Barrel Thief Leaking

[Bee]

I think the tip of this barrel thief is too big. Any ideas how to squeeze it down?
It leaks a lot when I pull it out of a barrel.

[acfixer69]

Are you sure it's not leaking air in from the connections? To reduce the fitting put a nail the diameter you want and just pinch it down with pliers, solder the seam or not.

[Steve Broady]

I’m sorry to be no help, but this does bring up an interesting question. Is there an ideal size for the tip of a thief?

[subbrew]

Is the tip a size you can get a copper cap for it? If so you could put a cap on it, drill a hole in the cap and test until you get the hole too large. Then put on a new cap and drill in the last size hole that worked.

[OtisT]

You could solder a smaller copper tube, about 1/2’ long, inside the opening of the last reducer. Like a sleeve lining. This will create a longer hole than just drilling a hole in a new cap, which I think would help with the surface tension issue. If that new tubing hole is to small, it can be drilled out to something inbetween the original and new size.

[MooseMan]

Dumb question Bee, but are you sure you're getting a good seal with your thumb as you lift it out of the product?

[greggn]

Put a nail in the tip and gently hammer the tip around the nail to form a smaller diameter. Then remove nail.