Plumbing - getting fittings straight
Discussion
Stupid question here, but I can't figure it out.
If I have a female screw fitting for something like a tap or a shower outlet built into a wall, how do I screw the tap / shower head into it so it's at the right angle? My natural expectation is to screw the tap in until it's tight, but that might leave it pointing at a strange angle.
So how do you get a tight fitting whilst leaving the tap at the right angle? I would half expect there to be a nut to screw up against the fitting to tighten things up, but neither fitting nor tap seems to come with a suitable nut.
I'm confused.
If I have a female screw fitting for something like a tap or a shower outlet built into a wall, how do I screw the tap / shower head into it so it's at the right angle? My natural expectation is to screw the tap in until it's tight, but that might leave it pointing at a strange angle.
So how do you get a tight fitting whilst leaving the tap at the right angle? I would half expect there to be a nut to screw up against the fitting to tighten things up, but neither fitting nor tap seems to come with a suitable nut.
I'm confused.
Tuna said:
Stupid question here, but I can't figure it out.
If I have a female screw fitting for something like a tap or a shower outlet built into a wall, how do I screw the tap / shower head into it so it's at the right angle? My natural expectation is to screw the tap in until it's tight, but that might leave it pointing at a strange angle.
So how do you get a tight fitting whilst leaving the tap at the right angle? I would half expect there to be a nut to screw up against the fitting to tighten things up, but neither fitting nor tap seems to come with a suitable nut.
I'm confused.
When you say tap, do you mean an outside tap which you'd put a garden hose on?If I have a female screw fitting for something like a tap or a shower outlet built into a wall, how do I screw the tap / shower head into it so it's at the right angle? My natural expectation is to screw the tap in until it's tight, but that might leave it pointing at a strange angle.
So how do you get a tight fitting whilst leaving the tap at the right angle? I would half expect there to be a nut to screw up against the fitting to tighten things up, but neither fitting nor tap seems to come with a suitable nut.
I'm confused.
If so you'd put enough PTFE on the male thread so that when you screw it in, it creates a waterproof seal without having use up 100% of the thread. So when the male thread is ~95% of the way into the female fitting, you can use the remaining ~5% to make sure it's pointing the correct direction whilst still having a waterproof seal.
Paddy_N_Murphy said:
I was going to come back with that as a solution too. Promise.
On a slight Tangent if I may:
Someone else's old school plumbing on an outdoor pipe (cold mains I assume) and tap fitting is pissing me off dripping from the elbow / fitting above the tap.
In fear of tightening it up further and it catastrophically failing as it becomes threaded is there any other options to me?
It is 'wet' so I figure shut off the tap, dry off the fitting, but then want a fancy amalgamating waterproof type tape that will seal, allowing me to open the tap again and it withstands the mains pressure.
Does this magic stuff exist? Its not mine and badgering them to fix or replace it falls on deaf ears, so a quality bodge is the order of the day
Is it dripping for a soldered joint or a compression joint? If solder, the pipe will need to be 100% water free for any work to be carried out on it.On a slight Tangent if I may:
Someone else's old school plumbing on an outdoor pipe (cold mains I assume) and tap fitting is pissing me off dripping from the elbow / fitting above the tap.
In fear of tightening it up further and it catastrophically failing as it becomes threaded is there any other options to me?
It is 'wet' so I figure shut off the tap, dry off the fitting, but then want a fancy amalgamating waterproof type tape that will seal, allowing me to open the tap again and it withstands the mains pressure.
Does this magic stuff exist? Its not mine and badgering them to fix or replace it falls on deaf ears, so a quality bodge is the order of the day
If it's a compression joint, you can either tighten up the nut if loose, or unwind it and put some PTFE on the threads, and then tighten up the nut again. If the pipe is shagged though, it'll need a new piece.
But if you can isolate the leak, then if your fix goes wrong, you can isolate it again until you can come up with a quality bodge to fix the failed bodge
! You can get self amalgamating tape from DIY shop/ plumbers merchants to stop leaks. Very DIY, so it'll be a good bodge if pulled off.
Paddy_N_Murphy said:
Gingerbread Man said:
Is it dripping for a soldered joint or a compression joint? If solder, the pipe will need to be 100% water free for any work to be carried out on it.
If it's a compression joint, you can either tighten up the nut if loose, or unwind it and put some PTFE on the threads, and then tighten up the nut again. If the pipe is shagged though, it'll need a new piece.
But if you can isolate the leak, then if your fix goes wrong, you can isolate it again until you can come up with a quality bodge to fix the failed bodge! You can get self amalgamating tape from DIY shop/ plumbers merchants to stop leaks. Very DIY, so it'll be a good bodge if pulled off.
Its an OLD large compression joint - but like I say not mine and I don't want to 'touch it' in fear of the house of cards falling down if you know what I mean.If it's a compression joint, you can either tighten up the nut if loose, or unwind it and put some PTFE on the threads, and then tighten up the nut again. If the pipe is shagged though, it'll need a new piece.
But if you can isolate the leak, then if your fix goes wrong, you can isolate it again until you can come up with a quality bodge to fix the failed bodge
! You can get self amalgamating tape from DIY shop/ plumbers merchants to stop leaks. Very DIY, so it'll be a good bodge if pulled off.If it was me, take it apart and repair / replace.
I can Isolate / remove the pressure from the leak - and allow it to dry.
So
Edited by Gingerbread Man on Wednesday 8th September 23:19
Gingerbread Man said:
So you can't wind off the nut, PTFE the thread and wind it back on?
Ferg said:
Gingerbread Man said:
So you can't wind off the nut, PTFE the thread and wind it back on?
Gingerbread Man said:
Ferg said:
Gingerbread Man said:
So you can't wind off the nut, PTFE the thread and wind it back on?
To be honest, these plumbing threads are a mine of mis-information and I tend to get a feel for who is: In the trade and good, In the trade and bad, Good knowledge, Not got a clue, Bulls
tter.I was really disappointed that you made that mistake, 'cos you're definitely someone who knows what's what!!
Loctite do a product used for sealing pipe threads that you can back off the fitting without causing a leak.
I didn't really get on with it, but may be worth a try. Can't remember what it was called though.
Also I find some PTFE tapes to be thinner than others and require more wraps than usual.
I didn't really get on with it, but may be worth a try. Can't remember what it was called though.
Also I find some PTFE tapes to be thinner than others and require more wraps than usual.
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