Fitting an outside tap

[Jackson]

When you screw in an outside tap into the wall plate, how do you ensure that the tap is screwed in very tightly to the wall plate so that it will not move or leak - and the tap is itself vertical?

[Jackson]

Yes - but how does that ensure that when you tighten the tap up it is at 12 o'clock and not half past six?

[Bob Eager]

Add a bit more tape.

[Tim Watts]

More PTFE :)

[Thomas Prufer]

PTFE tape will/may leak if turned backwards. Loctite 555 thread says it can be turned back up to 45° without leaking...

(Or use hemp.)

Thomas Prufer

[Tim Watts]

You don't turn it backwards :)

What's 555? I can't find it on the Loctite site.

Not allowed on potable plumbing - unless it's the hemp replacement which is PTFE "fluff" or "string"

[Chris French]

I think he means 55 :-) It's PTFE cord.

See above.

I find it works well.

[Alan Dawes]

If you are using PTFE tape you do not need to tighten up "hard" for it to stay water tight. Just tighten it until it is holding firm and the tap is vertical. Turn on water full, leave to run for some time, turn off and leave for about an hour and then check for leaks. If there are leaks then remove tap and PTFE completely and then start again with new PTFE as the old will have been damaged.

Alan

[Thomas Prufer]

Yup -- confused it with the similar cure-all IC, maybe.

Thomas Prufer

[Roger Mills]

It just needs to be tight enough to make sure that it doesn't; a) leak b) move of its own accord

It will get even tighter over time - corrosion, etc.

Personally, I prefer Boss White and hemp over PTFE tape for joints where alignment matters. Greater tightness vs number of turns.

[Tim Watts]

But for the record, I have to interject with "not on potable systems". It's OK for heating - but the hemp itself has been regulated away as a breeding ground for bugs.

There are potable versions of Boss White - Boss Green is one (though I find it not very good) - and there's a PTFE variant of hemp, though not at all common.

[Roger Mills]

Is that an EU regulation - which we will be able to dump post-Brexit?

Seriously though, whilst you *could* drink water from outside taps, most people use them for garden hoses or car washing - so this wouldn't be an issue in practice. If it *is*, stick a "Not Drinking Water" notice on the tap.

[Thomas Prufer]

No, legal in Germany. Rough up threads, wind on hemp, tighten with wire brush, add a paste which I think is chalk and mineral oil.

Allowable for gas, potable water, and heating. Though mostly proprietary crimp-fit systems are used for new installs now, often with stainless steel tubing, rather than the threaded galvanized steel that goes with hemp.

Hemp's more trouble and more skill required than Loctite 55, but is much, much cheaper. Loctite is the thing to use if it's just a thread to seal here and there...

Thomas Prufer

[newshound]

Another +1 for the Loctite. It will last you forever (and not go claggy and mucky in the toolbox, like the hemp).