The spigot in the bath tub has a nylon tube that fits over the copper
delivery pipe. You screw the spigot, which has a water blocking
device for the shower, on to this. That nylon tube has two o-rings
which hold the back pressure when the water is blocked.

Hardware store said use plumbers grease on these rings. Won't grease
cause the "rubber" to deteriorate? I put silicon grease on them
instead. Seems to
work fine .. now. Was that ok to do? I assume it was. Is plumbers
grease
really recommended for o-ring lube?

werwer wrote:

The spigot in the bath tub has a nylon tube that fits over the copper
delivery pipe. You screw the spigot, which has a water blocking
device for the shower, on to this. That nylon tube has two o-rings
which hold the back pressure when the water is blocked.

Hardware store said use plumbers grease on these rings. Won't grease
cause the "rubber" to deteriorate? I put silicon grease on them
instead. Seems to
work fine .. now. Was that ok to do? I assume it was. Is plumbers
grease
really recommended for o-ring lube?

yep!

Rich
--
"you can lead them to LINUX
but you can't make them THINK"

On 27 Nov 2005 06:08:02 -0800, werwer wrote:
The spigot in the bath tub has a nylon tube that fits over the copper
delivery pipe. You screw the spigot, which has a water blocking
device for the shower, on to this. That nylon tube has two o-rings
which hold the back pressure when the water is blocked.

Hardware store said use plumbers grease on these rings. Won't grease
cause the "rubber" to deteriorate? I put silicon grease on them
instead. Seems to work fine .. now. Was that ok to do?...

Plumber's grease or faucet grease should not deteriorate rubber. After
all, what would need lubrication on plumbing other than a shaft that goes
through an O-ring seal or other packing?

Some types of faucet grease are silicone, but that often comes in a little
tub instead of a tube. If it is very viscous I use it sparingly (just a
thin film).

I hear that Vasoline should NOT be used for rubber. It is also strange
that lithium grease says it is waterproof, but tends to get stiff and not
slide very well when wet, so do not use that.

Water departments actually use a food grade edible grease (some
sort of non-toxic fat). Not sure what preservative it uses to stop it
from going rancid.

For less than ten bucks (+ shipping if they're not near you), you get
almost a lifetime supply.

On 27-Nov-2005, "werwer" wrote:

Won't grease cause the "rubber" to deteriorate?

That depends on what the "rubber" is and what the grease is.
O-rings can be natural rubber, silicone rubber, nitrile etc.
Ditto the grease - silicone, petroleum-based, vegetable-based
etc.

Mike

"Michael Daly" wrote in message
...

On 27-Nov-2005, "werwer" wrote:

Won't grease cause the "rubber" to deteriorate?

That depends on what the "rubber" is and what the grease is.
O-rings can be natural rubber, silicone rubber, nitrile etc.
Ditto the grease - silicone, petroleum-based, vegetable-based
etc.

Mike

I've always used wheel bearing grease. It may be the wrong thing to do but
I've not had a problem with it yet on o-rings and gaskets.

werwer writes:

Hardware store said use plumbers grease on these rings. Won't grease
cause the "rubber" to deteriorate?

Most plumbing O-rings are nitrile rubber, for which petroleum grease is
fine.

Check this site out for all you want to know about o ring lubricants &
types:
http://www.efunda.com/designstandard...icone%20Grease

Larry

Richard J Kinch wrote:
: werwer writes:
:
: : Hardware store said use plumbers grease on these rings. Won't
: : grease cause the "rubber" to deteriorate?
:
: Most plumbing O-rings are nitrile rubber, for which petroleum grease
: is fine.

werwer wrote:

Hardware store said use plumbers grease on these rings. Won't grease
cause the "rubber" to deteriorate? I put silicon grease on them
instead. Seems to
work fine .. now. Was that ok to do?

Most o-rings are made of neoprene or nitrile rubber, which stand up
fine to common greases. You can find the chemical compatibility of
many materials he

www.coleparmer.com/techinfo/chemcomp.asp

Lithium grease isn't the most water-resistant type available.
Calcium-based and alumina-based greases are better in this respect and
are often sold as wheel bearing lubes for boat engines and trailers.
By the way, don't mix calcium grease with the lithium grease in any
machinery.