What is it with plumbers & fibre washers in tap connectors?

Its actually rare to find one. Usual practice seems to be to wrap loads of
PTFE tape around the bottom of the connector & hope for the best.

Helping my daughters bloke remove entire bathroom today prior to refurb, not
one single tap connector had a washer, all bodged with PTFE.

Bearing in mind a bag of 100 is only £3 why don't people use them?


--
Dave - The Grumpy Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

On Sun, 24 Jan 2010 19:17:27 GMT, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:

What is it with plumbers & fibre washers in tap connectors?

Its actually rare to find one. Usual practice seems to be to wrap loads of
PTFE tape around the bottom of the connector & hope for the best.

Helping my daughters bloke remove entire bathroom today prior to refurb, not
one single tap connector had a washer, all bodged with PTFE.

Bearing in mind a bag of 100 is only £3 why don't people use them?

Last leak I had in my Alpha boiler was a failed fibre washer .I now
have a guy coming on Tuesday for another leak at the Filling Loop
connection .....will it be another washer failure ..time will tell.

On 24/01/2010 19:17, The Medway Handyman wrote:
What is it with plumbers& fibre washers in tap connectors?

Its actually rare to find one. Usual practice seems to be to wrap loads of
PTFE tape around the bottom of the connector& hope for the best.

Helping my daughters bloke remove entire bathroom today prior to refurb, not
one single tap connector had a washer, all bodged with PTFE.

Bearing in mind a bag of 100 is only £3 why don't people use them?



Probably because the Readers' Digest Complete Do-It-Yourself Manual
circa 1978 neglected to mention it...

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
The Medway Handyman wrote:

What is it with plumbers & fibre washers in tap connectors?

Its actually rare to find one. Usual practice seems to be to wrap
loads of PTFE tape around the bottom of the connector & hope for the
best.
Helping my daughters bloke remove entire bathroom today prior to
refurb, not one single tap connector had a washer, all bodged with
PTFE.
Bearing in mind a bag of 100 is only £3 why don't people use them?


I've had quite a few that have gone soggy and/or crumbled over a period of
time - and then they leak!
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!

On Jan 24, 8:44*pm, "Roger Mills" wrote:
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
The Medway Handyman *wrote:

What is it with plumbers & fibre washers in tap connectors?

Its actually rare to find one. *Usual practice seems to be to wrap
loads of PTFE tape around the bottom of the connector & hope for the
best.
Helping my daughters bloke remove entire bathroom today prior to
refurb, not one single tap connector had a washer, all bodged with
PTFE.
Bearing in mind a bag of 100 is only £3 why don't people use them?

I've had quite a few that have gone soggy and/or crumbled over a period of
time - and then they leak!


One connector had failed due to the fibre washer. I made a few
attempts with a couple of new fibre washers, and got nowhere.
Substituted a rubber one and perfectly watertight first time.


NT

On 24 Jan, 21:20, NT wrote:
On Jan 24, 8:44*pm, "Roger Mills" wrote:

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
The Medway Handyman *wrote:

What is it with plumbers & fibre washers in tap connectors?

Its actually rare to find one. *Usual practice seems to be to wrap
loads of PTFE tape around the bottom of the connector & hope for the
best.
Helping my daughters bloke remove entire bathroom today prior to
refurb, not one single tap connector had a washer, all bodged with
PTFE.
Bearing in mind a bag of 100 is only £3 why don't people use them?

I've had quite a few that have gone soggy and/or crumbled over a period of
time - and then they leak!

One connector had failed due to the fibre washer. I made a few
attempts with a couple of new fibre washers, and got nowhere.
Substituted a rubber one and perfectly watertight first time.

NT

I've often wondered what is the difference/correct usage of fibre,
rubber, nylon washers

dg

The Medway Handyman wrote:
What is it with plumbers & fibre washers in tap connectors?

Easy, they often find that they are more trouble than they're worth -
especially after the local "fixit and bodgeit" has been playing with
them!

Its actually rare to find one. Usual practice seems to be to wrap
loads of PTFE tape around the bottom of the connector & hope for the
best.

No, they don't "hope for the best" - they actually know how to use the stuff
in a given situation!

Helping my daughters bloke remove entire bathroom today prior to
refurb, not one single tap connector had a washer, all bodged with
PTFE.

*THAT* would have been a sight for sore eyes I bet?

Bearing in mind a bag of 100 is only £3 why don't people use them?

Really quite simple for those that know.

A Easier to carry a roll of PTFE tape than many different sizes and
types of washers and O rings.

B Very often that's the only stuff that will stop a leak on damaged
or deformed seatings & joints [1].

C A very often, that's the only thing that will work after the "fixit
and bodgeit" brigade has been there!


A question Dave, is there actually one job that you have attended where you
haven't bitched about something or someone on this group?

It would be interesting to here from someone who has gone to job that you
have done, seen then work and then tell the world what faults or omissions
that you have left there.

Ah well, I've dug you out of the bin as a result of reading a reply from yet
another of your informative posts, took a little time to respond to -and
then said sod-it, your still as egotistical and with nothing new to say and
dumped you back in the bin.

[1] Other than the old putty, Bosswhite and horsehair methods of old - or
even the bloody silicone mastic of today

On 24/01/2010 21:35, dg wrote:
On 24 Jan, 21:20, wrote:
On Jan 24, 8:44 pm, "Roger wrote:

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
The Medway wrote:

What is it with plumbers& fibre washers in tap connectors?

Its actually rare to find one. Usual practice seems to be to wrap
loads of PTFE tape around the bottom of the connector& hope for the
best.
Helping my daughters bloke remove entire bathroom today prior to
refurb, not one single tap connector had a washer, all bodged with
PTFE.
Bearing in mind a bag of 100 is only £3 why don't people use them?

I've had quite a few that have gone soggy and/or crumbled over a period of
time - and then they leak!

One connector had failed due to the fibre washer. I made a few
attempts with a couple of new fibre washers, and got nowhere.
Substituted a rubber one and perfectly watertight first time.

NT

I've often wondered what is the difference/correct usage of fibre,
rubber, nylon washers

dg

.... and hemp. Lovely to just carry a small hank and be able to make
washers of any size required.

Remember - there is soluble fibre and insoluble fibre. And you need both
to keep you healthy. But only one makes a good washer. :-)

--
Rod

On Sun, 24 Jan 2010 19:17:27 +0000, The Medway Handyman wrote:

Bearing in mind a bag of 100 is only £3 why don't people use them?

Because they're a PITA to find when you need them! :-/

--
John Stumbles -- http://yaph.co.uk

Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus and Pop Psychologists are from Uranus

On Sun, 24 Jan 2010 21:46:28 +0000, Rod wrote:

... and hemp. Lovely to just carry a small hank and be able to make
washers of any size required.

Remember - there is soluble fibre and insoluble fibre. And you need both
to keep you healthy. But only one makes a good washer. :-)

And only one makes a good spliff ;-)

--
John Stumbles

Procrastinate now!

dg wrote:
On 24 Jan, 21:20, NT wrote:
On Jan 24, 8:44 pm, "Roger Mills" wrote:

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
The Medway Handyman wrote:

What is it with plumbers & fibre washers in tap connectors?

Its actually rare to find one. Usual practice seems to be to wrap
loads of PTFE tape around the bottom of the connector & hope for
the best.
Helping my daughters bloke remove entire bathroom today prior to
refurb, not one single tap connector had a washer, all bodged with
PTFE.
Bearing in mind a bag of 100 is only £3 why don't people use them?

I've had quite a few that have gone soggy and/or crumbled over a
period of time - and then they leak!

One connector had failed due to the fibre washer. I made a few
attempts with a couple of new fibre washers, and got nowhere.
Substituted a rubber one and perfectly watertight first time.

NT

I've often wondered what is the difference/correct usage of fibre,
rubber, nylon washers

The whole point of fibre is that it swells when wet & seals the joint.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

On Jan 24, 7:17*pm, "The Medway Handyman" davidl...@no-spam-
blueyonder.co.uk wrote:

Bearing in mind a bag of 100 is only £3 why don't people use them?

Because they're £3 for 4 and you have to find somewhere to store the
other 96. ;-)

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
The Medway Handyman wrote:


The whole point of fibre is that it swells when wet & seals the joint.


Until it crumbles - then it leaks!
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!

Unbeliever wrote:
The Medway Handyman wrote:
What is it with plumbers & fibre washers in tap connectors?

Easy, they often find that they are more trouble than they're
worth - especially after the local "fixit and bodgeit" has been
playing with them!

Oh hello, its Tanner OP, Squared, Unbeliever - or whatever you call yourself
this week. '****wit' would seem to be appropriate.


Its actually rare to find one. Usual practice seems to be to wrap
loads of PTFE tape around the bottom of the connector & hope for the
best.

No, they don't "hope for the best" - they actually know how to use
the stuff in a given situation!

Hint. Tap connectors are supplied with fibre washers, not a roll of PTFE.

Helping my daughters bloke remove entire bathroom today prior to
refurb, not one single tap connector had a washer, all bodged with
PTFE.

*THAT* would have been a sight for sore eyes I bet?

Bearing in mind a bag of 100 is only £3 why don't people use them?

Really quite simple for those that know.

Which clearly doesn't include you.

A Easier to carry a roll of PTFE tape than many different sizes
and types of washers and O rings.

'Different sizes and types'? ****wit. There are 2 sizes & 1 type.

B Very often that's the only stuff that will stop a leak on
damaged or deformed seatings & joints [1].

Bollox it is. A fibre washer is the right way to do the job. Hint. Tap
connectors are supplied with fibre washers, not a roll of PTFE.

C A very often, that's the only thing that will work after the
"fixit and bodgeit" brigade has been there!

Fibre washers work. Hint. Tap connectors are supplied with fibre washers,
not a roll of PTFE.

A question Dave, is there actually one job that you have attended
where you haven't bitched about something or someone on this group?

Many. You are clearly too stupid to realise that I do 2 or 3 jobs a day, 6
days a week.

It would be interesting to here from someone who has gone to job that
you have done, seen then work and then tell the world what faults or
omissions that you have left there.

Post that again when sober. I think you are saying "It would be interesting
to here [hear]from someone who has gone to [a] job that you have done, seen
then [the] work and then tell the world what faults or omissions that you
have left there".

Ah well, I've dug you out of the bin as a result of reading a reply
from yet another of your informative posts, took a little time to
respond to -and then said sod-it, your still as egotistical and with
nothing new to say and dumped you back in the bin.

Very good. Why don't you just FOAD and do us all a favour?

[1] Other than the old putty, Bosswhite and horsehair methods of
old - or even the bloody silicone mastic of today

Still stuck in that 1950's time warp I see.

Still the same old failure put out to grass.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

On Sun, 24 Jan 2010 19:17:27 GMT, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:

What is it with plumbers & fibre washers in tap connectors?

Its actually rare to find one. Usual practice seems to be to wrap loads of
PTFE tape around the bottom of the connector & hope for the best.

Helping my daughters bloke remove entire bathroom today prior to refurb, not
one single tap connector had a washer, all bodged with PTFE.

Bearing in mind a bag of 100 is only £3 why don't people use them?

People nowadays either expect to buy a specific item (part number
whatever) for a particular job, or are happy to botch a job with
makeshift items such as PTFE tape, WD-40, car body filler (does
anybody actually use CBF for filling car bodies?) - there's very
little true utilisation of generic items (a.k.a. bodging!) (including
washers!).


ISTR that fibre washers were used for hot-water systems and rubber for
cold-water. This applied also to tap-washers. However, since synthetic
rubber came about, (conventional) tap washers are more usually
synthetic rubber, which is a bit more durable than fibre when in
regular operation.


--
Frank Erskine

"John Rumm" wrote in message
o.uk...
mike wrote:
On Jan 24, 7:17 pm, "The Medway Handyman" davidl...@no-spam-
blueyonder.co.uk wrote:

Bearing in mind a bag of 100 is only £3 why don't people use them?

Because they're £3 for 4 and you have to find somewhere to store the
other 96. ;-)

got to b&q and they are £3 for 4 - problem solved! ;-)

I have lots of them in different sizes.
They were in a mixed kit of stuff from lidl.
I only bought the kit for the key fobs and picture hooks but I have used a
few fibre washers out of the kit.

The Medway Handyman wrote:
What is it with plumbers & fibre washers in tap connectors?

Its actually rare to find one. Usual practice seems to be to wrap loads of
PTFE tape around the bottom of the connector & hope for the best.

Helping my daughters bloke remove entire bathroom today prior to refurb, not
one single tap connector had a washer, all bodged with PTFE.

Bearing in mind a bag of 100 is only £3 why don't people use them?

The theory with fibre washers is that water leaks down the thread to
them, they get wet, swell and seal the connection. The theory with PTFE
tape is that water does not leak down the thread to begin with.

Colin Bignell

On Sun, 24 Jan 2010 13:35:40 -0800 (PST), dg wrote:

On 24 Jan, 21:20, NT wrote:
On Jan 24, 8:44*pm, "Roger Mills" wrote:

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
The Medway Handyman *wrote:

What is it with plumbers & fibre washers in tap connectors?

Its actually rare to find one. *Usual practice seems to be to wrap
loads of PTFE tape around the bottom of the connector & hope for the
best.
Helping my daughters bloke remove entire bathroom today prior to
refurb, not one single tap connector had a washer, all bodged with
PTFE.
Bearing in mind a bag of 100 is only £3 why don't people use them?

I've had quite a few that have gone soggy and/or crumbled over a period of
time - and then they leak!

One connector had failed due to the fibre washer. I made a few
attempts with a couple of new fibre washers, and got nowhere.
Substituted a rubber one and perfectly watertight first time.

NT

I've often wondered what is the difference/correct usage of fibre,
rubber, nylon washers

dg

My last shower hose had fibre washers - no use, as the fittings can't be
very tight, so rubber washers did the trick.

I've just used nylon washers between bib taps and upstands as that was a
hard join (damned things needed some packing as they were 100 deg. out)
for location and rigidity, with PTFE as the actual seal.
Nylon will creep under load (so my bodge above might have limited life on
the hot tap) so hard fibre washers could be better - and black would look
better than white nylon (the thin black fibre washer between shroud and
body is almost invisible against chromium).

I use both fibre washers and sealant; the sealant will protect the washer
to some extent.
--
Peter.
2x4 - thick plank; 4x4 - two of 'em.

On Sun, 24 Jan 2010 21:46:28 +0000, Rod wrote:

On 24/01/2010 21:35, dg wrote:
On 24 Jan, 21:20, wrote:
On Jan 24, 8:44 pm, "Roger wrote:

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
The Medway wrote:

What is it with plumbers& fibre washers in tap connectors?

Its actually rare to find one. Usual practice seems to be to wrap
loads of PTFE tape around the bottom of the connector& hope for the
best.
Helping my daughters bloke remove entire bathroom today prior to
refurb, not one single tap connector had a washer, all bodged with
PTFE.
Bearing in mind a bag of 100 is only £3 why don't people use them?

I've had quite a few that have gone soggy and/or crumbled over a period of
time - and then they leak!

One connector had failed due to the fibre washer. I made a few
attempts with a couple of new fibre washers, and got nowhere.
Substituted a rubber one and perfectly watertight first time.

NT

I've often wondered what is the difference/correct usage of fibre,
rubber, nylon washers

dg

... and hemp. Lovely to just carry a small hank and be able to make
washers of any size required.

And lasts for decades in glands and is adjustable, unlike those damned
O-rings.

Remember - there is soluble fibre and insoluble fibre. And you need both
to keep you healthy. But only one makes a good washer. :-)

Don't use porridge!
--
Peter.
2x4 - thick plank; 4x4 - two of 'em.

On 25/01/2010 08:10, Nightjar "cpb"@ insertmysurnamehere wrote:

The theory with fibre washers is that water leaks down the thread to
them, they get wet, swell and seal the connection. The theory with PTFE
tape is that water does not leak down the thread to begin with.

Colin Bignell

Er, I think you'll find that in a tap connector, the fibre washer stops
water leaking down the thread.

The water in the pipe is in touch with the washer, which swells and
stops water getting to the thread.

PTFE tape just seals the thread up, or doesn't as the case may be ;-)

On Mon, 25 Jan 2010 11:24:54 +0000, Dave Osborne
wrote:

Er, I think you'll find that in a tap connector, the fibre washer stops
water leaking down the thread.

Or UP the thread :-)

"Usenet Nutter" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 25 Jan 2010 11:24:54 +0000, Dave Osborne
wrote:

Er, I think you'll find that in a tap connector, the fibre washer stops
water leaking down the thread.

Or UP the thread :-)

I suspect that some people use PTFE tape on threads - when the thread is not
designed to do any sealing. In applications like tap connectors the washer
on the shoulder provides the seal - on a compression fitting - the olive
provides the seal. Clean faces and threads are a good starting point for
getting a seal - also well aligned pipes.

On Tue, 26 Jan 2010 01:18:06 +0000, John Rumm
wibbled:

John wrote:
"Usenet Nutter" wrote in
message ...
On Mon, 25 Jan 2010 11:24:54 +0000, Dave Osborne
wrote:

Er, I think you'll find that in a tap connector, the fibre washer
stops water leaking down the thread.
Or UP the thread :-)

I suspect that some people use PTFE tape on threads - when the thread
is not designed to do any sealing. In applications like tap connectors
the washer

Sometimes it is handy for lubrication if nothing else - can make
tightening easier and less squeaky.

I gave up on PTFE when I discovered Rocol... Marvellous stuff. But for
parallel threads, I've had less issues with fibre washers than some
damnable taper threads, especially when one of them is plastic.




--
Tim Watts

Managers, politicians and environmentalists: Nature's carbon buffer.

On 24 Jan, 19:17, "The Medway Handyman" davidl...@no-spam-
blueyonder.co.uk wrote:
What is it with plumbers & fibre washers in tap connectors?

Its actually rare to find one. *Usual practice seems to be to wrap loads of
PTFE tape around the bottom of the connector & hope for the best.

Helping my daughters bloke remove entire bathroom today prior to refurb, not
one single tap connector had a washer, all bodged with PTFE.

Bearing in mind a bag of 100 is only £3 why don't people use them?

--
Dave - The Grumpy Handymanwww.medwayhandyman.co.uk

I suspect that it is because at least twice on my 8 or so times that
iI have changed these ( Including replacing a bath yesterday I have
forund the inside diameter of the fiber washer is smaller than the
thinned pipe which goes into the bottom of the tap.
being fiber there is no flex and so fitting is more akin with the
demolition man with his hammer and not the surgeon with his scalpel.
Common sense dictates that this is a disaster on fittings which are
akward to reach and tighten
The previous incumbant had used silicone to seal this
I am going to use Speedfit flexis which use rubber washers
Selco sell em 6 for a pound if you dont want 100
HTH Phil

On Tue, 26 Jan 2010 01:18:06 +0000, John Rumm
wrote:

For the first time the other day, I encountered a metal to metal cone
fitting (radiator tap to tail) joint that would not stop leaking however
much it was tightened. The surfaces were new, and looked and felt fine,
but still no joy. In the end I had to resort to winding some PTFE round
the thread on the tail such that it flopped over the mating surface when
the joint was assembled.


For the "first time" ???
I take it you mean it was the first time you encountered a leaking one
and not the first time ever ?

You could have used LSX Sealant .

Dave Osborne wrote:
On 25/01/2010 08:10, Nightjar "cpb"@ insertmysurnamehere wrote:

The theory with fibre washers is that water leaks down the thread to
them, they get wet, swell and seal the connection. The theory with PTFE
tape is that water does not leak down the thread to begin with.

Colin Bignell

Er, I think you'll find that in a tap connector, the fibre washer stops
water leaking down the thread.

I was thinking of a wall mounted tap connector for an outside tap, as
those are what I usually see.

Colin Bignell

On Tue, 26 Jan 2010 14:03:52 +0000, "Nightjar \"cpb\"@"
"insertmysurnamehere wrote:

Dave Osborne wrote:
On 25/01/2010 08:10, Nightjar "cpb"@ insertmysurnamehere wrote:

The theory with fibre washers is that water leaks down the thread to
them, they get wet, swell and seal the connection. The theory with PTFE
tape is that water does not leak down the thread to begin with.

Colin Bignell

Er, I think you'll find that in a tap connector, the fibre washer stops
water leaking down the thread.

I was thinking of a wall mounted tap connector for an outside tap, as
those are what I usually see.

Colin Bignell

Which is a long way from the OP's daughters bathroom situation and as
I said before to somebody the fibre washer in a tap connector doesn't
stop water leaking "down" the thread .

"John Rumm" wrote in message
o.uk...
John wrote:
"Usenet Nutter" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 25 Jan 2010 11:24:54 +0000, Dave Osborne
wrote:

Er, I think you'll find that in a tap connector, the fibre washer stops
water leaking down the thread.
Or UP the thread :-)

I suspect that some people use PTFE tape on threads - when the thread is
not designed to do any sealing. In applications like tap connectors the
washer

Sometimes it is handy for lubrication if nothing else - can make
tightening easier and less squeaky.

on the shoulder provides the seal - on a compression fitting - the olive
provides the seal. Clean faces and threads are a good starting point for
getting a seal - also well aligned pipes.


For the first time the other day, I encountered a metal to metal cone
fitting (radiator tap to tail) joint that would not stop leaking however
much it was tightened. The surfaces were new, and looked and felt fine,
but still no joy. In the end I had to resort to winding some PTFE round
the thread on the tail such that it flopped over the mating surface when
the joint was assembled.


--
Cheers,

John.


£1.11 for 10 in Wickes. I woke up this morning to find my combi had lost
it's pressure. The return pipe had a split it's nylon washer.

I could not find my washers and called at Wickes for some new ones. I did
find my old washers when I put the new ones away. They were in the drawer I
searched this morning whilst looking for them!

Adam