

email (option): jonny.rudge@verizon.net

I've still got those brass gas taps on my antique gas cooker, they are fine but I still isolate the supply for extra security when not in use :-D
I have another early "Eureka" gas cooker which I'm going to restore or sell, it has lovely chrome fittings.

The taper taps on bikes were fine for many years & never had to lubricate them as you say, however, modern fuel seems to eventually cause them to bind & become too stiff to turn & they won't operate without lube, its a problem friends of mine are having too.

I would have thought that a lot of turning the taper around and around in the body with some fine valve grinding paste would eventually wear the surfaces exact. I can get them to seal and hold back water, oil, kerosene, WD40 ect, but petrol finds its way into the smallest of microscopic spaces.
If I grind away too much brass, and the taper sits in too far, then I haven't achieved anything, or lost anything neither.
Keith

email (option): keithatkinson@hotmail.com