Pipe thread sealant?

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ccvstmr
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Joined: Sat Jan 04, 2003 10:37 am
Location: New Lenox, IL

Re: Pipe thread sealant?

Post by ccvstmr »

Our resident boiler fabricator has suggested using anti-seize compound on flange gaskets. Easier to take things off (like a steam dome) without damage to the gasket. My fall-back for years for the same application was graphited steam oil. But sometimes still had separation anxieties!

Threaded joints...recommendations have been made to use Loctite 567. After doing some boiler plumbing re-work, filling the boiler with air and performing a bubble check...
IMG_1019.JPG
NOT GOOD! I know the tube of material was "old", but couldn't find any info regarding shelf life. Problem could have been didn't pack enough Loctite into the threads...or the stuff was old...or other. Sure had enough of the white stuff on my hands (and everything else)...

Alternate...friend came up with some Permabond LH050 at the suggestion of some contract pipe fitters. Their company wouldn't buy this stuff for their workers anymore because of the cost. But they said the stuff DOES work! Similar to other thread sealers, this too is an anaerobic material. So the threaded joints were taken apart, cleaned and reassembled with the LH050 and...
IMG_1085.JPG
Maybe it costs a lot because it works. And no, the photo sequence was not reversed or the photos edited.

Hope to test the plumbing (and the rest of the boiler) sometime during April. Stay tuned. Carl B.
Life is like a sewer...what you get out of it depends on what you put into it!
I don't walk on water...I just learned where some of the stepping stones are!
I love mankind...it's some of the people I can't stand!
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Bill Shields
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Re: Pipe thread sealant?

Post by Bill Shields »

giggle...PTFE has no shelf-life....
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
ccvstmr
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Location: New Lenox, IL

Re: Pipe thread sealant?

Post by ccvstmr »

Bill...PTFE might have no shelf life, but it's suspended in some kind of media that might. Don't know if kneading the tube to mix the paste up before use would help or make a difference. As a side note...have a small bottle of Teflon grease on the shop table. Whatever is mixed in with Teflon DID separate. Looks like an oil on top and the rest of the lubricant underneath...a Teflon parfait! Just sayin'... Carl B.
Life is like a sewer...what you get out of it depends on what you put into it!
I don't walk on water...I just learned where some of the stepping stones are!
I love mankind...it's some of the people I can't stand!
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Bill Shields
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Re: Pipe thread sealant?

Post by Bill Shields »

I was referring to pure PTFE tape...never goes bad and can always be pulled out of the toolbox and used.

I have no idea about the other stuff...have not used it...lots of good comments from others.
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
rkcarguy
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Re: Pipe thread sealant?

Post by rkcarguy »

When we installed the laser plate table at work there was a "gap" in coverage of the install. We were supposed to supply the o2 and Nitrogen lines going from the wall to the machine and thought the laser table company was. They needed to be good to 500 PSI, so I purchased, flushed, cleaned, and assembled the lines and fittings and used what was supposed to be this liquid PTFE stuff that was supposedly used on the space shuttle blah blah blah. It was junk, almost every connection leaked. I had to tear it all apart, clean it all off and flush all the lines again, and then I re-assembled it with the yellow natural gas and oxygen service rated Teflon tape and had no leaks. I have also had good luck with the Loctite thread sealer but prefer the tape. It's easy to clean off and if there is a leak sometimes the fitting can be tightened a little bit more where a dried product would be "broken" and require taking the fitting apart again. Also, no waiting for anything to dry or cure, tape is ready to go.
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NP317
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Re: Pipe thread sealant?

Post by NP317 »

I used that yellow gas-rated Teflon tape on the propane connections on my locomotive burner systems.
Works perfectly.
~RN
Sftyvlv
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Joined: Sun May 20, 2018 8:35 pm
Location: Welland Ont Canada

Re: Pipe thread sealant?

Post by Sftyvlv »

Masters Pro Dope and Metallic Compound are the only sealant our steamfitters use.
Cary Stewart
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Re: Pipe thread sealant?

Post by Cary Stewart »

Hi Dianne,

This is not about this thread but should be of some interest to you.

Go to Facebook, Live Steam History of Sothern California, Mike Massey photo just loaded.

The photo is a 1957 shot of a Little Engines 4-2-4T C.P.Huntington. It is the prototype of your 4-4-0. All that was done was remove the tank and 2 axle truck and add a second drive wheel set. Possibly also lengthened the boiler a little. L.E. sold these for a few years but not for some decades. I don't know if the current owners of L.E. materials still offer the American.

Cary
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Fred_V
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Re: Pipe thread sealant?

Post by Fred_V »

I've been using a pipe thread dope from Home Depot that is steam rated.
Fred V
Pensacola, Fl.
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