I've fitted a new immersion cylinder but am having a problem with the
drain-off valve. When I bought the valve I thought it should have a fibre
washer, but a friendly plumber told me that it doesn't and I should instead
use 13 turns of PTFE tape. The problem is that even though I've tried this
a few times I can't get the damn thing to point downwards - and it leaks!
(the irony - having to use the drain-off valve for the first time because IT
leaks... grrrrr.) To me it doesn't seem right: the face of the valve seems
smaller than the face of the outlet on the cylinder as if something else
should be there. Searching the archives has left me thinking that this is a
1/2" BSP parallel thread and that what the plumber told me is probably
correct, but it still seems odd (to my naïve plumbing skills) that the
immersion element came with a nice washer but the valve didn't. I'm going
to try again this morning with even more tape, but thanks if anyone can put
me out of my misery and tell me if I'm doing anything wrong. I've put a
picture up he
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/dbecker/drain-off-valve.jpg
David

On Jul 10, 8:10 am, "DJB" wrote:
I've fitted a new immersion cylinder but am having a problem with the
drain-off valve. When I bought the valve I thought it should have a fibre
washer, but a friendly plumber told me that it doesn't and I should instead
use 13 turns of PTFE tape. The problem is that even though I've tried this
a few times I can't get the damn thing to point downwards - and it leaks!
(the irony - having to use the drain-off valve for the first time because IT
leaks... grrrrr.) To me it doesn't seem right: the face of the valve seems
smaller than the face of the outlet on the cylinder as if something else
should be there. Searching the archives has left me thinking that this is a
1/2" BSP parallel thread and that what the plumber told me is probably
correct, but it still seems odd (to my naïve plumbing skills) that the
immersion element came with a nice washer but the valve didn't. I'm going
to try again this morning with even more tape, but thanks if anyone can put
me out of my misery and tell me if I'm doing anything wrong. I've put a
picture up hehttp://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/dbecker/drain-off-valve.jpg
David

You need LOTS of tape, and you can't unscrew it at all to get the
position right - you have to stop exactly where you want it. There are
alternatives to PTFE that are easier for where the final position is
important - my current favourite is screwfix code 42142. More
expensive, but you don't use much, it works every time, and you can
back the fitting off if you need to without breaking the seal.

A

On 2007-07-10 08:10:58 +0100, "DJB" said:

I've fitted a new immersion cylinder but am having a problem with the
drain-off valve. When I bought the valve I thought it should have a fibre
washer, but a friendly plumber told me that it doesn't and I should instead
use 13 turns of PTFE tape. The problem is that even though I've tried this
a few times I can't get the damn thing to point downwards - and it leaks!
(the irony - having to use the drain-off valve for the first time because IT
leaks... grrrrr.) To me it doesn't seem right: the face of the valve seems
smaller than the face of the outlet on the cylinder as if something else
should be there. Searching the archives has left me thinking that this is a
1/2" BSP parallel thread and that what the plumber told me is probably
correct, but it still seems odd (to my naïve plumbing skills) that the
immersion element came with a nice washer but the valve didn't. I'm going
to try again this morning with even more tape, but thanks if anyone can put
me out of my misery and tell me if I'm doing anything wrong. I've put a
picture up he
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/dbecker/drain-off-valve.jpg
David

He's right, these should just screw in and have PTFE tape - no fibre washer.

One thing that can happen on some fittings - some cylinders and
radiators are bad for this - is that the thread tolerance is a bit poor
to the extent that the fitting is rather loose.

This suggests use of a lot of turns of PTFE tape (like his suggested
13), but sometimes the tape is then cut by the thread or bunches at one
end and the fitting leaks.

I've found two solutions that generally work well.

- Get some PTFE tape for gas. This comes on a yellow reel and is
thicker than the mimsy stuff for water. Try about 4-5 turns or so on
the fitting and screw in by hand. It should be possible to turn the
fitting in your fingers with a certain amount of effort but it should
not require a wrench until final tightening and should not be so loose
that it turns easily. If either then remove and apply more or less
tape as appropriate.

- Get some Boss Green and some hemp. Apply a small amount of the
sealing compound then wrap some hemp onto the threads (right way round
as for tape) and finally another smear of compound.

Both should work well and you should not have a leak.

"Andy Hall" wrote in message
...
On 2007-07-10 08:10:58 +0100, "DJB" said:

I've fitted a new immersion cylinder but am having a problem with the
drain-off valve. When I bought the valve I thought it should have a
fibre
washer, but a friendly plumber told me that it doesn't and I should
instead
use 13 turns of PTFE tape. The problem is that even though I've tried
this
a few times I can't get the damn thing to point downwards - and it leaks!
(the irony - having to use the drain-off valve for the first time because
IT
leaks... grrrrr.) To me it doesn't seem right: the face of the valve
seems
smaller than the face of the outlet on the cylinder as if something else
should be there. Searching the archives has left me thinking that this
is a
1/2" BSP parallel thread and that what the plumber told me is probably
correct, but it still seems odd (to my naïve plumbing skills) that the
immersion element came with a nice washer but the valve didn't. I'm
going
to try again this morning with even more tape, but thanks if anyone can
put
me out of my misery and tell me if I'm doing anything wrong. I've put a
picture up he
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/dbecker/drain-off-valve.jpg
David

He's right, these should just screw in and have PTFE tape - no fibre
washer.

One thing that can happen on some fittings - some cylinders and radiators
are bad for this - is that the thread tolerance is a bit poor to the
extent that the fitting is rather loose.

This suggests use of a lot of turns of PTFE tape (like his suggested 13),
but sometimes the tape is then cut by the thread or bunches at one end and
the fitting leaks.

I've found two solutions that generally work well.

- Get some PTFE tape for gas. This comes on a yellow reel and is thicker
than the mimsy stuff for water. Try about 4-5 turns or so on the
fitting and screw in by hand. It should be possible to turn the fitting
in your fingers with a certain amount of effort but it should not require
a wrench until final tightening and should not be so loose that it turns
easily. If either then remove and apply more or less tape as
appropriate.

- Get some Boss Green and some hemp. Apply a small amount of the sealing
compound then wrap some hemp onto the threads (right way round as for
tape) and finally another smear of compound.

Both should work well and you should not have a leak.


Thanks both of you for the fabulously quick replies, I'm off to the
plumber's merchants now :-)

"DJB" wrote in message
...

"Andy Hall" wrote in message
...
On 2007-07-10 08:10:58 +0100, "DJB" said:

I've fitted a new immersion cylinder but am having a problem with the
drain-off valve. When I bought the valve I thought it should have a
fibre
washer, but a friendly plumber told me that it doesn't and I should
instead
use 13 turns of PTFE tape. The problem is that even though I've tried
this
a few times I can't get the damn thing to point downwards - and it
leaks!
(the irony - having to use the drain-off valve for the first time
because IT
leaks... grrrrr.) To me it doesn't seem right: the face of the valve
seems
smaller than the face of the outlet on the cylinder as if something else
should be there. Searching the archives has left me thinking that this
is a
1/2" BSP parallel thread and that what the plumber told me is probably
correct, but it still seems odd (to my naïve plumbing skills) that the
immersion element came with a nice washer but the valve didn't. I'm
going
to try again this morning with even more tape, but thanks if anyone can
put
me out of my misery and tell me if I'm doing anything wrong. I've put a
picture up he
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/dbecker/drain-off-valve.jpg
David

He's right, these should just screw in and have PTFE tape - no fibre
washer.

One thing that can happen on some fittings - some cylinders and radiators
are bad for this - is that the thread tolerance is a bit poor to the
extent that the fitting is rather loose.

This suggests use of a lot of turns of PTFE tape (like his suggested
13), but sometimes the tape is then cut by the thread or bunches at one
end and the fitting leaks.

I've found two solutions that generally work well.

- Get some PTFE tape for gas. This comes on a yellow reel and is thicker
than the mimsy stuff for water. Try about 4-5 turns or so on the
fitting and screw in by hand. It should be possible to turn the fitting
in your fingers with a certain amount of effort but it should not require
a wrench until final tightening and should not be so loose that it turns
easily. If either then remove and apply more or less tape as
appropriate.

- Get some Boss Green and some hemp. Apply a small amount of the
sealing compound then wrap some hemp onto the threads (right way round as
for tape) and finally another smear of compound.

Both should work well and you should not have a leak.


Thanks both of you for the fabulously quick replies, I'm off to the
plumber's merchants now :-)

The plumber's merchants didn't stock any of the Screwfix/Loctite 55 pipe
seal cord, nor did they have any hemp saying that there was no demand for it
these days, but what they did suggest was a combination of gas PTFE tape in
a Boss Green sandwich which seems to have worked, no leaks :-) The valve
still points upwards but I think I'll live with that, hopefully I won't have
to use it again for a long long time...

On Jul 10, 3:13 pm, "DJB" wrote:
"DJB" wrote in message

...







"Andy Hall" wrote in message
...
On 2007-07-10 08:10:58 +0100, "DJB" said:

I've fitted a new immersion cylinder but am having a problem with the
drain-off valve. When I bought the valve I thought it should have a
fibre
washer, but a friendly plumber told me that it doesn't and I should
instead
use 13 turns of PTFE tape. The problem is that even though I've tried
this
a few times I can't get the damn thing to point downwards - and it
leaks!
(the irony - having to use the drain-off valve for the first time
because IT
leaks... grrrrr.) To me it doesn't seem right: the face of the valve
seems
smaller than the face of the outlet on the cylinder as if something else
should be there. Searching the archives has left me thinking that this
is a
1/2" BSP parallel thread and that what the plumber told me is probably
correct, but it still seems odd (to my naïve plumbing skills) that the
immersion element came with a nice washer but the valve didn't. I'm
going
to try again this morning with even more tape, but thanks if anyone can
put
me out of my misery and tell me if I'm doing anything wrong. I've put a
picture up he
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/dbecker/drain-off-valve.jpg
David

He's right, these should just screw in and have PTFE tape - no fibre
washer.

One thing that can happen on some fittings - some cylinders and radiators
are bad for this - is that the thread tolerance is a bit poor to the
extent that the fitting is rather loose.

This suggests use of a lot of turns of PTFE tape (like his suggested
13), but sometimes the tape is then cut by the thread or bunches at one
end and the fitting leaks.

I've found two solutions that generally work well.

- Get some PTFE tape for gas. This comes on a yellow reel and is thicker
than the mimsy stuff for water. Try about 4-5 turns or so on the
fitting and screw in by hand. It should be possible to turn the fitting
in your fingers with a certain amount of effort but it should not require
a wrench until final tightening and should not be so loose that it turns
easily. If either then remove and apply more or less tape as
appropriate.

- Get some Boss Green and some hemp. Apply a small amount of the
sealing compound then wrap some hemp onto the threads (right way round as
for tape) and finally another smear of compound.

Both should work well and you should not have a leak.

Thanks both of you for the fabulously quick replies, I'm off to the
plumber's merchants now :-)

The plumber's merchants didn't stock any of the Screwfix/Loctite 55 pipe
seal cord, nor did they have any hemp saying that there was no demand for it
these days, but what they did suggest was a combination of gas PTFE tape in
a Boss Green sandwich which seems to have worked, no leaks :-) The valve
still points upwards but I think I'll live with that, hopefully I won't have
to use it again for a long long time...- Hide quoted text -

Does Boss Green harden with time? ideally one woul dlike a compound
that you can tighten to the required position and then leave to
harden. I ihave the same problem as the OP but with an outdoor tap
screwed onto a projecting female threaded pipe. it always points at
abotu 45 degrees insead of vertical seemingly regardless of how much I
try to pack it..

R

In article .com,
RobertL wrote:

Does Boss Green harden with time? ideally one woul dlike a
compound that you can tighten to the required position and then
leave to harden. I ihave the same problem as the OP but with an
outdoor tap screwed onto a projecting female threaded pipe. it
always points at abotu 45 degrees insead of vertical seemingly
regardless of how much I try to pack it..

Be nice on parallel BSP if there was a thin nut
as well, to lock the fitment into position.

--
Tony Williams.

On Tue, 10 Jul 2007 08:57:46 +0100, Andy Hall wrote:

On 2007-07-10 08:10:58 +0100, "DJB" said:

I've fitted a new immersion cylinder but am having a problem with the
drain-off valve. When I bought the valve I thought it should have a fibre
washer, but a friendly plumber told me that it doesn't and I should instead
use 13 turns of PTFE tape. The problem is that even though I've tried this
a few times I can't get the damn thing to point downwards - and it leaks!
(the irony - having to use the drain-off valve for the first time because IT
leaks... grrrrr.) To me it doesn't seem right: the face of the valve seems
smaller than the face of the outlet on the cylinder as if something else
should be there. Searching the archives has left me thinking that this is a
1/2" BSP parallel thread and that what the plumber told me is probably
correct, but it still seems odd (to my naïve plumbing skills) that the
immersion element came with a nice washer but the valve didn't. I'm going
to try again this morning with even more tape, but thanks if anyone can put
me out of my misery and tell me if I'm doing anything wrong. I've put a
picture up he
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/dbecker/drain-off-valve.jpg
David

He's right, these should just screw in and have PTFE tape - no fibre washer.

One thing that can happen on some fittings - some cylinders and
radiators are bad for this - is that the thread tolerance is a bit poor
to the extent that the fitting is rather loose.

This suggests use of a lot of turns of PTFE tape (like his suggested
13), but sometimes the tape is then cut by the thread or bunches at one
end and the fitting leaks.

I've found two solutions that generally work well.

- Get some PTFE tape for gas. This comes on a yellow reel and is
thicker than the mimsy stuff for water. Try about 4-5 turns or so on
the fitting and screw in by hand. It should be possible to turn the
fitting in your fingers with a certain amount of effort but it should
not require a wrench until final tightening and should not be so loose
that it turns easily. If either then remove and apply more or less
tape as appropriate.

- Get some Boss Green and some hemp. Apply a small amount of the
sealing compound then wrap some hemp onto the threads (right way round
as for tape) and finally another smear of compound.

Both should work well and you should not have a leak.

Or loctite 55 pipe sealing cord - looks like dental floss. Works really
well. Lets you slacken a fitting aftrer tightening and still get a seal.

--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at http://www.diyfaq.org.uk
Gas fitting FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFitting.html
Sealed CH FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/SealedCH.html
Choosing a Boiler FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/BoilerChoice.html
Gas Fitting Standards Docs he http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFittingStandards