Pipe Dope

My amazing and wonderful wife got me a 10 gal 1.2 Megapot with ball valve and thermometer for Christmas. According to the directions I need to put Teflon tape on the threads. Is there any reason I can't just use pipe dope I have from the bathroom? Thanks.

Don't know but Teflon tape is Inexpensive and recommended by manufacturer so would probably follow their instructions

Very nice gift and vey nice wife

tinhorn said:

don't know but teflon tape is inexpensive and recommended by manufacturer so would probably follow their instructions very nice gift and vey nice wife

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+1

Isn't pipe dope for non potable water?

I'd use either teflon tape or teflon paste.

good luck,

archthered said:

My amazing and wonderful wife got me a 10 gal 1.2 Megapot with ball valve and thermometer for Christmas. According to the directions I need to put Teflon tape on the threads. Is there any reason I can't just use pipe dope I have from the bathroom? Thanks.

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"What whetting agent is used in the dope? Do you want it in your beer?

Teflon is non-leaching. At least, it leaches so low that it's almost negligible. If you were to use dope, I would make sure it's food grade; and AFAIK most "food grade" dope is for plastic, not SS; SS pipes make a mechanical seal.

To be honest, the pipe threads we use in brewing are subject to such low pressures and temperature that the mechanical seal you create by tightening them is sufficient. As long as you tighten them enough, and never loosen them, it's fine. If it's going to be taken apart, you will need teflon to fill the gaps.

most pipe dope has an oil base, leave some sit in a warm place for a while in the can and look at all the stuff that comes out of the mix. dont think id want that in my beer.

Cathedral said:

Teflon is non-leaching. At least, it leaches so low that it's almost negligible. If you were to use dope, I would make sure it's food grade; and AFAIK most "food grade" dope is for plastic, not SS; SS pipes make a mechanical seal.

To be honest, the pipe threads we use in brewing are subject to such low pressures and temperature that the mechanical seal you create by tightening them is sufficient. As long as you tighten them enough, and never loosen them, it's fine. If it's going to be taken apart, you will need teflon to fill the gaps.

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One of the big reasons for Teflon tape is to keep your threads from binding. Stick with Teflon tape, or nickel tape for connections outside your kettle. It has a higher temp resistance and is thicker.

If you don't use the tape and you get a leak and the threads bind, or if you ever want to switch things out, you'll have to replace the fitting (and potentially cut it out).

Don't go with pipe dope - Teflon tape is the way to go.

Ok so it sounds like I'm going to the hardware store tomorrow. I was just trying to not have to make a shopping trip just for thread tape but it sounds like I need to. Won't be a waste of a trip, I can get the distilled water to check the calibration on my thermometer.

Thanks!

brewguyver said:

One of the big reasons for Teflon tape is to keep your threads from binding. Stick with Teflon tape, or nickel tape for connections outside your kettle. It has a higher temp resistance and is thicker.

If you don't use the tape and you get a leak and the threads bind, or if you ever want to switch things out, you'll have to replace the fitting (and potentially cut it out).

Don't go with pipe dope - Teflon tape is the way to go.

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Im sorry, I don't mean to sound rude--even though I will--but that is absolutely not true at all. I'm a machinist, knowing threads is part of my job, not just a hobby; I don't say that to sound condescending but to imply that I literally have studied threads and what their shape is designed for. There are two types of pipe thread you will encounter in the general public DYI field: NPT, and NPTF. 95% of what you will buy and use is NPT. I could get into the specifics of the differences of each, but I'd rather it just be googled.

Tape is ~necessary~ for NPT threads if they are going to be subject to pressure without making a mechanical seal, or are going to be torqued to a seal, then loosened. It has nothing to do with lube, but actual seal. NPT threads aren't designed to seal mechanically, so thus they need tape to seal. They CAN be sealed mechanically, without tape, but then CANNOT be taken apart without compromising the seal.

Even if you deform the threads to a mechanical seal, and then loosen it, you can still use it with tape to make a seal. There is no way you should ever have to replace a fitting unless you a) applied WAY to much torque and deformed the threads, or b) crossthreaded the threads and destroyed them.

99% of threads are NOT one time use. If they get screwed up so that they can't be used again, chances are it's operator error, not because you didn't use "lube."

Cathedral said:

Im sorry, I don't mean to sound rude--even though I will--but that is absolutely not true at all. I'm a machinist, knowing threads is part of my job, not just a hobby;

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So it's safe to say you do this for a living, and wouldn't make hobbiest mistakes.

Cathedral said:

There is no way you should ever have to replace a fitting unless you a) applied WAY to much torque and deformed the threads, or b) crossthreaded the threads and destroyed them.

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Both are risks for people who don't work as machinists. I've seen enough people cross thread fittings to say always use Teflon tape. I've almost done it hand fitting connections, so someone who doesn't work with these could royally screw it up.

Cathedral said:

99% of threads are NOT one time use. If they get screwed up so that they can't be used again, chances are it's operator error, not because you didn't use "lube."

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This. There are many, many threads on this forum that say "use tape," and many of the weldless kits say warrantee is void if you don't.

If you're saying your specific job is easy and anyone can do it, than i apologize for being wrong on the internet. Assuming it takes a lot of skill and hard work, stop jumping down people's throat and assuming they can do things you do on a daily basis after years of training.

Otherwise your "experienced" point of view will at minimum cost someone a $10-$20 part and could result in effing up an expensive kettle.

http://www.despair.com/incompetence.html
(Not directed at the OP)

Jim_Holmes said:

most pipe dope has an oil base, leave some sit in a warm place for a while in the can and look at all the stuff that comes out of the mix. dont think id want that in my beer.

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Maybe a plumber will have a better answer for this ?

Back in the 60's I worked with a few plumbers in New York City and all the domestic water pipes we installed were done with threaded brass pipe using the typical brown/tan oily pipe dope and thread to seal the joints.

I do not think soldered copper tubing was legal back then since the hundreds of homes and businesses we worked on all had the same pipe dope and thread no matter how new or old the installations were.

I never saw copper soldered plumbing until I moved out to Long Island in the seventies..

bosco

If something is comprised of two pieces that have to be put together, like a male fitting to a female fitting. Whether, a hobbiest or not, someone, somehow will ruin them. It might be best for them to limit what tools they use to a fork, spoon and butter knife. The term hobbiest doesn't mean that the person lacks common sense. The hobbiests that I know, are very precise in every aspect of their hobby.... IMO, it doesn't take a lot of common sense or experience to realize when a NPT fitting is being cross threaded. But, in defense of little experienced poindexters, some fittings are difficult to get started. Going from plastic to metal can be difficult. There are threads on here about teflon. The last one was; in what direction is the tape wound? For some, especially those without common sense, two parts to something can become confusing, when it comes to putting them together.... I use two types of teflon. One for stainless, the other for brass and steel. Without teflon or some type of lubricant, threads can be galled, especially in fittings made with a worn cutter, reducing the angle of taper. There are different types of pipe dope. Some have a "whetting" agent. A mixture of teflon and valve grinding compound mixed into the lubricant. Recently, I bought a bunch of 1/2" stainless fittings, made in China. The fittings were deplorable. Some fittings had little taper and could be screwed to the end of the thread using pinky and thumb. Even with wrapping extra tape on them, they leaked and had to be shizz canned. Maybe in Utopia or on the planet Zyclor, where fittings are machined perfect and tightened to a perfect torque. Using a specially designed pipe wrench with a perfect digital torque meter, teflon or pipe dope wouldn't be needed. If the stuff wasn't needed Hercules chemical, Pro-Seal and others wouldn't have a market for it.

Teflon tape, when used on stainless NPT fittings is what keeps them from galling well before the interference fit is achieved. If that's not a lubrication function, I don't know what is. As a vendor of NPT threaded fittings, I will not make warranty replacement on fittings that have been tightened together without teflon tape. Yes, it also makes the seal in NPT applications, but if you wrench them together without the tape, galling is a very real outcome and they will not come apart with typical DIY tools.