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Toolpig
| Posted in Energy, Heating & Insulation on
I was removing an air vent on one of my cast-iron steam radiators when I noticed the threads (1/8″) had previously been crossed. Being the genius that I am, I took a tap and tried to gently re-form the threads in the hole. I then tried to screw in a new vent only to find the connection was really loose and leaking water (even after using both teflon tape and pipe dope).
Here’s where I think I went wrong: Not knowing the difference between “NPT” and “NPSM” threads, I think I used the wrong kind of tap. I should have used one that was tapered.
The hole’s too big. How do I fix this?
Toolfanatic (a.k.a. The man formerly known as “Toolfreak”)
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Replies
go to the hardware, buy a 1/4" pipe tap, the appropriate drill bit (usually mentioned on the side of the tap), and a 1/4" to 1/8" reducer -
drill out the hole, tap to 1/4", goop the reducer, install, goop the vent, install.