ptfe alternative??? ______________

[Loubanez]

Hi all,
Ive fit a cast iron radiator in my living room, at the flow and return there are two 11/4 to 1/2 reducing bushes, they're both dripping when the system is filled, I've wrapped the threads with a liberal amount of ptfe but to no avail, is they're anything else I could use?
It's becoming a real pain in the a***.
Cheers.

 

[townfanjon]

Loctite 55 will seal them, video on how to use it on you tube

 

[ShaunCorbs]

or 577 , boss white and hemp

 

[Loubanez]

Thanks,
Can I get either of these products from screwfix or anywhere on a Sunday?
Want to get it sorted tomorrow.
Thanks again

 

[ShaunCorbs]

https://www.NoLinkingToThis/p/flomasta-ptfe-liquid-n-a/5321j

https://www.NoLinkingToThis/p/flomasta-pipe-sealing-cord-80m/2272v

 

[Ric2013]

You want about 15 turns or more of PTFE on half inch thread, and make sure you wrap it clockwise. Hemp and paste (Boss white/Hawk white (or other Boss/Hawk if you can't get the previous) is better though, as is Loctite 55, as has been stated above.

https://www.NoLinkingToThis/p/select-products-hemp-pipe-thread-packer-sealer-80g/9321k

https://www.NoLinkingToThis/p/fernox-hawk-white-jointing-compound-400g/69694

Look up how to use it on youtube. You need to tease out a few fibres and wrap them thinly and paste over them. Do not paste before you apply the hemp and always apply in a clockwise direction.

 

[Best]

Ptfe will seal the 1 1/4” threads but you will need a lot of wraps. And I would vouch for Boss White paste also.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

You want about 15 turns or more of PTFE on half inch thread, and make sure you wrap it clockwise. Hemp and paste (Boss white/Hawk white (or other Boss/Hawk if you can't get the previous) is better though, as is Loctite 55, as has been stated above.

https://www.NoLinkingToThis/p/select-products-hemp-pipe-thread-packer-sealer-80g/9321k

https://www.NoLinkingToThis/p/fernox-hawk-white-jointing-compound-400g/69694

Look up how to use it on youtube. You need to tease out a few fibres and wrap them thinly and paste over them. Do not paste before you apply the hemp and always apply in a clockwise direction.

might be me but i paste first then apply the hemp and put a tiny bit of paste on the join / end of the emp to stop it undoing

 

[Loubanez]

Ptfe will seal the 1 1/4” threads but you will need a lot of wraps. And I would vouch for Boss White paste also.

I probably only went round 5 or 6 times,
I thinking of trying the hemp and paste.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

I probably only went round 5 or 6 times,
I thinking of trying the hemp and paste.

thats why need to be at least double that more like tripple

 

[Best]

I probably only went round 5 or 6 times,
I thinking of trying the hemp and paste.

That is your problem then, - needs enough ptfe tape to fill the threads. You will feel the bushing becoming very tight to turn once half in if you used enough tape

 

[Sharp Point]

Hemp n stag, ye will no have no more of thee leaketh.

 

[Ric2013]

Hemp and paste is old school, but so are cast-iron rads. So it matches.

Shaun. I was always taught never to paste the thread because 'the water needs to get to the hemp to expand it'; when you think about it, this explanation doesn't make much sense. I did what I was told anyway and it seemed to work. Will have to try your way again and see what I prefer, but my feeling is it is hard to see how much hemp I have put in the threads if they are already smeared.

But even before I was trained and I was putting in a woodburning backboiler, I made it up as I went along and probably pasted before and after and ... no leaks. What can I say?: it's good stuff!

 

[Best]

Long time since I have used flax (hemp). It is just so old school nowadays and not for a trendy young modern plumber like myself.
Sometimes I would have put Boss White on a strand of flax before I put it on threads.

 

[turnpin]

Long time since I have used flax (hemp). It is just so old school nowadays and not for a trendy young modern plumber like myself.
Sometimes I would have put Boss White on a strand of flax before I put it on threads.

LoL trendy young modern plumber indeed ha ha ha.....worked with a young Irish boy back in the eighties and he was the only one out of seventy plumbers on a site who stopped a leak on a tank with boss white and hemp and I still remember him saying that the guy who taught him had an expression about make sure you have boss white and hemp in your pocket even if you are going dancing on a Saturday night as you don't know when it might come in handy....Lol..regards Turnpin

 

[Gasmk1]

I always put the paste on first then hemp then smeared to hemp with the paste that was on the threads

 

[Ric2013]

Flax, or hemp? They are completely separate plants.

In Victorian Britain, it was essentially illegal not to grow hemp (cannabis sativa) as its fibre was considered to be the best for rope for the country's navies. Genuine canvas was traditionally made from hemp (canvas | Origin and meaning of canvas by Online Etymology Dictionary) which means I always cringe slightly when I see the words '100% cotton canvas'

While the proporties of the fibres would appear to be similar, we shouldn't be referring to flax as hemp if it isn't. I'm now intrigued!

 

[Loubanez]

Thanks for all the comments and recommednations, I went with the flomasta pipe sealing cord in the end as i couldn't get my hands on any hemp till Monday.
I think it's similar or the same as the loctite stuff, anyway worked brilliantly, needed some on the bleed valve aswell which worked well,
Thanks again.

 

[sammathias]

20 turns of PTFE standard with abit of paste also for good measure...especially on cheap 'designer' radiators.

Isit just down this way but No1 stocks hemp thesedays.

 

[Gasmk1]

Flax, or hemp? They are completely separate plants.

In Victorian Britain, it was essentially illegal not to grow hemp (cannabis sativa) as its fibre was considered to be the best for rope for the country's navies. Genuine canvas was traditionally made from hemp (canvas | Origin and meaning of canvas by Online Etymology Dictionary) which means I always cringe slightly when I see the words '100% cotton canvas'

While the proporties of the fibres would appear to be similar, we shouldn't be referring to flax as hemp if it isn't. I'm now intrigued!

https://www.NoLinkingToThis/p/selec...gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CNXG6tvc-dwCFc0R0wodjD4KNg

 

[Old Account]

I’d go with hemp and decent paste. Or loctite as mentioned above

 

[64degrees]

Loctite 55 for me, I always score the thread with a spanner to give it somewhere to stick. Lot cleaner then hemp and bosswhite too.