o -ring lube

[werwer]

The spigot in the bath tub has a nylon tube that fits over the copper delivery pipe. You screw the spigot, which has a water blocking device for the shower, on to this. That nylon tube has two o-rings which hold the back pressure when the water is blocked.

Hardware store said use plumbers grease on these rings. Won't grease cause the "rubber" to deteriorate? I put silicon grease on them instead. Seems to work fine .. now. Was that ok to do? I assume it was. Is plumbers grease really recommended for o-ring lube?

[evodawg]

yep!

Rich

[David Efflandt]

Plumber's grease or faucet grease should not deteriorate rubber. After all, what would need lubrication on plumbing other than a shaft that goes through an O-ring seal or other packing?

Some types of faucet grease are silicone, but that often comes in a little tub instead of a tube. If it is very viscous I use it sparingly (just a thin film).

I hear that Vasoline should NOT be used for rubber. It is also strange that lithium grease says it is waterproof, but tends to get stiff and not slide very well when wet, so do not use that.

Water departments actually use a food grade edible grease (some sort of non-toxic fat). Not sure what preservative it uses to stop it from going rancid.

[thrugoodmarshall]

For less than ten bucks (+ shipping if they're not near you), you get almost a lifetime supply.

[Michael Daly]

That depends on what the "rubber" is and what the grease is. O-rings can be natural rubber, silicone rubber, nitrile etc. Ditto the grease - silicone, petroleum-based, vegetable-based etc.

Mike

[Mud]

I've always used wheel bearing grease. It may be the wrong thing to do but I've not had a problem with it yet on o-rings and gaskets.

[Richard J Kinch]

Most plumbing O-rings are nitrile rubber, for which petroleum grease is fine.

[Larry]

Check this site out for all you want to know about o ring lubricants & types:

Larry

Richard J Kinch wrote: : werwer writes: : : : Hardware store said use plumbers grease on these rings. Won't : : grease cause the "rubber" to deteriorate? : : Most plumbing O-rings are nitrile rubber, for which petroleum grease : is fine.

[do_not_spam_me]

Most o-rings are made of neoprene or nitrile rubber, which stand up fine to common greases. You can find the chemical compatibility of many materials here:

Lithium grease isn't the most water-resistant type available. Calcium-based and alumina-based greases are better in this respect and are often sold as wheel bearing lubes for boat engines and trailers. By the way, don't mix calcium grease with the lithium grease in any machinery.