Engine heater tap

[jagnut66]

Hi,
I'm sure we have all suffered from a leaking heater tap at the back of the engine at some point and simply put up with it, to replace it further down the road, for that again to leak (dribble) in time.....
One solution that I'm sure I've seen mentioned on here is to do away with the tap and just fit a pipe connector like this:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Classic-Aust ... SwBDle-J9x
So what do people think of this solution?
Do we really need to have a tap fitted?
How many of us actually turn the supply on and off regularly?
If ever??........
I for one will be interested to hear what you have to say on this matter.
Best wishes,
Mike.

[myoldjalopy]

I have the old type tap and leave it open all year round, so the pipe connector would be fine with me. There is a school of thought that leaving the tap open gives better cooling at the rear of the engine and may be better for the heater matrix. My tap did leak a while back but I overhauled it and its been fine since....

[philthehill]

The adapter shown and which can be used to replace the heater tap is for 5/8"/16mm heater pipe not 1/2" as fitted to the Minor so a reducer pipe is required.
I have fitted one of those adapters to the rear of my cylinder head as I require constant flow to and from the rear of the head to ensure that no hot spots are created.

As regards having a heater tap or not I would suggest that having the heater tap in what ever form is a good idea as comfort these days is a priority for me.

[kevin s]

On our 69 I have found it does get much warmer inside the car even with the heater flap in the off position, not ideal in the 30+ temperatures we have regularly had this summer.

On ours I have filed the original valve down to give a fitting like you have shown in the link then added a VW cable operated in line valve I had lying around.

rps20180502_230638.jpg (63.43 KiB) Viewed 358 times

If you want to maintain flow around the head there is also the cable operated taxi valve which divert the flow rather than stop it.

taxi valve.JPG (16.99 KiB) Viewed 358 times

Most of the valves are 16mm / 5/8" so you will need to fit a step up hose or adaptor. though I have found some of the 1/2" hose can be fitted if warmed up in hot water.