G.W. Walker wrote:



Right now this is a bit of rhetorical question, but...

...how do you stop compression fittings from leaking? I
plumbed in some new stuff at the weekend, but lots of the
joints are now leaking. I resisted using PTFE tape on
every single joint, but is that the answer? PTFE wrapped
around every olive..?

G.

As everyone else said, PTFE is a bodge.

It's supposed to be a metal-metal joint with the olive deforming to make a
seal. Metal-metal seals are superior to almost anything else in their
league if done correctly.

Common mistakes:

a) not preparing the parts - swarf etc;

b) Over tightening. Do the nut finger tight, then about one turn with a
spanner. It's better to err of being undertight, because you can tighten
more. Over-tight and the olive is bent. Turn the water on and look for
weeping joints, tighten gently until they don't. Eventutally you get a
knack of how tight to do them in the first place.

If you do get a weepy joint or if you are having trouble with re-assembling
an old joint, a slight smear of Boss Green on the olive should fix it and
is less of a nasty hack than PTFE.

Cheers

Tim