Bsp brass elbows going into brass mixer. Seating of the elbows?

[roke2468]

See photos attached.

The issue is that when the elbows are aligned up in the direction they need to go, they are loose, not seated.

How is this resolved? Is there some kind of brass washer I can put in to take up the turns?

Any guidance appreciated. Thanks.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Ptfe tape on the threads

 

[roke2468]

Ptfe tape on the threads

Thank you. But I really don't feel confident in that. Is there a suitable copper or fibre washer one could use so that the fitting could be made properly tight?

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Thank you. But I really don't feel confident in that. Is there a suitable copper or fibre washer one could use so that the fitting could be made properly tight?

Not designed for a fibre washer sorry

 

[Ben-gee]

If you have the space, use a straight 1/2” - 15mm male iron instead of an angled one.
Then use a long tail street elbow to get the correct direction for your pipes.

 

[roke2468]

OK, thank you to all for the help.

 

[fowlerboi]

How were you planning on sealing it without any ptfe tape?

PTFE tape/loctite 55/liquid ptfe is what 99.9% of all plumbers would use in that situation.

If you want to go full cowboy just chuck 3-4 1/2" rubber washers in there and tighten until its in the right position. If there is no seat for the rubber washers then the only option is to use ptfe

 

[roke2468]

The

How were you planning on sealing it without any ptfe tape?

PTFE tape/loctite 55/liquid ptfe is what 99.9% of all plumbers would use in that situation.

If you want to go full cowboy just chuck 3-4 1/2" rubber washers in there and tighten until its in the right position. If there is no seat for the rubber washers then the only option is to use ptfe

The ptfe tape for sealing goes without saying.

But it is would be a weak point of the pipe structure even with pipe clips, if there is not adequate rigidity at that point.

Whereas it would seem to me the cowboy approach would be to just live with that non rigid point as long as it was sealed.

You see what I'm saying?

 

[fowlerboi]

The rigidity would only be one way though, it would stop it tightening anymore. This is pointless as it would already be water tight.

Even if the shoulder of the fitting was wound all the way in it could still undwind and create a leak. The right amount of PTFE is more than adequate for this as long as the fitting isn't leveraged with copper tube in it during installation

Go experiment with your outside tap. You obviously want that pointing the right way but in 90% of cases the threads don't line up to have that all the way home and its plenty rigid enough that it doesn't leak even with years of abuse turning the tap on and off. Your shower valve won't have any abuse.

I use a similar method to Ben-Gee, straight irons and then soldered fittings as you have much more scope of alignment with the pipes.