Beer tower nuts!

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Deebee
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Beer tower nuts!

Post by Deebee » Wed Apr 16, 2014 7:13 am

Hi.

I have a couple of beertowers where i need to remove the tap for cleaning etc.

The nuts that hold the tap on is around 23-24 mm outside dimension and is hard to get a hold of. normal spanners will not help as they are too bulky and get stuck against the side of the tower.

Does anyone have any smart ideas as to how i can losten them,( open them).

i was thinking of a tap wrench but am a little unsure. I do not want to damage the tower in anyway and will hopefully be moving the taps to a 5 tap T bar in not too long.

I know these things can be gotten in the States but i really do not want to have to wait for them to arrive before i can move on.
thanks for the help as always.
Dave
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Jim
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Re: Beer tower nuts!

Post by Jim » Wed Apr 16, 2014 9:43 am

I've not seen one of those before, but looking at the pics on Amazon it looks like you could wrap a cloth around it and use a pair of molegrips - though you'd have to be very very careful to use minimal pressure since it looks like it's made of plastic.

Probably the best thing would be a rubber 'oil filter' wrench. Link.

I use a large one of these to get the tops off my pressure barrels - they often sell them in cheap shops and markets.
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smeggedup
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Re: Beer tower nuts!

Post by smeggedup » Wed Apr 16, 2014 11:18 am

I believe they are probably a 5/8 nut
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Deebee
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Re: Beer tower nuts!

Post by Deebee » Wed Apr 16, 2014 12:15 pm

Mine are brass or steel and are very thin. They are around 25mm in diameter. Mole grips wll grip but there is no room to move them.
Might have a ring spanner though. Am guessing just a quarter turn will be enough for them to open with fingers.
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Jim
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Re: Beer tower nuts!

Post by Jim » Wed Apr 16, 2014 12:29 pm

Is this nut inside the tower then? I assumed you were referring to the knurled nut that attaches the tap to the spout.
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Fil
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Re: Beer tower nuts!

Post by Fil » Wed Apr 16, 2014 1:04 pm

pics would help, but if your talking about the nut locking the tap into position in the tower/font head, depending on the tap you may be able to move the tap/nut out of the locked position by turning the tap in the font face

there may be a GOTCHA involved here, watch out for a 90 degree stem elbow fitting inserted into the tap rear hampering easy extraction.. when first pulling my 4 tap font apart, I ruined one tap discovering elbows inserted into the taps to direct the beerlines, if fitted u will need to extract them before attempting to unscrew the taps as unscrewing may force the stem out breaking the tap.
The font/tower should deconstruct giving u access, tho i had to inch(mm) my stemed elbow fittings out of the tap rears with 2 long screwdrivers to compress the JG collars, and a lot of patience...

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Re: Beer tower nuts!

Post by worts n ale » Wed Apr 16, 2014 1:22 pm

what about a box spanner ?

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Deebee
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Re: Beer tower nuts!

Post by Deebee » Wed Apr 16, 2014 3:45 pm

There is about 7mm from edge of nut to tower wall. Gonna be tight. Holding the nut and then turning the tap could be an option. There are gooseneck connections to the line but i have a couple extra.
Worse clmes to the worse i will have to buy a proper beer faucet wrench from the states.
Dave
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Deebee
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Re: Beer tower nuts!

Post by Deebee » Wed Apr 16, 2014 4:25 pm

Update. Got one of the buggers. Welders locking pliers turned the tap to loosen. Mangled the nut slightly but got it on. One tl go.
Dave
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