How is a "Gasket" Different from a "Washer?"

Gaskets seal things. They are usual shaped to match the surfaces to be mated, be it a jar, oil pan on an engine, pumps, etc.

Washer are disks with a hole in them. they are used to protect surrounding surfaces, keep bolt heads or nuts from pulling through a hole, locking nuts in place. While they may act as a seal at times, that is not the intended purpose.

Well, to me, a washer is metal and a gasket isn't.

Various types of washers..."lock" to maintain pressure against a nut and keep it from unscrewing..."fender" to distribute pressure over a wider area...et al.

A gasket is compressible and is for evening out surface irregularities so that a tight seal is accomplished.

YMMV

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Great definitions, Ed. TB

"So... an oil drain plug washer is a washer or a gasket?

I guess I'm saying that some washers are 'compressible.. I've also heard the term 'crush washer'...

FWIW

Rick

Unless, of course, you are using rubber or phenolic washers and brass gaskets.

IMO - A gasket creates a seal between 2 surfaces. A washer is a simple disc with a hole in it.

Faucet washers are also gaskets. By specifying faucet 'washer' rather than gasket, you identify it as the washer inside the faucet, not some gasket that might appear someplace else.

Jim

Commonly called a washer, shaped like a washer, but it truly is a gasket in use. As always, there are some exceptions and misnomers in life.

A washer is a machine that is used to launder clothes.

A gasket is what you blow when the discharge hose from the washer jumps out of the drain and allows soapy water to flow all over the laundry room.

A crush washer such as on an automotive oil pan is still a washer. Its primary purpose is to prolong the life of the threads, not to seal. In every design I'm familiar with (mostly Honda and GM), the plug would seal the pan just fine without the crush washer.

Good point, Bo...

Rick