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The world of pipe fittings

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Re: The world of pipe fittings

#61

Post by katmannthree »

loeg wrote: post #55
hirundo wrote: post #8

"When buying male fittings, it’s best to always get tapered ones so they fit in either." I tried that with a shop compressed air system and got lot of leaks, hissing, and the compressor turning on frequently. And I never did get the system not to hiss somewhere, so I can sympathize and ditto this rant. Even when using matching fittings, with gobs of tape and/or dope, and enough force to destroy multiple fittings, it…

Air hose standards are also annoying and differ from plumbing. https://toolguyd.com/quick-guide-to-air-line-couplers-plugs/

The quick connect side yes, the threaded side is a standard NPT (if you're in the US) which you treat the same way you would any other NPT connection.

Re: The world of pipe fittings

#62

Post by VincentEvans »

rdl wrote: post #48
balls187 wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Also, in my experience, when someone inexperienced first learns what pipe tape is, they try to apply it to everything. That’s me. Whoops.

Ugh, I applied it to PVC pipe, which made it leak, sigh.

There’s no problem applying it to a threaded connection in PVC. Unless you mean that you’ve figured out a way to apply to a fitting that’s meant to be glued? In that case I commend your abundant creativity.

Re: The world of pipe fittings

#63

Post by hilbert42 »

SaintGhurka wrote: post #45
hilbert42 wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"You need about 1.5 wraps of PTFE tape to seal a fitting. Any more is wasteful and asking for leaks" I would have thought this obvious and it's essentially my experience (and I'm definitely not a plumber). However, I've found that more PTFE tape is needed on old or worn fittings or on ones that have damaged or badly cut threads—or when mating same sized pipes/fittings but each with different threads (yes, that's a de…

"combination of Hessian/burlap jute-type rope (of which there is always some lying around in my workshop) and linseed oil based paint." Could you explain that? How do you seal pipe fittings with rope? Edit: found an explanation. TIL that you can use the fibers just like tape and wrap the threads.

Perhaps if I'd used the proper name what I said may have been clearer. The correct name is hemp rope or plumber's rope but I don't often have that around (not being a plumber) so I use the next best thing available Hessian fabric or its rope equivalent).

Here are some photos: https://www.bunnings.com.au/enduraseal-1m-plumbers-hemp_p012...

https://waropes.com.au/twines/plumbers-hemp/

You wrap the hemp fibers around the threads that have been brushed with linseed oil paint then apply a little more paint to the hemp and then mate the couplings together. This sealing technique has been around at least for several hundred years if not longer.

Re: The world of pipe fittings

#65

Post by throwaway294566 »

SaintGhurka wrote: post #45
hilbert42 wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"You need about 1.5 wraps of PTFE tape to seal a fitting. Any more is wasteful and asking for leaks" I would have thought this obvious and it's essentially my experience (and I'm definitely not a plumber). However, I've found that more PTFE tape is needed on old or worn fittings or on ones that have damaged or badly cut threads—or when mating same sized pipes/fittings but each with different threads (yes, that's a de…

"combination of Hessian/burlap jute-type rope (of which there is always some lying around in my workshop) and linseed oil based paint." Could you explain that? How do you seal pipe fittings with rope? Edit: found an explanation. TIL that you can use the fibers just like tape and wrap the threads.

You don't need oil, just rope works as well. Every DIY store (at least over here) has loose manila fibre for that purpose. Wrap into the thread, screw it together, done. The not-so-nice problem: It might leak at first. The nice feature: The fibres will soak up water (thats why oil is actually counterproductive), swell up and make a tight fit after half an hour or so. You can even readjust the angle (other than with PTFE tape), it'll just drip for another half hour.

Re: The world of pipe fittings

#66

Post by agsamek »

This article doesn't touch much about why plumbing is hard. I'm from Poland so I'm not only IT but also a plumber ;)

Plumbing is hard because it is not forgiving. It's as binary as IT except you can learn the outcome with some delay, once you learnt about a damage caused by a leak. Either you do a pressure tests right or repair can be expensive. And bugfixing is always tricky.

Water also goes down whether you like it or not. Think about all possible leaks inside the shower cabin. Or what is even more impressive that under a pressure the water goes everywhere possible.

Plumbing is similar to electrical engineering, except it usually doesn't kill immidiately (though working with gas is tricky anyway) but requires similar strict mental model to do right.

And when you see a plumber it seems like this person is just a physical worker. So work status misconception must be leveled with money...

Re: The world of pipe fittings

#67

Post by PaulHoule »

When I had to do some plumbing I found that everything was undocumented. One source would tell you to refer to the documentation published by the manufacturer of the fitting, which is of course impossible to find.

Re: The world of pipe fittings

#70

Post by blincoln »

mindslight wrote: post #52
cmclaughlin wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I like PEX, but I know opinions vary What’s not to like about PEX?

Thinking about a system a half-step up from hose clamps holding 100psi of pressure, which if it pulls apart will rapidly release hundreds of gallons of water does not inspire confidence. And since the house is already plumbed with copper and I know how to sweat joints, I might as well continue that. I'm about to use PEX for the first time on my hydronic heating system, which is only ~20psi and limited volume (autofil…

One of the things I like about it is that because it's flexible, if you route it carefully you can avoid using connectors in a lot of areas that rigid pipe would require a joint. The way I saw it used, the only joints were in areas like cleanout access and crawlspaces, so even if a joint went bad, it wouldn't require opening up a wall to fix. I'm not a pro, so maybe rigid pipe is supposed to only have joints in accessible areas too, but that certainly wasn't the case with the century-old plumbing I saw.

It's still relatively new compared to other pipe material, so there may be some other surprises that crop up with long term use, but I'm really impressed with its ease of installation.

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