What is the current preference? I have been using Teflon tape and in search today I found it comes in different densities..Saw on TV the gurus used Teflon tape and Teflon paste, claimed to prevent galling..Unless the paste has changed I tried it years ago and it didn't work very well by itself...I had some an fittings screwed into mechanical fuel pump and discovered they weren't very tight; like I could unscrew with my fingers which possibly caused pump to **** some air and stop pumping, neither seemed to leak gas. Thoughts?
Can't remember where or when I was told this and how good the source was but I was warned that teflon tape in the fuel system will inevitably wind up plugging up your carburetor sometime down the line. For that reason, I have not used it. I have tried some pertatex stuff too but can't say it did much. I am curious to see what you get back on this question too.
Down here white thread tape for water, vacuum and yellow for propane (LPG). I've used Loc***e hydraulic sealant with success. Looks like thread locker in consistency. Some NPT male fittings I've seen already come with a red coloured sealant on the threads, ready to use.
I usually use paste type pipe thread sealant, which usually contains teflon these days. Some times I use teflon tape, but not on fuel systems...although if you are careful to only put it on the threads, and not past them onto the end of the fitting, it is not a problem. Being careless is the usual cause of problems with fuel systems, etc.
Hi Seb I have always used Loc***e sealent's and you could get hold of your local Loc***e sales rep and tell him what your task is for the best stuff to use In the past they made a ' Plastic Gasket ' that was a thick maroon color, i'am sure they will have just what you need When you think about how a pipe thread gets tight with those razor sharp threads, not too good as they just cut that Teflon tape into tiny strips that just follows the stuff you are trying to seal right into a carb neddle & seal - pump gears etc When you think about it you causing your own built in problem using the Teflon tape, so why even take a chance Pitch that Teflon tape as far as you can throw it and get some good sealers from Loc***e, as they are the best One other reason not to use any Teflon on any thing you want to get tight, as it gives you a FALSE feeling of how tight your part is With a tapered pipe thread you can go too far and crack a casting because it never gets tight then BANG " If it Ain't going in a Airplane it ain't going in my Engine ' good words to live by DND
Prior to retirement, I worked at a nuclear power plant. Teflon tape was prohibited, due to the possibility that bits of it could be introduced into a system, creating problems. The preferred pipe dope was made by Loc***e. Rather smelly stuff, but it worked great.
And if the MPT fitting is snugged into the FPT a bit too much to try to stop a leak, the FPT casting can crack --- sometimes with disasterous results. Jack E/NJ
I was worried for minute there thinking something like " that's how baby pipes are made"....Or something like that.
Most people are clueless as to how to properly use Teflon tape. Pipe threads are tapered so you don't want any tape in the end 2 threads. When using a chemical sealant you have to make certain the chemical is compatible with the fluid being sealed and the thread surfaces have to be clean and dry. I worked with a man who insisted that br*** fittings didn't need any sealant as they were self lubricating. He had to re-examine that when the DOT air line fittings came from the manufacturer with sealant on them.
Worked in the municipal water business twenty years, Teflon is not used to seal br*** fittings, it is used to lubricate them. Try to screw together two inch br*** pieces without Teflon and they become junk, you'll never get them apart, the threads will gall so bad. Using it as a sealer works fine, as said, just stay away from the bottom two threads and it can't migrate into the fuel system. Everyone has their preferences.
I use the paste pipe dope for fuel lines. It's like the rector seal stuff but I think it's tru blue. Rated for fuel. Than on air lines that are tapered pipe and flare and other fittings i use loc***e 567.
Been a pipefitter for 30 years in a large papermill and we used Teflon tape on 95% of the pipe threads. Teflon tape is not a sealant but is used so the thread has some sort of lubricant so as not to gull when tightening them. The actual taper on the thread creates the seal. There are no sealants that work if the threads are messed up. As stated before, keep the tape back about two threads and you only need to wrap it twice. Take it easy when tightening the joint because the tape makes it easy to over tighten due to less friction on small fittings.
""Saw on TV the gurus used Teflon tape and Teflon paste, claimed to prevent galling."" Meaning together, first tape then coat with paste and ***emble..Seemed to me like product selling..Back tracking..Going back 50 years used Permatex #3 for most everything, thin enough to come with an applicator brush, could be messy, hard to clean after dissasembly if you were going to reuse the fittings..Permatex #2 was thicker, in a tube, cosistincy about like rtv..I have a tube at least 30 years old and it still comes out; modern day RTV won't do me that favor sometimes three days later..I also found some Permatex 1c that is hardening but label has same uses as the #1 & #2.. Now the theory of not putting Teflon tape on the first two threads sounds logical but a typical 1/4 AN fittng only screws together about two turns till snug then maybe one more turn to tight [grab a bunch and check see]..1/8 and 3/8 the same, 1/2 will go about 4 turns typical..So on the smaller sizes you end up with one thread of sealant tape, certainly don't need a 1/2 wide tape so I think better seal would be a paste being able to get to use first two threads..What started my whole semi rant is that the Holly pump has threads that while are ok with a piece of 1/4 pipe are too large for a fitting, or fittings are machined to a different [smaller] diameter so they would bottom out..One at the bottom and the other at the "top" because ran out of threads, so much for taper sealing of threads and just so happened to get tight at the right position..I ended up machining both male threads of the fittings two threads shorter and grooved at top end of threads to allow to go deeper into pump housing and installed with tape...Shoulda posted here first, great thoughts guys.....
This will work for other uses as a thread sealant but is what you want for gasoline applications including ethanol blends. http://www.gasoila.com/
I use this even on fuel fittings, but be careful to put it on the threads only. You can buy it in the small tube or can with the brush (lock***e makes their own also).
I use this **** on everything with a thread on it!! Its a mess but it works for me!!! Pete https://www.bing.com/images/search?...00f2c9b723b8f4e784d8d41b8a533a89o0&ajaxhist=0
Loc***e makes two excellent thread sealants. 569, part no. 56931, Thread Sealant and 545, part no. 54531, Pneumatic/Hydraulic seal. I keep a tube of each in my tool box. Both are removable, non migrating and non fouling unlike Teflon or plumbers pipe dope.
Sure are a bunch of different kinds, never thought of using anti-seize..My "repair" on the fittings seemed to work ok but I think I just fixed a potential problem and not the real reason the pump lost pressure and then came back acting weird..I had gotten a new pump, SUPPOSED to be the same but not! Different configuration, I can't clock to get the ports in the same place and the pump has a smaller diameter diaphragm [at least an inch!] so I didn't think it would have the same volume so chose to not change pump but fix the fittings, a straw grasp at best I guess but I hate changing stuff not knowing the real problem..I'll start a new thread on the pump, any more sealants of choice please post..Thanks.....
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