Stainless steel guillotine valve DN40 (1½”) for honey tanks

01 · THE SIZE

40 is the bore, 49 is the thread

The designation 40/49 is 1½″ — and also what some catalogues call 6/4″. The 40 is the inside diameter, the one the honey passes through; the 49 is the outside of the thread, and that is the figure that has to fit the hole in the tank.

Hence the rule: if you are going to drill, the hole is cut to the size of the thread, with a hole saw, not to the size of the body. And if your tank already has a 2″ outlet, the one that fits is not this but its 50 mm sibling.

02 · HOW IT MOUNTS

Three parts, not one

The gate goes in from the outside and the gasket and the nut go on the inside: tightening the nut squeezes the gasket against the wall, and that is where the seal is made. If your tank or bucket has a female threaded socket, this gate screws straight in and nothing else is needed.

If what you have is a plain Ø40-49 mm hole, you also need the lock nut, sold separately. It is the question that reaches this page most often, and it is worth settling before you order.

03 · THE GUILLOTINE

It cuts the thread of honey dead

The lever drives a flat blade that closes in one cut instead of throttling the flow little by little. With a product this viscous that shows in two things: no trailing thread to smear the rim of the jar, and no air drawn in or foam raised on opening.

The adjusting screw sets how hard the blade presses: tight enough not to weep with runny honey, not so tight that the lever has to be forced.

04 · UPKEEP

What wears out is the gasket

The body is food-grade stainless steel: it stands hot water, cleaning and back-to-back seasons without pitting. The part that tires is another one, the inner gasket, and that is why it is sold on its own as a spare: if your tank drips around the gate rather than out of its mouth, it is almost always that.

After bottling, clean with very hot water and leave the guillotine open to dry.

05 · BEFORE YOU BUY

Measure your tank's outlet before choosing: