Killer_B
Platinum Member
Hey, that's OK. Some things are worth waiting for.
Hydraulic thread sealant opinions?
- Thread starter tomrscott
- Start date
Sounds like a lot of votes for a teflon-containing paste, several Loctite brand items that could even all be the same thing.
Votes:
2 Generic teflon-containing paste (+3)
2 Master Plumber TFE Paste
1 Loctite thread sealer w/ teflon
1 Loctite High Pressure Thread Seal
1 Loctite 567 hi temp thread sealant
1 Leak Lock
1 blue paste product which I don't remember the name of
2 Rectorseal #5
2 "Nothing"
And a general consensus that teflon tape is not the best choice.
Votes:
2 Generic teflon-containing paste (+3)
2 Master Plumber TFE Paste
1 Loctite thread sealer w/ teflon
1 Loctite High Pressure Thread Seal
1 Loctite 567 hi temp thread sealant
1 Leak Lock
1 blue paste product which I don't remember the name of
2 Rectorseal #5
2 "Nothing"
And a general consensus that teflon tape is not the best choice.
MadReferee
Elite Member, Rest in Peace
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Master Plumber brand TFE Paste IS teflon* paste. That makes the count actually at 5.
It is also NSF-61 certified for drinking water applications (home and industrial).
* Teflon is a registered trademark if I.E. Dupont and Co.
It is also NSF-61 certified for drinking water applications (home and industrial).
* Teflon is a registered trademark if I.E. Dupont and Co.
Steve_Miller
Veteran Member
Most hydraulic systems filter the fluid on the return side as it is very expensive to filter on the pressure side. So if you put tape or contaminents into your system ahead of the return filter the contaminents may lodge in valves, cylinders or what ever the fluid is feeding. If you want to filter on the pressure side you need to have high pressure filters and fittings to handle the pressure. My two cents worth.
Steve
Steve
Humm, well, it seems like the plumbing we're talking about sealing will generally be out in the system somewhere. I think it isn't really a matter of where the filter is located, unless you are talking about sealing the coupling leading into the filter.
Almost any other place in the system, there are going to be cylinder seals and valve spool seals and such that can be contaminated before the fluid gets back to the filter whether the filter is on the return side or the pressure side.
Filters are a good thing, but I think the first line of defense keeping a hydraulic system healthy is to keep contaminants out in the first place. You would like to hope that any contaminants you cannot keep out, will end up in the flter, but you can't count on that no matter where it's located.
Its like cars; wear seat belts, but preferably avoid collisions.
Almost any other place in the system, there are going to be cylinder seals and valve spool seals and such that can be contaminated before the fluid gets back to the filter whether the filter is on the return side or the pressure side.
Filters are a good thing, but I think the first line of defense keeping a hydraulic system healthy is to keep contaminants out in the first place. You would like to hope that any contaminants you cannot keep out, will end up in the flter, but you can't count on that no matter where it's located.
Its like cars; wear seat belts, but preferably avoid collisions.
bncsauve
Silver Member
I know this won't be a popular opinion, but, the hydraulics dealer I do business with says they don't use anything but teflon tape. I have not had any problem with it. I just make sure I hold it back a couple of threads when applying it.
JerryG
Super Member
Putting it on correctly is the key to using tape. I have used it for years and have never had any problems.
slowrev
Elite Member
No problem here with using tape either. One other thing when removing a fitting that has had teflon tape on it, be sure to clean out all the old tape shreds before re-taping and re-connecting the fitting.
Ben
Ben
slowrev, et al,
re: "be sure to remove all the old tape shreds..."
That's probably the biggest problem. But it is easier said than done. Many times on water plumbing pieces I've found that after I thought I had all the shreds cleaned, I could run a sharp needle around the threads and pick up a bunch more. If you don't get them all, the next time you thread a male into the female, there is a good chance the remaining shreds will get pushed ahead of the new male threads and end up in the fluid.
I have found that a real good tool for this purpose is a homemade needle point awl with a short 1/8" to a 1/4" right angle bent into the tip. With this tool, you can pretty easily chase the threads around continuously and pick up a lot of pieces that you would never see otherwise.
But personally, I think I will use other things instead of tape when it comes to hydraulic lines. Just intuitively, it seems to me that a paste might do a better job of sealing in a critical application like high pressure hydraulics. The TFE content in the paste makes sense from the standpoint of lubricating the NPT threads to get full engagement with a minimum of galling.
That is MTCW. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
re: "be sure to remove all the old tape shreds..."
That's probably the biggest problem. But it is easier said than done. Many times on water plumbing pieces I've found that after I thought I had all the shreds cleaned, I could run a sharp needle around the threads and pick up a bunch more. If you don't get them all, the next time you thread a male into the female, there is a good chance the remaining shreds will get pushed ahead of the new male threads and end up in the fluid.
I have found that a real good tool for this purpose is a homemade needle point awl with a short 1/8" to a 1/4" right angle bent into the tip. With this tool, you can pretty easily chase the threads around continuously and pick up a lot of pieces that you would never see otherwise.
But personally, I think I will use other things instead of tape when it comes to hydraulic lines. Just intuitively, it seems to me that a paste might do a better job of sealing in a critical application like high pressure hydraulics. The TFE content in the paste makes sense from the standpoint of lubricating the NPT threads to get full engagement with a minimum of galling.
That is MTCW. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif