how long have water taps used o-rings instead of hemp?

Don't know when taps stopped using it, but hemp used to be commonly used, daubed in Boss White or similar to seal threads. Though more commonly used on iron joints (I think). I prefer it over PTFE on troublesome screw joints[1]. Tease and twist into a string (like spinning wool), then add compound and wind around thread in opposite direction to thread.

I really prefer hemp/compound for garden tap to base joint as it tends not to allow the entire tap to unscrew at the slightest tug of the hose unlike PTFE. Not that I use a hose, they're still banned in the SE you see...

Tim

No. You spread the hemp out and wrap it around the thread. It works it way into all the threads. DO NOT make string out of it.

| My wife is from East Germany and tells me I must use hemp packing to | stop the bathroom and laundry taps leaking. | But every tap I unscrewed for at least 20 years has 1 or 2 o-rings | on the spindle to seal it. I have lived in 6 different flats since | leaving home, and even in my parents' house I can't recall seeing hemp. | I asked the local hardware store if they had plumber's hemp, and | they said no (they were a small shop, I admit). | So I am curious, when where o-rings introduced in the western | countries? 1960s? 1970s?

Well I started DIY in about 1960 and have never *seen* hemp used, but I have heard of it. =20

--=20 Dave Fawthrop

The old hemp+boss white join is banned on potable water systems. Therefore, you are more likely to find such a joint on a central heating system than a tap. It is still easy enough to obtain.

If there are no O-rings, then a mock up of the old hemp joint is made using PTFE tape and, sometimes, LS-X sealant, which are both allowed on potable systems.

Christian.

Most domestic water taps use O-rings to seal round the shaft, as you say. But there are still plenty of taps around - particularly radiator valves - which have a gland nut to compress some packing material to seal the shaft. When these taps leak, you can often cure it by removing the gland nut, winding some hemp round the shaft, pushing it down with the nut and doing the nut up again.

| My wife is from East Germany and tells me I must use hemp packing to | stop the bathroom and laundry taps leaking. | But every tap I unscrewed for at least 20 years has 1 or 2 o-rings | on the spindle to seal it. I have lived in 6 different flats since | leaving home, and even in my parents' house I can't recall seeing hemp. | I asked the local hardware store if they had plumber's hemp, and | they said no (they were a small shop, I admit). | So I am curious, when where o-rings introduced in the western | countries? 1960s? 1970s?

Well I started DIY in about 1960 and have never *seen* hemp used, but I have heard of it.

B&Q stock hemp.

sponix

I didn't know that Christian. Was there a reason (Boss White gives you cancer sort of thing)?

Cheers

Tim

No idea. They sell Boss Green as a potable alternative.

Hemp is also not permitted on potable system, so you need to find an alternative to that too (almost invariably the alternative is PTFE).

Christian.

| On Wed, 04 Jan 2006 10:21:47 +0000, Christian McArdle wrote: |=20 | >> My wife is from East Germany and tells me I must use hemp packing to | >> stop the bathroom and laundry taps leaking. | >=20 | > The old hemp+boss white join is banned on potable water systems. = Therefore, | > you are more likely to find such a joint on a central heating system = than a | > tap. It is still easy enough to obtain. |=20 | I didn't know that Christian. Was there a reason (Boss White gives you | cancer sort of thing)?

I have a tin of Boss White labeled for potable water. =20 Maybe the hemp may contain bacteria. I use PTFE tape.

--=20 Dave Fawthrop

On Wed, 4 Jan 2006 10:56:20 -0000, "Doctor Drivel" wrote this (or the missive included this):

Darning thread and axle grease works as well. (or soft fine string (not plastic)