Sorry I searched and found nothing so here’s the question. I’ve got a microbore with two female fosters on each end. One side is hissing a little. Was wondering about the pneumatic loctite. Has anyone used it or is it a no-no? Also I’ve wrapped each end with plumbers tape.
Loctite to stop leaks
- Thread starter Haganaga
- Start date
Working with Hydraulic systems for 35 years and the loctite 545 is the best there is for pipe threads. Teflon tape was deemed no good 20 years ago due to improper use and filter contamination.
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I dabbled with the glue for a short time. I found it to be a little tricky to use enough to make a good seal and too much and risk contamination of the line. The stuff that I used, took a day or three to set. It can also be somewhat permanent. I have gone back to the Teflon tape but only with tapered threads like NPT and BSPT. For anything parallel, I only use Delrin or molded washers. If you decide to use the tape, use it liberally and be careful to only cover the thread. I try to leave the first couple of threads bare to avoid the contamination that oldmanblue refers to.
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Funny thing about working with high pressure is you find imperfections like not perfect threads, dirty raceways or even machine marks, that cause leaks. If everything is perfect we can get by with using the wrong product. Did you know that teflon tape is not a sealant? But lubes the threads so we can tighten tapered treads further. That hydraulic sealant that Oldman mentioned is a thread sealant. I have seen standards written that call for teflon tape being applied to the fitting with pipe sealant like rector seal over the tape. One vendor I worked with swore by using 271 loctite over teflon tape. that was my morning rant wile drinking coffee. hope I wasn't a pain.
Jim
Jim
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I have an Aliexpress microbore hose that I leak tested by pressurizing with a dead head. The pressure in the line would slowly leak down. It was leaking at one of the junctions where the crimped on fitting narrows and attaches to the threaded end. I submerged it and found where it was slowly bubbling. The cure was to mix up a drop of JB Weld to coat the junction where it leaked. Let it cure for a day and it's remained air tight ever since.
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Just a thought, are all your fittings compatible? Normally a couple of wraps with teflon on American 1/8X28npt works fine. If you've mixed BSPP and 1/8X28npt they may seem to want to work but they are two different threads. Just be sure.
Jimmy
Jimmy
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Ok got the microbore out and no more leaks! Hooray! What’s the point of a microbore if you can’t conserve air!
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