Shopsmith Forums

etc92guy wrote:Based on Tim's experience, try the Teflon tape first. If it doesn't hold or you encounter leaks, go to the pipe sealer, remembering to clean the tape off of everything.

I tried the Teflon tape and had mixed results, so I switched to pipe sealer and never went back because there was no failure.

Of course, when I was teaching myself about this I was young and stupid. Now, I'm just old and still stupid.

Very interesting. I was greeted at my daughters home last Sunday by a leaking pipe in her bathroom. Repair efforts and use of Teflon tape were a waste of time, pipe sealer made all of the difference. Oh yeah and a couple hundred for the plumber. Jim

PS I should explain that I actually was not allowed to work on the plumbing. My daughters friend was the fellow actually working on it. I was asked for advise which was not followed. Thus I enjoyed a rather perverse grin when the friend paid the plumber.

I will say this about Teflon tape for those that have knot used it before and even for those that have tried it but had bad results: The tape must be applied a certain way; it must be applied so that when you thread the parts together, it does knot come unraveled. That will only work in one direction (you can figure out if you did it wrong as soon as you thread the parts together) I also tend to put two layers on. I really have had good results with it and I also use the "special" gas version for my propane line connections, also with good results. No leaks!

Tim,
Are you trying to say that you have to be smarter than the tool you are working with?

I have used Teflon tape with great success. However this morning I compared an old roll of tape with a new one. The old role is considerably thicker than the last roll I purchased. The plumber explained to my daughter that sometimes Teflon tape will not fill all voids even if multiple layers are applied. It seems that thickness of pipe and valve housings are sometimes less than perfect. I do remember looking at the copper pipe in that bathroom. It was clearly out of round. In fact had I been able to work on it myself I would likely have cut the end off and started fresh. The comment that one must be careful to wrap the tape in the right direction is a good observation. Jim

fjimp wrote:I have used Teflon tape with great success. However this morning I compared an old roll of tape with a new one. The old role is considerably thicker than the last roll I purchased. The plumber explained to my daughter that sometimes Teflon tape will not fill all voids even if multiple layers are applied. It seems that thickness of pipe and valve housings are sometimes less than perfect. I do remember looking at the copper pipe in that bathroom. It was clearly out of round. In fact had I been able to work on it myself I would likely have cut the end off and started fresh. The comment that one must be careful to wrap the tape in the right direction is a good observation. Jim

I agree, Jim! Teflon tape will knot fill voids. I have only used it to seal threads. If threads are out-of-round, I wood knot use them (and I am knot sure how you could).

Just a reminder, on most threaded pipe and fittings its the taper of the threads that cause the mechanical seal. Pipe compound or Teflon tape only act as an agent to allow a tighter seal.They also act as an anti seize agent should the joint need to be separated. Applying extra compound or tape to compensate for damaged fittings will only lead to leakage.

I had the plumber come in to sweat some pipes what were going to be buried under a concrete floor. ( I didn't trust myself) He mentioned that he would come back and finish the bathroom plumbing as it was included in the price we had agreed to ( I didn't realize he had included it). So I let him. On every threaded joint he used pipe compound with teflon (yellow stuff).

I asked about it over plan telon tape. His answer Pipe compound with teflon is fool proof, teflon tape joints every so often fail but he has never had a failure using the compound. Besides he said when everything is figured up it is cheaper than the tape.

Up to this point I considered myself a lousy plumber but now armed with a can of Pipe compound with teflon I consider myself barely fair plumber. Every joint I have made so far has not leaked and for me that is saying something.

I received the new check valve in the mail yesterday and have just finished installing it. It works fine, and I did not have to replace the unloader valve.

The new check valve came with some kind of thread compound on it - so I did not use tape or additional sealer.

When I was at the hardware store looking at sealer and tapes, I noticed that some of the containers had specific specs and others had basically none. I ended up choosing a tape that said it would hold up to 10,000psi. Per a previous post, this thread was @2.5 times thicker than the no-name brand of plumbing teflon tape I am used to using. But I wanted something that explicitly had a pressure spec. And I'm glad I did.

I have a couple of thoughts on sealer vs tape:

1) Sealer is much less expensive (which for me isn't an issue, I'm unlikely to use enough of either to make a big difference)
2) Tape can require trimming - both length and width. Length is easy - width requires more dexterity. And you end up with pieces that get tossed in the trash.
3) I'd imagine sealer was easier to put on than trimming tape.

Thanks for the help and teachings!

Jim