SpudFiles

Well I finished the chamber of my first hybrid. It's all galvanized steel and all the connections have teflon tape. Today I decided to test it with pressure but to my dismay I found that it leaks terribly from a few places. Apart from dissasembling it (the joints are pretty tight, so I don't know how easy this will be), is there another way I could stop the leaks?

Apply teflon tape like there's no tomorrow. That's what you have to do with metal threads.

Well you could try and bodge it with cyanoacrylate or epoxy to seal the leaks where they are but it really is best just to get the threads sealed without that.

I find that sometimes threads are too sharp and cut the PTFE tape to ribbons when its tightened

Need to just smother the threads when that happens, pressing it in tightly to the male half before screwing it in.

with some fittings you can use o-rings..... for example get a regular metal BV, put an o-ring in one of the ports and screw in a nipple... it works suprisingly well and it allows to disamble/assemble the gun within seconds...

unfortunatelly it doesn't work with every kind of fitting.. the two fittings need to have a 'rim' that allows an o-ring to be pressed againt (uhmmm hope you know what I mean - try it yourslef this should clear things up)


how to find leaks... presurise the gun and put it underwater...
if you are really into spudgunning and you use maleable iron fittings spend some $ to buy two monkey wrenches...

I find the discription: It leaks from a few places not to be very specific... Where does it leak from, the threads are the most common place i guess but a little more discription would be great!

john bunsenburner wrote:I find the discription: It leaks from a few places not to be very specific... Where does it leak from, the threads are the most common place i guess but a little more discription would be great!

It leaks from 2 couplers and a few bushings

are you sure about your brazes or solders around the couplers?

The pipe's threaded end should be tapered. Are you screwing the fittings together tight/far enough?

you may have not put enough tape on, how big are the fittings? because for larger threads (like 2") tape doesn't work too well, you'll need a pipe thread paste/glue/compound.

the biggest fittings are 1.5", I tightned what I could, and that helped some, but it still leaks pretty badly.

john bunsenburner wrote:I find the discription: It leaks from a few places not to be very specific... Where does it leak from, the threads are the most common place i guess but a little more discription would be great!

He has given enough explanation, its quite simple, I really don't for see his pipe leaking from anywhere else.


and you don't braze galvanized pipe.....

From my experience, Teflon tape sucks with galvanized metal fittings. If you can disassemble it, then use liquid pipe thread dope on the fittings and screw them back together.

However, it is also possible to seal the fittings from the outside. Thick super glue or epoxy dripped in between the fitting and the pipe should seal it. Also the stick plumbers epoxy can be pressed around the fitting to seal it. Just be sure to remove any exposed Teflon tape before you do try to seal it from the outside.

Sorry i missed the galvanized part oh and go knows he might of sliped droped it and there could be a little crack or something, better like that then that we give his 101 ways to seal bushings when he really needs to fix the pipe its self, just makign sure, sorry if it sounded like flamine.

Thanks for all the advice, I keep taking trips to the garage between studying for exams (which i really should be doing more of), and I am just trying to tighten everything as much as I can. If that doesn't make it seal, I'll use epoxy, which I have plenty of.

An awful lot of ideas floating around here. All largely the same, and it would seem, not solving the problem.

Time for a different tack?

How are you tightening the fittings? Are you using a vise and pipe wrench?

Two pipe wrenches?

Pliers?

By hand?

Despite the labeling on teflon tape, it is not a thread sealant, it is dry lubricant.

Yes, it has limited gap filling qualities, but its main job is to reduce friction and allow the joint to be properly tightened.

If you're not getting the joint tight enough, the joint won't seal.

Awaiting more information.