It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Bibcock. (Discuss)

Indoor Tap - commonly found in the bathroom/laundry and/or kitchen. This English faucet is a single-handle, double-spout tap (one spout for hot, one spout for cold); most modern North American faucets have a single spout shared by hot and cold water supplies allowing warm flows.

A tap is a valve for controlling the release of a liquid or gas. In the British Isles and normally in the Commonwealth the word is used for any everyday type of valve, particularly the fittings that control water supply to bathtubs and sinks. In the U.S. the usage is sometimes more specialised, with the term "tap" restricted to uses such as beer taps and the word faucet being used for water outlets; however some Americans use "tap" in the broader sense as well. Look up spigot in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Image File history File links Merge-arrows. ... A bibcock, also called a sillcock, is commonly used to provide hose connections outside of buildings, for use in gardening, watering lawns, washing cars, and so on. ... Download high resolution version (2272x1704, 829 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (2272x1704, 829 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... // These water valves are operated by handles. ... For other uses, see Liquid (disambiguation). ... Gas phase particles (atoms, molecules, or ions) move around freely Gas is one of the four major states of matter, consisting of freely moving atoms or molecules without a definite shape and without a definite volume. ... For the foundations of the World Trade Center, see The Bathtub. ... For other uses, see Sink (disambiguation). ... Categories: Stub ...

Water taps

Water spigot. In North American plumbing terms, this would be called a valve (a faucet tends to be an indoor fixture with more cosmetic appeal), a hose hydrant, or a hose bibb.

The physical characteristic which differentiates a spigot from other valves is the lack of any type of a mechanical thread or fastener on the outlet. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (759x765, 383 KB) Summary Photograph of a water spigot, taken by Rmrfstar. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (759x765, 383 KB) Summary Photograph of a water spigot, taken by Rmrfstar. ...

Water for baths, sinks and basins can be provided by separate hot and cold taps; this arrangement is common in the UK, particularly in bathrooms/lavatories. In kitchens, in the U.S., the UK, most of the EU and in many other places, mixer taps are often used instead. In this case, hot and cold water from the two valves is mixed together before reaching the outlet, allowing the water to emerge at any temperature between that of the hot and cold water supplies. Motto: (traditional) In God We Trust (official, 1956–present) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City Official language(s) None at the federal level; English de facto Government Federal Republic  - President George W. Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence - Declared - Recognized... Wikiquote has a collection of quotations by or about: European Union The European Union On-Line Official EU website, europa. ...

For baths and showers, mixer taps frequently incorporate some sort of pressure balancing feature so that the hot/cold mixture ratio will not be affected by transient changes in the pressure of one or the other of the supplies. This helps avoid scalding or uncomfortable chilling as other water loads occur (such as the flushing of a toilet). For other uses, see Burn. ...

Rather than two separate valves, mixer taps frequently use a single, more complex, valve whose handle moves up and down to control the amount of water flow and from side to side to control the temperature of the water. Especially for baths and showers, the latest designs do this using a built in thermostat. These are known as thermostatic mixing valves, or TMVs, and can be mechanical or electronic. Bi-metallic thermostat for buildings A thermostat is a device for regulating the temperature of a system so that the systems temperature is maintained near a desired setpoint temperature. ... Thermostatic Mixing Valves (TMVs) blend hot water (stored at temperatures high enough to kill bacteria) with cold water to ensure constant, safe outlet temperatures preventing scalding. ...

Mixer taps are more difficult to fit in the UK than in other countries because traditional British plumbing provides hot and cold water at different pressures. This article is about pressure in the physical sciences. ...

If separate taps are fitted, it may not be immediately clear which tap is hot and which is cold. The hot tap generally has a red indicator while the cold tap generally has a blue or green indicator. In English-speaking countries, the taps are frequently also labeled with an "H" or "C". Note that in countries with Romance languages, sometimes the letters "C" for hot and "F" for cold are used, possibly creating confusion when English speakers visit these countries or vice versa. Mixer taps may have a red-blue stripe or arrows indicating which side will give hot and which cold. The Romance languages (sometimes referred to as Romanic languages) are a branch of the Indo-European language family that comprises all the languages that descend from Latin, the language of the Roman Empire. ...

In some countries there is a 'standard' arrangement of hot/cold taps: for example in the United States and Canada, the hot tap is on the left by building code requirements. This convention applies in the UK too, but many installations exist where it has been ignored. Mis-assembly of some single-valve mixer taps will exchange hot and cold even if the fixture has been plumbed correctly. A building code, or building control, is a set of rules that specify the minimum acceptable level of safety for constructed objects such as buildings and nonbuilding structures. ...

Most handles on residential homes are connected to the valve shaft and fastened down with a screw. Although on most commercial and industrial applications they are fitted with a removable key called a "loose key" or "Water key" which has a square peg and a square ended key to turn off and on the water. You can also take off the "Loose key" to prevent vandals from turning on the water. In older building before the "Loose key" was invented for some landlords or caretakers to take off the handle of a residential tap, which had teeth that would meet up with the cogs on the valve shaft. This Teeth and cog system is still used on most modern faucets. Although most of the time a "Loose key" is on industrial and commercial applications sometimes you may see a "Loose key" on homes by the seashore to prevent guests from washing the sand off their feet. A residential area is a type of land use where the predominant use is residential. ... Spur gears found on a piece of farm equipment. ...

Beer taps

Main article: Beer tap

While in other contexts, depending on location, a "tap" may be a "faucet", "valve" or "spigot", the use of "tap" for beer is almost universal. This may be because the word was originally coined for the wooden valve in traditional barrels. A "beer tap" now may be one of several items: Categories: Stub ...

Pressure-dispense bar tap 

Almost universally in modern times, bulk beer is supplied in kegs that are served with the aid of external pressure. In a normal bar dispense system, this pressure comes from a cylinder of carbon dioxide (or occasionally nitrogen) which forces the beer out of the keg and up a narrow tube to the bar. At the end of this tube is a valve built into a fixture (usually somewhat decorative) on the bar. This is the beer tap, and opening it with a small lever causes beer, pushed by the gas from the cylinder, to flow into the glass.

Portable keg tap 

Sometimes, beer kegs designed to be connected to the above system are instead used on their own, perhaps at a party or outdoor event. In this case, a self-contained portable tap is required that allows beer to be served straight from the keg. Because the keg system uses pressure to force the beer up and out of the keg, these taps must have a means of supplying it. The typical "picnic tap" uses a hand pump to push air into the keg; this will cause the beer to spoil faster but is perfectly acceptable when it will be consumed in a short time. Portable taps with small CO₂ cylinders are also available.

A gravity cask tap.

Cask beer tap 

Beers brewed and served in the traditional way (typically cask ale) do not use artificial gas. Taps for cask beer are simple on-off valves that are hammered into the end of the cask (see keystone for details). When beer is served directly from the cask ("by gravity"), as at beer festivals and some pubs, it simply flows out of the tap and into the glass. When the cask is stored in the cellar and served from the bar, as in most pubs, the beer line is screwed onto the tap and the beer is sucked through it by a hand-operated low-pressure pump on the bar. The taps used are the same, and in beer-line setups the first pint is often poured from the cask as for "gravity", for tasting, before the line is connected. Cask beer taps can be brass (now discouraged for fear of lead contamination), stainless steel (good, but expensive), plastic (acceptable, and cheaper), and wood (to be avoided if possible).

This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom. ... General Name, symbol, number nitrogen, N, 7 Chemical series nonmetals Group, period, block 15, 2, p Appearance colorless gas Standard atomic weight 14. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Cask ales on racks Cask ale or cask-conditioned beer is the term for unfiltered and unpasteurised beer which is conditioned and served from a cask, usually without additional nitrogen or carbon dioxide pressure. ... Casks of ale. ...

Gas taps

Gas taps

Although a gas tap may be a valve that releases any gas, the word is most commonly used to refer to taps that control the flow of fuel gas (natural gas or, historically, coal gas, syngas, etc.) in the home (for gas fires or other appliances) or in laboratories (for Bunsen burners). Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1200x850, 468 KB)Gas taps at Adams Grammar School. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1200x850, 468 KB)Gas taps at Adams Grammar School. ... Fuel gas can refer to any of several gases burned to produce thermal energy. ... For other uses, see Natural gas (disambiguation). ... Syngas (from synthesis gas) is the name given to gasses of varying composition that are generated in coal gasification and some types of waste-to-energy facilities. ... It has been suggested that Town gas be merged into this article or section. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Look up Bunsen burner in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Physics of taps

Most water and gas taps have adjustable flow. Turning the knob or working the lever sets the flow rate by adjusting the size of an opening in the valve assembly, giving rise to choked flow through the narrow opening in the valve. The choked flow rate is independent of the viscosity or temperature of the fluid or gas in the pipe, and depends only weakly on the supply pressure, so that flow rate is stable at a given setting. At intermediate flow settings the pressure at the valve restriction drops nearly to zero from the venturi effect; in water taps, this causes the water to boil momentarily at room temperature as it passes through the restriction. Bubbles of cool water vapor form and collapse at the restriction, causing the familiar hissing sound. At very low flow settings, the viscosity of the water becomes important and the pressure drop (and hissing noise) vanish; at full flow settings, parasitic drag in the pipes becomes important and the water again becomes quiet. Choked flow is a hydrodynamic condition caused by the Venturi effect. ... For other uses, see Viscosity (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Temperature (disambiguation). ... This article is about pressure in the physical sciences. ... A Venturi meter is shown in a diagram, the pressure in 1 conditions is higher than 2, and the relationship between the fluid speed in 2 and 1 respectively, is the same as for pressure. ... Italic text This article is about the boiling point of liquids. ... Water vapor or water vapour (see spelling differences), also aqueous vapor, is the gas phase of water. ...

One reason that most beer taps are not designed for adjustable flow is that the beer itself is damaged by the pressure drop in a choked-flow valve: holding a beer tap partially open causes the beer to foam vigorously, ruining the pour.

Tap mechanisms

Tap mechanism

The first screw-down tap mechanism was patented and manufactured by the Rotherham brass founders, Guest and Chrimes,in 1845. Most older taps use a soft rubber or neoprene washer which is screwed down onto a valve seat in order to stop the flow. This is called a "globe valve" in engineering and, while it gives a leak-proof seal and good fine adjustment of flow, both the rubber washer and the valve seat are subject to wear (and for the seat, corrosion) over time, leading to leakage (see photo). The washer can be replaced and the valve seat resurfaced (at least a few times), but globe valves are never maintenance-free. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 535 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1948 × 2184 pixels, file size: 927 KB, MIME type: image/png) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 535 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1948 × 2184 pixels, file size: 927 KB, MIME type: image/png) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... There is also a Rotherham, New Zealand , Rotherham is a town in South Yorkshire, England. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... Neoprene is the DuPont Chemical trade name for a family of synthetic rubbers based on polychloroprene. ... Assorted washers: flat, split, star and insulated A washer is a thin disk with a hole, usually in the middle. ... A Globe valve is a device (specifically a type of valve) for regulating flow in a pipeline, consisting of a movable disk-type element and a stationary ring seat in a generally spherical body. ... For the hazard, see corrosive. ...

Also, the tortuous S-shaped path the water is forced to follow offers a significant obstruction to the flow. For high pressure domestic water systems this does not matter, but for low pressure systems where flowrate is important, such as a shower fed by a storage tank, a "stop tap" or, in engineering terms, a "gate valve" is preferred. A gate valve is a valve that opens by lifting a round or rectangular gate out of the path of the fluid. ...

Gate valves use a metal disc the same diameter as the pipe which is screwed into place perpendicularly to the flow, cutting it off. There is no resistance to flow when the tap is fully open, but this type of tap rarely gives a perfect seal when closed. In the UK this type of tap normally has a wheel-shaped handle rather than a crutch or capstan handle.

Cone valves or ball valves are another alternative. These are commonly-found as the service shut-off valves in more-expensive water systems and usually found in gas taps (and, incidentally, the cask beer taps referred to above). They can be identified by their range of motion -- only 90º -- between fully on and fully off. Usually, when the handle is in line with the pipe the valve is on, and when the handle is across the pipe it is closed. A cone valve consists of a shallowly-tapering cone in a tight-fitting socket placed across the flow of the fluid. A ball valve uses a spherical ball instead. In either case, a hole through the cone or ball allows the fluid to pass if it is lined up with the openings in the socket through which the fluid enters and leaves; turning the cone using the handle rotates the passage away, presenting the fluid with the unbroken surface of the cone through which it cannot pass. Valves of this type using a cylinder rather than a cone are sometimes encountered, but using a cone allows a tight fit to be made even with moderate manufacturing tolerances. The ball in ball valves rotates within plastic seats. A ball valve (like the butterfly valve, one of a family of valves called quarter turn valves) is a valve that opens by turning a handle attached to a ball inside the valve. ...

Hands free infrared proximity sensors are replacing the standard valve. Thermostatically controlled electronic dual-purpose mixing or diverting valves are used within industrial applications to automatically provide liquids as required. For other uses, see Infrared (disambiguation). ...

Foot controlled valves are installed within laboratory and healthcare/hospitals.

Modern bathroom and kitchen taps often use ceramic or plastic surfaces sliding against other spring-loaded ceramic surfaces or plastic washers. These tend to require far less maintenance than traditional globe valves and when maintenance is required, the entire interior of the valve is usually replaced, often as a single pre-assembled cartridge. This article is about ceramic materials. ... For other uses, see Plastic (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Spring. ...

Of the trio of well-respected faucet manufacturers in North American plumbing circles, Moen and American Standard use cartridges (Moen's being O-ring based, American Standard's being ceramic), while Delta uses easily-replaced rubber seats facing the cartridge(s). Each design has its advantages: Moen cartridges tend to be easiest to find, American Standard cartridges have nearly infinite lifespan in sediment-free municipal water, and Delta's rubber seats tend to be most forgiving of sediment in well water. Moen is a manufacturer of faucets and other fixtures founded by inventor Al Moen. ... American Standard is a leading United States manufacturer of bathroom equiptment. ... Delta Faucet Company is an American manufacturer of faucets. ...

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Tap (valve)

• Stopcock

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... A stopcock is a valve used to restrict or isolate the flow through a pipe of a liquid or gas. ...

External links

• Kitchen Faucets - Tips about choosing quality kitchen faucets.