In article <jccvoe$teu$
1...@speranza.aioe.org>,
"Doctor Drivel" <kill...@invalid.invalid> writes:
>
> My dear chap not being an amateur it is best you take heed. Makers have
> said no sealant from when they first made compression joints. Those who
> work on them day in day out do different. Why? because what the makers say
> will not give a sealed joint 100% of the time.
It will in skilled hands. Unfortunately, that doesn't include
many plumbers - particularly the ones you seem to associate with.
Some common reasons I've found compression fittings leaking...
Olive not on square, caused by pipework being very badly out of
alignment when initially fitting.
Capnut deformed (squashed across corners), caused by use of a
spanner which was too big, adjustable spanner set wrongly, or
an adjustable spanner whose jaws spread under force, any of
which can cause the spanner to ride up off the flats over
the corners. You can probably do this with mole grips and other
wrong tools for the task too.
Capnut done up too tightly, crushing pipe excessively.
Too little pipe end protruding from olive, also resulting in
excessive deformation of pipe end and olive.
Use of sealant when there was actually nothing else wrong with
the connection - it eventually gets forced out resulting in a leak.
Use of hardening sealant, which on disassemble and reassembly,
will deform the olive and prevent sealing on reassembly.
These are all operator error - not having the necessary skills
to assemble the connection correctly. I have done some of them
myself decades ago when I first started plumbing, but I do learn
not to repeat mistakes which is why I can use compression
fittings correctly now.
>> When you say you need good quality pipe or sealant
>> between which faces does this sealant actually seal?
>
> Any imperfections between the seating and the olive.
Never seen that on a new fitting, or a properly fitted old/reused
one either.
> ALWAYS put a smear
> of Jet Blue on the fittings seating. All pro do that.
Unskilled only.
--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]