Stayed in a hotel recently - the shower hose connectors at both ends leaked badly. They were a mess of sealant and PTFE tape.
I reported it to the reception. She said the "plumber" had recently fixed it - and she would call him back!
Presumably he doesn't know that a rubber washer is needed and the thread is merely for providing a clamping force. I wondered if he really considered himself to be a "plumber"?
I stayed ay a b&b a few years ago, and when I pulled the plug after shaving in the morning, the water took a long time to drain, which I reported. Later, I realised that he had done all the work himself using plastic piping, and that somewhere under floor was a length of pipe inadequately supported that sagged when it got warm.
"Jim GM4DHJ ..." wrote in news:m9qjA.521901$ snipped-for-privacy@fx39.am:
I tend to think of "possession of PTFE Tape as implying some sort of aptitude for plumbing."
probably a euphemism for 'I spent £1 on a tube of poundland sealant, s o what's the problem?'
NT
Inappropriate use of PTFE is also a good indiocation of a cluesless plumber.
I believe the get-out is, "I applied PTFE to the threads as a lubricant, not a sealant".
...and that's fine, but not when it's applied to the sealing surfaces of compression fittings or cone joints.
My parents' [then] new ensuite plumbing started leaking ~6 months after installation. All I had to do was take apart and remove the PTFE from the sealing faces of the compression fittings (I was lucky - once used, it will often deform the sealing faces so they won't seal again, without bodging it with more PTFE).
I used PTFE tape stretched like string in place of a fibre washer on a tank connector. It worked so well that I actually felt more confident about it than had it been the correct fibre washer.
Graham. wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
There is a slight flange on a tap connector so I can see it working reasonably reliably. At least you didn't put loads on the threads!
;-) Lubrication dear boy, lubrication.
That can only happen with a very extreme bodge, though. PTFE is *very much* weaker than metal, and one or two turns over an olive will just extrude into the space alongside the "line contact". There has to be enough PTFE to completely fill all the available space, so that you are generating hydrostatic conditions within the joint.
Why get it anywhere near an olive?
Because you are winding it on the male threads, to reduce friction. If the pipe is not in place at the time, wisps may get into the exposed cone. Sometimes you are constrained to apply tape when the pipe and olive are already in place. In that case, as I said, you don't have to be paranoid if some strays over the olive.
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