wrote:

On Thursday, 15 December 2016 10:09:09 UTC, Dan S. MacAbre wrote:
tabbypurr wrote:
It keeps dripping frequently. Redoing it up makes no difference. But
why... do these things use O rings?

Last time I had to open one, I had the same problem, and it was leaking
like mad as I was trying to drain it. It turns out it had been
overtightened in the past, the washer had got crushed and turned almost
to plastic. When I wound it all the way out, it just fell to bits.

that's what happened with this one too. Washer like a squashed pancake.


NT

IMHO this happens because of loss of elasticity due to heat rather than
careless misuse. It becomes harder to stop leaks until it finally
disintegrates. There must be a (somewhat small) opportunity for someone
to make some washers out of heat resistant rubber, such as is used for
hot taps. Or should be.




--

Roger Hayter