When do i need to use teflon tape

Outdoor applications are also common, from tankless water heaters to irrigation systems and garden taps. In essence, PTFE tape comes in handy whenever you need a sturdy material to help tighten and seal pipes to avoid leaks. The question is, though, do you know when and when not to use Teflon tape? You can find it in your local hardware store where it is usually sold in varying sizes, from small rolls to big spools.

This makes PTFE tape a must-have for plumbers and anyone who does pipework jobs, such as irrigation contractors. Every plumber worth his salt would have one of these tapes stocked in his toolkit. Interestingly enough, the manufacturer of Teflon, DuPont, has never made its product in tape form. All of these terms refer to the same product at the end of the day. Standard PTFE tape is quite versatile and is used to seal water, gas, and air from leaking through threaded connections, most effective on high-pressure lines.

However, there are also specialty thread seal tapes geared towards a specific task or need. To make choosing a specialty thread seal tape easier, they come colour-coded for the type of application each one caters to.

Generally, however, specialty thread seal tapes are much denser and thicker than the standard version. White is the standard colour for thread sealant tapes and it is recommended for basic plumbing jobs.

It is still sturdy with all the features of PTFE: high resistance to most chemicals, high resistance to extreme temperatures and can tightly seal threaded pipe connections. Colour-coded for water lines, pink thread sealants are used by pipe fitters and plumbers.

As such, it is very heavy duty compared to the other standard type of tape. Yellow thread seal tape meets all gas company standards for gas lines of all types, be it butane, propane, or natural gas.

Green thread seal tapes are required for oxygen applications, as it is grease-free yet does not allow fires to start. Grey thread seal tape has a high density rating and is nearly double the thickness of standard thread seal tapes, making it ideal for taping up stainless steel threads, preventing seizing and galling.

In short, thread seal tape is best used to seal up most threaded connections. This makes it easy to ensure you are grabbing the correct tape for each application. Specialty PTFE tape is also much thicker than the standard tape and it has significantly higher density.

The white premium PTFE tape is good to be used for all industrial applications. There is no pigments or additives making it good to be used on all applications including water, oil and food processing. Mainly places where non-contamination standards are set pretty high. Just like the name implies, this PTFE tape is most commonly used by plumbers and pipe fitters. It is color coded pink to signify that this tape is a heavier duty tape than the standard white thread seal tape.

This PTFE tape is designed specifically for gas lines of all types, propane, butane lines and even natural gas. This yellow PTFE tape meets all gas company standards world wide and it seals threads quickly and easily. This specific tape is colored green making it ideal for oxygen applications like oxygen lines.

It is grease free but it does not support combustion. The Gray Stainless tape has nickel pigment color added ensuring it is good to be used with all stainless steel fittings. This tape prevents galling and seizing. Being 4 mils thick and having a high density rating makes it the perfect tape for coarse stainless steel threads. By using a PTFE tape sealant with a minimum thickness of 2. Posted by: Filliam H.

Teflon tape acts as lubricant and will tend to fill voids and prevent leaks. A good example would be a pipe union. You might put tape on the threads where the union screws on to the pipe, but not on the threads or joint face of where the two sides of the union meet. In tha Posted by: billb. You don't use it on a compression fitting. The Phorum Wall keeps us safe from illegal characters and words The doorstep to the temple of wisdom is the knowledge of one's own ignorance.

Quote billb You don't use it on a compression fitting. You don't use it on a squeeze-a-rubber-gasket instead of a brass ferrule fitting either. Quote billb You don't use it on a squeeze-a-rubber-gasket instead of a brass ferrule fitting either. I suppose a thin smear of silicone plumber's grease would be OK if the fittings are roughly threaded. In that type of joint, the threads stay dry, so the anti-corrosion properties of the grease that aid in later removal isn't really necessary.

Posted by: mrbigstuff. I always use it on brass fittings. Posted by: Kraniac. You don't use anything with a gaskted "compression" supply line.. Screw it on hand tight and then take a small pliers and tighten it gently.. Teflon tape is most appropriate, generally, for items that are not under constant pressure.. Generally, use a good quality pipe dope for most galvanized and black pipe gas. Don't put anything on that thing, it's a waste of resources. Quote Filliam H.

Muffman Teflon tape acts as lubricant and will tend to fill voids and prevent leaks. Posted by: mikebw. You would also not want to use Teflon tape on a solder joint.

Do you have a nice straight run with supply line? THose flexi connectors either would like to be straight with zero stress at the end fittings.