Thread sealant for oil?
Some of you may remember the woes of the leaky oil tank and my discussion of last fall on "How can this be rusted through if it is full of oil?" Even if you don't, read on...
So dad and I removed the rusted tank yesterday at the summer cottage, getting ready to open the place for the season, and jury-rigged a 10 gallon can of diesel oil to run the furnace in the meantime. Our neighbor was nice enough to give us his old tank, as he converted to gas 10 years ago, along with about 30 gallons of good oil which we drained out into 5 gallon jugs. However, his tank's spigot faces west; our piping hookup requires a spigot facing east, meaning we have to rotate the elbow joint on the bottom of the 'new' tank 90 degrees to match it to our piping. I'm not worried about our ability to do this, but I AM a bit worried that such a move might break whatever thread sealant is on the pipe and/or elbow joint, and cause a leak when the tank is filled.
Ergo, I am thinking of playing it safe and totally removing the old elbow joint, cleaning the threads, and re-sealing. And then re-assembling. Or even if I DO just try to turn the pipe and hope it doesn't leak, I might still end up having to seal it at some point. The question is, with what? I would use either a good plumbing pipe thread sealant or teflon tape for this job with water pipes, but I want something resistant to oil as well. What should I use for this? Thanks, Jon
So dad and I removed the rusted tank yesterday at the summer cottage, getting ready to open the place for the season, and jury-rigged a 10 gallon can of diesel oil to run the furnace in the meantime. Our neighbor was nice enough to give us his old tank, as he converted to gas 10 years ago, along with about 30 gallons of good oil which we drained out into 5 gallon jugs. However, his tank's spigot faces west; our piping hookup requires a spigot facing east, meaning we have to rotate the elbow joint on the bottom of the 'new' tank 90 degrees to match it to our piping. I'm not worried about our ability to do this, but I AM a bit worried that such a move might break whatever thread sealant is on the pipe and/or elbow joint, and cause a leak when the tank is filled.
Ergo, I am thinking of playing it safe and totally removing the old elbow joint, cleaning the threads, and re-sealing. And then re-assembling. Or even if I DO just try to turn the pipe and hope it doesn't leak, I might still end up having to seal it at some point. The question is, with what? I would use either a good plumbing pipe thread sealant or teflon tape for this job with water pipes, but I want something resistant to oil as well. What should I use for this? Thanks, Jon
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anthing automotive based will work fine, look for the right application at:
www.permatex.com0 -
give it a couple healthy wraps of teflon tapeon the male threads-then dab some liquid teflon on the female threads-that stuff seals up everything
Tater0 -
There is actually a Locktite specifically for oil (hydraulic fluid). 0 -
Jonk,
I have cut a lot of threads on pipe in the last 18 years. My suggestion is to remove the fitting and clean the threads the best you can. Tape them with teflon tape and dope them with a thread lubricating paste (available at most hardware stores). Tighten it fairly tight. I assume it is not a pressurized vessel. This should take care of your problem. Just for you reassurance, I have used this method on water, steam, condensate, hydraulics, acids, caustics, and numerous other items.
Good luck
Colin0 -
Use both teflon tape and good pipe dope. I ran a lot of fuel oil pipe in a boiler plant and had good luck using both. However when you tighten the fitting, DO NOT BACK IT UP IF YOU TIGHTENED IT TOO FAR, it will leak if you back it up. If you go past where you want to run, you have to take another full turn, or start over. Clean the fittings well, wrap 3 or 4 turns with tape, dope the male wrapped end and tighten just short of the direction you're headed. screw in the line pipe, then bring it to your end position without going past and backing up.
Theres nothing harder to hold than diesel or fuel oil.
I would probably buy new nipples and elbow.0
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