I’m hooking up a simple natural gas kitchen range and I need to connect a couple of small pieces of black pipe (with tapered threads). Can I assume that the tapered threads provide most all of the required seal and that either a pipe dope made for gas lines or teflon tape would be acceptable for providing lubrication and making a leak free seal?
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I use Rector seal, Teflon dope, or the yellow teflon tape for gas lines. No worries!
normally I'd go with good 'ol Rectorseal #5 but then I watched some pipefitters using pipe dope and yellow teflon tape. I asked them about this technique and they said they can get a good seal with a 3/4 tightening that gave them enough play to fine tune the fit on multiple connections.
Personally, I still like good 'ol #5.
"I watched some pipefitters using pipe dope and yellow teflon tape."
Me too. I used to just use one or the other, but I'd be plagued with the occasional slow leak at the threads -- sometimes a lot of slow leaks at the fittings, depending on the quality of the fittings.
Now I use both -- belt & suspenders approach -- and don't have to worry about some joints leaking.
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
You can use tape, or dope or both.
Leave the first 2 threads bare.
We use dope over the tape.
What is the purpose of leaving the 1st 2 bare?
Prevents any junk (tape dope) from getting into the system & clogging gas orfices.
That makes sense.
I happened to sit next to a plumber at the diner this morning and he told me that some building inspectors would not approve teflon tape for gas lines. Does that make any sense to you?
I'll quote supreme court justice Antonin Scalia.
"Just because a law is stupid does not mean it is unconstitutional"
;-)
It doesn't make sense, but I have seen it happen.
But if you use teflon tape that is marked for gas most of those inspectors will approve.