nicely put terry 🙂
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Using paste on compression joints
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View the thread, titled "Using paste on compression joints" which is posted in UK Plumbers Forums on UK Plumbers Forums.
I don't think the manufacturers care. And I bet any tests they may have done on their fittings are not a long term tests.
An example I have just come across last week, was a cold storage tank in an attic, I helped install years ago. When I got up to turn stopcocks off ( to fix a shower valve ), I straight away noticed a brass tee & connector on mains pipe to ball valve. Both have some white corrosion, in other words leaking. Not my work, but a plumber friend of lady had messed about when fitting a new ball valve, when doing a favour. To be honest, I wouldn't have used brass where possible, just solder, but all my original brass joints, to stopcocks etc, are totally sound. I am going to rip out & replace the guys work, & I bet any money, the guys fittings have no paste!
One of my mentors always said to me never fill up on a friday afternoon and hes so right! I understand alot of the time we have no choice but its the worst feeling ever like you said 4pm friday draining down to do a nut on a rad. This guy would have been on the 10th tee by then!
We can go on and on and on about this till the cows come home.
A properly fitted compression fitting requires no sealing aids. Have done countless myself and have seen countless fittings that have been done correctly without any aids that are decades old.
A properly fitted compression fitting requires no sealing aids. Have done countless myself and have seen countless fittings that have been done correctly without any aids that are decades old.
Yea, everyone will do what they are comfortable with. It has to be also said that quality of fittings & olives can be a factor. Also, the old brass fittings of yesteryear were top quality - & heavy brass olives + heavy imperial copper pipes! A lot of them didn't have paste & are generally sound, although even some of them seize. I have looked carefully at other peoples leaking brass fittings, when I open them, & I often see nothing wrong, ( olive not over done, pipe straight in, etc ) except that there was no paste!
i use inly on 22 mm with brass olives !
i do use paste on compression fitting that are on heating systems because of the heat involved and the amount of expansion due to heat, how many times do you find a rad valve only leaks when hot??
i find it hard to recommend its use tho because too many times ive seen valves and filters blocked up due to over use of paste. So yes its good to use it but only a very small amount is needed.
on gas paste is only recommended on exsisting fittings and not used on new fittings.
i find it hard to recommend its use tho because too many times ive seen valves and filters blocked up due to over use of paste. So yes its good to use it but only a very small amount is needed.
on gas paste is only recommended on exsisting fittings and not used on new fittings.
What's to lubricate? Friction is important on a joint.
nice one howsie to a 'T'
J
j0hnb0y
god there are some brave souls out there , it can mess up strainers & filters on gas valves , showers and diverters... and i have been in and out of this camp for years as an apprentice, fitter, service engineer and now believe that when used correctly it is an engineers best friend.
lets have an argument on jet blue V boss white ???
lets have an argument on jet blue V boss white ???
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i agree with the above ptfe on compression fittings it definately in john wayne teritory
legal or not theres a tin of white in my box the blue is rubbish
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Too much friction and the joint does not bed in well , slight smear on threads from handling things = No Squeal ( But that could be saying Too tight ! )
J
j0hnb0y
can anyone remember boss green(with PTFE built in), i hated the stuff.
oh the glory days of hemp and boss white on 4" dry risers, i feel suicidal!!!!!!!!!!
oh the glory days of hemp and boss white on 4" dry risers, i feel suicidal!!!!!!!!!!
They still sell it. God knows who buys it.
I had a tub for years. My brother bought it, and I nicked it from him. Used it once, and wished I hadn't bothered.
He got me back last week. Nicked my new tub of flux. What a git. £13 a tub.
I don't understand what you mean by the joint not bedding in well. Please explain.
J
j0hnb0y
oh dear , is his birthday coming up?? straight swap and a card
I think we're all over thinking it!! 6 pages on whether to put compound on compression joints!!
Put a smear around where the olive meets the taper. If its gas work or you are really concerned a stray lump of compound could blocks a strainer etc, then tighten the compression fitting, then undo it. Then smear the compound around the the olive (only on the edge that meets the tapered part of the compression. That way, there is zero chance of some of it flying down the pipe.
Use it, don't use it. Its personal preference.
Put a smear around where the olive meets the taper. If its gas work or you are really concerned a stray lump of compound could blocks a strainer etc, then tighten the compression fitting, then undo it. Then smear the compound around the the olive (only on the edge that meets the tapered part of the compression. That way, there is zero chance of some of it flying down the pipe.
Use it, don't use it. Its personal preference.
Our birthdays are one day apart, mine on the 17th of July and his on the 18th. I'm two years older though.
He always buys good presents for birthdays, just so I feel crap when I get him nothing!! 🙂
I use a slight smear of jet blue on all my compression joints. Not on the threads though!
G
Guest123
I used to tighten fittings, slacken them off and put PTFE round the olive. Since only using good quality Kuterlite fittings, I don't use anything and if a fitting gets a sweat, a wee jag up always seals it. You get what you pay for.
Too true .
If you don't buy the best , you find ways of making do with the bargains !
Quality of Brass has a lot to do with how nicely it does up .
G
Guest123
Don't you just hate how your good Bahcos get stuck on the those imported cheap brass compression nuts! I hate the ones with the rounded corners. Kuterlite is well made and easy to tighten and rarely leaks.
V
Veggie Dave
I'm sat here tonight with most of the skin from the knuckles on my right hand missing because I spent half an hour trying to remove two taps from a restaurant sink that had half a tonne of PTFE tape wrapped around the threads! Nothing on the olives, just the threads!
Why?
WHY!?
What should have been little more than a ten minute job turned into a nightmare thanks to some idiot jamming the nut solid with all his tape. In the end I had no choice but to get the saw out. :mad2:
Why?
WHY!?
What should have been little more than a ten minute job turned into a nightmare thanks to some idiot jamming the nut solid with all his tape. In the end I had no choice but to get the saw out. :mad2:
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If you have used paste on the olives of certain valves & fittings, especially the cheap ones, then you will know the force needed to compress them properly will be dramatically less than if the joint had no paste. Lack of squeal is also great. - come to think of it, lack of squealing from an angry customer when a fitting that wasn't pasted, leaks! :grin:
I believe some of the manufacturers, I think conex, stated that a dot of oil on treads may be of benefit to reduce friction & aid tightening of fitting!
keep mouth shut, keep mouth shut. aarrrgggghhhh
🙂
🙂
That explains it. I don't use cheap fittings. If I have to in the future though I'll keep this tip in mind.
Ta
L
leaky
i allways use a bit of paste it does take a little longer but gives me peace of mind never get a weep doing it that way
Fernox Hawk White & "Boss White" is not for potable water unfortunately. Jet blue is a good non hardening paste suitable for all water & gas.
LS-X is very like ordinary silicone.
L
lame plumber
why has someone restarted this old one again!!!!!!!!!!! if i can use copper pipe and olives on a diesel engine fuel system working at 100s plus psi without any ptfe or paste why on earth would i need to use paste/ptfe on a water sytem, do it up carefully plus 1/4 turn is all you need and it will undo easily as well and wont leak.
But a lot of brass fittings on plumbing do leak if not pasted, even tightened just right. Depends on the materials & pipe.
K
Koogatubac
Never had a leak on compression when ive used jet blue
Had many of weeps on compressions when ive haven't used paste.
Theres my conclusion
Had many of weeps on compressions when ive haven't used paste.
Theres my conclusion
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