To tap or not to tap?

[Slate Miner]

My first few kit brews have been successful using a plastic 5 gallon FV without a tap, transfering to bottles via a plastic tube syphon.

I have just got hold of a used wide neck plastic FV, no tap but there is an obvious place where one could be fitted.

Stupid newbie questions

Is it worth going to the trouble of fitting a tap?
If so what type of tap?
Are they easy to seal?
What benefits do I gain?
Does it make transfering to bottles easier?
Would some of my valuable brew get left behing because the tap is a little too high?
Are these wide neck FV's more suited to wine ? I noticed by LHBS refers to them as wine FV's.

Thanks in advance :

 

[calumscott]

Little bottler. That is all. :)

 

[Slate Miner]

Little bottler. That is all. :)

Yeah, makes sense! :

Another option I might go for is an auto syphon and bottling stick, could give me a bit more flexibility , I can use for my wine and beer. :drink:

 

[Wolverine]

taps are handy if you are bottling as you. An use the little bottler tool
I have a tap on one of my fermenters and as long as you dismantle it and clean it properly I can only argue that they are a good idea
Just remember to turn it off before you fill the fermenter or you make a mess :whistle:

 

[calumscott]

I'm sort of in two minds about tapping.

So long as you have one FV with a little bottler tap then, with a bit of organisation, you should be able to work your fermentations such that you always end up with the right brew in the right bucket at the end...

e.g. if you intend to batch prime, always start in a non-tap, if you intend to bottle prime you can start in the tapped one... you get the idea...

 

[evanvine]

I would personally recommend against fitting a tap, lots of little crannies for **** and nasties to hide!

 

[craigite]

I have a tap on every fv bucket I have.
When I transfer from one bucket to another I use length of tube (Vossy's). All sterilised.
I use a bottler, attached to tap.

So far I've never had any spoilage due to tap.
I'll still be fitting a tap to new buckets bought.