Powers Tapper®

Published by Robert Carlisle on Feb 21st 2011

Purchase Tapcon Anchors

Tapper® is the brand name given by Powers Fasteners to for their concrete screw anchors designed for light to medium duty fastening applications in brick, masonry block, and concrete. The Tapper® is engineered to be used with matched tolerance carbide bits and installation tools to ensure optimum performance. Tappers are an alternative choice for the Tapcon concrete screw and are available for sale online.

Anchor Materials
The Tapper® is manufactured from a number of different materials to meet different application requirements. Tappers are available in zinc plated carbon steel, Perma-Seal carbon steel, 410 stainless steel and a 304 stainless steel.

Base Materials
Tappers are designed to be used in a wide variety of base materials, including the following:

Normal Weight Concrete
Structural Lightweight Concrete
Grouted Concrete Masonry Block
Hollow Masonry Block
Brick

Tapper Diameters
The Tapper® concrete screw anchor comes in three diameters of 3/16”, 1/4” and 3/8”.

Tapper Diameter	Drill Bit Diameter	Fixture Hole Diameter	Driver Size	Thread Size (UNC)
3/16” Perma-Seal - Hex	5/32”	1/4”	1/4”	11-16
1/4” Perma-Seal - Hex	3/16”	5/16”	5/16”	1/4-16
3/16” Perma-Seal - Flat	5/32”	1/4”	#2	11-16
1/4” Perma-Seal - Flat	3/16”	5/16”	#3	1/4 - 15
1/4” Zinc Plated - Hex	3/16”	5/16”	3/8”	5/16-18
1/4” Zinc Plated - Flat	3/16”	5/16”	#3	1/4-15
1/4” 304 Stainless - Hex	3/16”	5/16”	3/8”	1/4-14
1/4” 304 Stainless - Flat	3/16”	5/16”	#3	1/4-14
3/8” Zinc Plated – Hex	1/4”	5/16”	3/8”	5/16 – 18
3/8” Zinc Plated – Flat	1/4”	5/16”	#3	5/16 – 18
1/4” 410 Stainless – Hex	3/16”	5/16”	3/8”	1/4- 14
1/4” 410 Stainless – Flat	3/16”	5/16”	#3	1/4- 14

Tapper Lengths
The standard blue Tapper comes in lengths ranging from 1-1/4” to 4” in the 3/16” diameter to 1-1/4” to 6” in the 1/4” diameter. Both the hex and flat head are manufactured in the same lengths for both diameters.

Depth of Hole
The hole drilled for the Tapper must be a minimum of 1/4” deeper than the Tapper will penetrate the base material. This extra space at the bottom of the hole provides an area for dust that is created during the tapping process of the base material to fall into. It is important that the Tapper does not bottom out in the hole before the head is secure against the fixture being fastened.

Hole Diameter
The hole that is drilled into the base material is critical to the holding values obtained by the Tapper in any application. The hole must be drilled using a hammer drill in the hammer mode, using carbide tipped bit that meets ANSI standards. An ANSI standard bit will ensure matched tolerance between anchor diameter and hole diameter tolerance. The 3/16” Tapper requires a hole drilled with a 5/32” bit, the 1/4” Tapper needs a hole drilled with a 3/16” bit and the 3/8” Tapper must have a hole drilled with a 5/16” bit.

Tested To
ICC-ES AC106 Masonry
ICC-ES AC233 Wood
ICC-ES AC193

Installation Torque
The Tapper+ is the new and improved version of the Tapper. According to Powers Fasteners, the Tapper+ provides a torque reduction thread design that allows for less torque needed to install the screw. The original Tapper required 190 inch-pounds of torque while the new Tapper+ requires 115 inch-pounds of torque, which represents a significant reduction. It is important not to over torque the Tapper once installed to avoid stripping of the threads in the base material, which would cause the Tapper to just spin in the hole or shear off.

Tapper Installation

With a hammer drill in the hammer mode, drill a hole in the base material using the correct diameter carbide tipped bit for the diameter of Tapper being installed.
Drill the hole to a depth that is 1/4” deeper than the Tapper will penetrate the base material.
Clean out the hole of all dust and debris.
Using a wrench, screwdriver or drill (rotation mode only), turn the Tapper clockwise until the head of the Tapper is tight against the material being fastened.

Thread Size (UNC)