IMPROVED MEANS OF TAPPING CASKS
Year: 1884

page_text: .I, ARTHUR HENRY MURE, of the Brewery, High Street Hampstead, London,
N.W. Brewer do hereby declare the nature of any invention for IMPROVED MEANS
OF TAPPING CASKS to be as follows:-
I take the middle piece of the head of cask, which must not be less than one
inch and a quarter in thickness and three inches wide. The length of course
depending on the size of the cask. I then bore a hole three quarters of an inch
in diameter and two inches and a half in depth, though the thickness of, and
parallel to the outside and inside faces of, the piece of the cask head. The axial
diameter of this hole being about one inch and a half from the lower end of the
piece, when the cask is in the usual position. A recess is then cut in the direction
of the length of the head piece, three quarters of an inch in depth, half an inch in
width and about four inches and a half in length from the centre. of the hole
aforesaid, in the outside edge of the piece, towards the upper end of same when
the cask is in position-I then make an L shaped tube of brass or other metal,
the long side of which is about four and a half inches in length and the short side
two and a half; the outside diameter of tube being half an inch-The short end
of this tube is then fitted and properly packed with cork or otherwise into the
hole before described, and the long end of the tube will then fit into the recess,
cut in the edge of the head piece herein before mentioned, and when pushed in
close will be flush with outside face of same-The short end of this tube then
forms the plug of a tap of which the long end forms the nozzle or outlet-Small
holes are then bored in the line of the axial diameter of the short end of the tube
aforesaid, from the inside face of the head piece into the tube, so that when the long
end.of same is turned down at an angle of about 135 degrees from outside face of
cask head, liquid can be drawn from the cask, but when the tube is turned back
towards the recess, so that the angle is less than 135 degrees, the tap is closed-
The middle piece of cask head as hereinbefore described is fitted to the other parts
of the head in the usual way-If necessary this cask head piece can be made four
inches wide instead of three inches and in that case the recess cut in the edge as
before described would be cut as a groove, which would be one inch from one side
of piece and two and a half inches from the other-The hole 'as described for
reception of short end of tube would be 3 inches deep instead of 2 inches, the
extra inch being cut away on the outside face for the admission of long end
of same.

page_text: I, ARTHUR HENRY MURE, of The Brewery, High Street, Hampstead, London,
do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention for "IMPROVED MEANS OF
TAPPING CASKS," and in what manner the same is to be performed, to bo
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This Invention relates to certain improved means which have been designed
with the objects of dispensing with the use of removable taps used to draw off
the contents of casks, barrels, and other like containers (hereinafter intended to
be comprehended where the word "cask" alone appears,) of ale, stout, and other
liquors or liquids, and of adapting each cask with its own or self-contained means
of drawing off its contents, and which will not require to be removed and will be
- always in position ready for use.
The means in present general use for drawing off the contents of casks consist
of various forms of removable taps which require to be driven into a tap-hole
formed in one end or head of the cask and closed by a bung, the inlet end of the
tap being wrapped with brown or other paper or whatever is at the time handy
and available for packing the tap-hole to prevent leakage. This is a very unsatis-
factory way of attaining the desired object because if the packing slips as it
frequently does when the tap is being driven in, or if the operator is unskilful in
placing or driving the tap, he is very liable to be bespattered with a portion of
the contents of the cask squirting out of the tap-hole, and at times a considerable
portion of the said contents escapes before the tap is properly adjusted in
position.
The use of removable taps is also of great disadvantage on the score of
cleanliness, as upon casks being emptied, such taps are generally withdrawn and
laid by with their mildewed packing still adhering to them, and without being
properly cleansed, and hence they get dirty and corroded and are liable to vitiate
and spoil the taste of all liquors or liquids subsequently passing through them;
and the casks also, when the taps are thus withdrawn, are generally turned out of
doors in a yard or elsewhere out of the way of the inmates of the house, there to
wait the next call of the drayman, and during such time by atmospheric influence
obtaining access through the unoccupied tap-hole, the interior of the cask gets
fouled, corroded, and maggotty and very offensive, and is liable to wholly spoil
any future contents; as at times the corrosion proceeds so far as that the casks
cannot be properly cleaned, and in such cases great loss is entailed upon brewers.
The especial objects of the present Invention are, as hereinbefore stated, to
dispense with the use of removable taps, and consequently to avoid the above
mentioned very considerable disadvantages, and to provide simple and inexpensive
means of drawing off the contents of the casks, which will always be in position
and ready for use, and which, when once fixed, will not with fair usage require
renewal; and will prevent access of the air or atmosphere to the interior of the

page_text: cask when emptied, and will permit of the casks and of itself being thoroughly
cleansed by the usual process of steaming.
To this end, the Invention consists, essentially, in adapting to the head of the
cask in such a position as will be convenient for drawing off the contents so far as
is desired or as is desirable, a tap or equivalent drawing-off device which occupies
a fixed position in relation to the head of the cask but is capable of being so
turned down or otherwise equivalently operated as to permit of the contents being
drawn off in large or small quantities as required, and which, at other times, that
is when turned up or otherwise equivalently restored to its normal position, stops
all outflow, and lies within the outer surface of the head of the cask offering no
impediment to the manipulation of the cask, and not presenting any projecting
part liable to be caught or injured.
The improved tapping device may be made in various ways, but the modification
herein described and illustrated on the accompanying drawings, I have found to
possess peculiar advantages especially as regards its simplicity and inexpensiveness,
and the unmistakable means it affords of indicating whether the tap is turned
"on" " off."
or
On the accompanying drawings
Fig. 1, represents in elevation the face or outer side of part of one end or
hend of a cask adapted according to the modification of the Invention now being
described.
Fig. 2, is a sectional elevation thereof through the line a-b.
Fig. 3, is a section through the improved tapping device in a plane parallel with
the face of the head; and,
Fig. 4, is a cross section thereof through the line c-d, Fig. 3.
1, represents the middle piece of the head of a cask, of a suitable thickness and
width, and of a length depending upon the size of the cask; and, 2, represents a
hole of appropriate size which is bored therein adjacent to its lower end, and in
the direction of its width that is from side to side, parallel with its front and rear,
of a length equal to that of the inlet end of the tapping device to be fitted thereto,
but not extending through or to the opposite side of the piece, 1; and, 3, represents
a recess cut in the outside edge of the head piece, and in the direction of its length,
of an appropriate diameter or width, and of a depth equal to the distance from the
front of the head of the cask to the innermost part of the tap hole, 2, and extending
from the latter upwards a length equal to or a little exceeding that of the outlet
arm or nozzle end of the tapping device to be fitted thereto; and, 4, represents a
series of holes slots or openings of any desired or suitable shape, number and
size, and which are bored through the head piece from the inner face or side
thereof into the tap hole, 2, but not through to the outer side of the head.
The improved tapping device is preferably made of an L-shaped tube of brass or
other suitable metal, and may be tinned inside so as to prevent corrosion; its inlet
arm, 5, is preferably made with a very slight taper towards its inlet end, and of
a diameter and length appropriate for insertion into the tap hole, 2, and its outlet
or nozzle arın, 6, is also made of a diameter and length appropriate to the said
recess, 3, so that when it has been inserted into position and the cask head
is put together it will be snugly within the recess, 3, between the adjacent
head pieces, 1, 7, with a facility of being turned out in the manner indicated
in Fig. 2.
The inlet arm, 5, of the tapping device is fitted in the hole, 2, preferably without
any cork or other packing, and a convenient method of thus applying the tap is
to steam or otherwise equivalently treat the head piece, 1, so as to soften the wood
and then to bore the tap hole, 2, in the wood while soft, and then force the arm, 5,
thereinto, and if this part of the tap is tapered (it need be but very slightly,) the
subsequent contraction of the wood effects a perfect joint which will not be liable
to leakage, or to get loose, consequently no springs or like parts liable to get out
of order are used or required, and the fitting together of the parts of the head

page_text: (which is effected in the usual way) prevents the tap from being removed or from
getting out of position.
The tap hole, 2, may, however, be fitted with a packing of cork or other suitable
material, and in such event, the hole, 2, would require to be made of a diameter
sufficient to accommodate the packing.
The inlet arm of the tap may be made of an open or closed formation at its
innermost end, but it has a series of holes, 8, bored through it laterally and in a
position which will be coincident with the holes, 4, bored from the inner side of
the head into the tap hole, 2, when the outlet or nozzle end, 6, of the tap is turned
into such a position (vide; Fig. 2) as will be convenient for drawing off the
contents of the cask into a jug or other like container held in a usual position,
so that, for example, when the nozzle end of the tap is turned down at an angle
of about 135 degrees from the outside face of the cask, the holes, 8, in the arm, 5,
and those, 4, in the tap hole, 2, will be opposite and coincident (vide, Fig. 2), and
consequently communication will be formed through them between the interior of
the cask and that of the tap so that the liquid will run out or can be drawn from
the cask for as long as required, but when the tap is slightly turned so as to make
a less angle with the cask until it enters its said recess, 3, it closes off the said
communication, and the outflow of the contents of the cask is stopped.
The recess, 3, may be made as a groove in the head piece, 1, if the latter be
sufficiently wide, the head piece then also being grooved opposite the tap hole, 2,
to permit of the placing in position of the tap, this latter groove being subsequently
closed to permit endway shifting of the tap, but the arrangement herein before
described is preferred.
The tap may also be made of a 1-shape, its lower and opposite extensions being
adapted to opposite tap holes formed in the opposite head pieces, 1, and, 7.
Any convenient means may be used or adapted for withdrawing the outlet
end, 6, of the tap from its recess or groove, 3; for example two side grooves may
be made in the pieces, 1, and, 7, transversely of and leading into the recess or
groove, 3, so that the forefinger and thumb may be inserted for withdrawing the
nozzle, or this may be effected by a hook-like or special key.
Any convenient means may also be adapted for securing the tap in position after
the cask has been filled by the brewer until it is delivered to the consuiner, such, for
example, as a lable suitably secured across the recess or groove, 3, for keeping the
nozzle arın, 6, of the tap within the said recess or groove, or a screwed tube, 9,
encircling the outer screwed end of the nozzle, 6, and which added tube may be
turned or partly turned so as to extend the length of the combined tubes and for
the time jamb them in position in the recess or groove.
The apparatus can be made of any convenient or desired size, depending prin-
cipally upon the size of the cask, and upon its intended use, whether for private
consumers, or for publicans' use.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim, is
1. The application to casks of self contained means of drawing off the contents
thereof when effected substantially as hereinbefore described.
2. The application to a tap hole formed in the end or head of a cask and com-
municating with the interior thereof, of a tapping device occupying a fixed position
in relation thereto and capable of being turned therein from a position which will
close off all communication between the interiors of the cask and of the tap, to
a position which will effect such through communication, substantially as and for
the purpose indicated,
3. A tapping device adapted to occupy a fixed position in relation to the end or
head of a cask, and to lie flush within the outer surface thereof when it is turned
off and returned to its normal position, and to assume a position convenient to

page_text: the withdrawal of the contents or part thereof into a jug or other container when
turned so as to open through communication from the interior of the cask, when
adapted and applied substantially as specified.
4. The application to such a tapping device of means of temporarily locking or
fastening it in a position closed off from communication with the interior of the
cask, substantially as specified.
"
DAY, DAVIES & HUNT,
321, High Holborn, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.