Reply To: Leaking fuel taps

[davidbliss]

I can see why the O rings are not a fix and forget as taps wear in use and wouldn’t accommodate the wear. If the taps are not fully on or off the O ring is allowed to expand and if then pushed fully home it can cut a bits out of the O ring, it all so happens to the modern ball valves if not turned fully on or off and left. Whats wrong with keeping them wet with fuel, I still have original tanks in as new condition and began life and used for over 100 years, found the two-strokes gave less trouble so the oil must have helped and often tap parts could be screwed up to expand the corks, where the later taps were fixed and throw away, I have laid up some for nearly forty years all I did then was do a 50-50 mix of oil and lamp oil paraffin spraying it in and left, if not too late it even seems to keep the die-cast carburettor parts in better order as any jets can be very difficult to remove after sitting dry for many years and the metal corrodes and expands.