Slight leak from compression joint - fix options?

[paul2004]

Hi,

I've got some flexible hose going between kitchen hot and cold water pipes going to copper pipes descending from an ikea tap. Joints both ends are compression.

Because of the awkward space around the tap connectors i only had one shot at getting the joints tightened correctly. Sods law and all that mean that i mustn't have tightened them enough and there is a tiny leak where the copper piping goes into the compression nut. sounds like the olive could be tightened more. However i simply cannot get wrenches in there anymore to do that. That would mean a lot of reworking and pulling things back out.

What i'd like to know is if anyone would recommend sealing the joint with something else? silicon sealant or some kind of material that would provide the watertight join. I can turn off water very easily and let everything dry out completely. If i can avoid going back to square one it'd be a big help.

thanks in advance for any suggestions or advice (even if it's a No!!)

paul

 

[Bahco]

Turn off water.
Undo nut and wrap few turns of ptfe tape around the olive or apply jointing compound to same .
Tighten nut, should do then trick

 

[paul2004]

bacho,

if i could easily get to the nut then i would! i suspect even tightening the nut a bit more would do it.

trouble is i'd have to remove a sink which is sealed and jointed in now. so i'm wondering if there's something i can apply ontop and around the nut/thread to seal - much in the same way you can use silicon sealent.

thanks!
paul

 

[RacquelDarrian]

Try LS-X.
Brilliant stuff.

 

[Bahco]

bacho,

BAHCO you mean

I don't know of any permanent repair kits that will help your problem, but the other guys might come up with something.
It will be best if you redo it in my humble opinion.
Did you not check all your joints prior to sealing etc

 

[paul2004]

Bahco - sorry about the accidental name change.

sadly i was only in a position to test properly once everything was in place. sods law and all that.

Racquel, that LS-X looks interesting, i'm reading up on it - have you used it much? on something like a leaky nut? Im wondering whether it's just designed to be used inside the joint rather than applied after the nut has been tightened?


thanks everyone
paul

 

[ChrisR]

Turn off water
dry it
gloss paint it
go to bed.

 

[RacquelDarrian]

Bahco - sorry about the accidental name change.

sadly i was only in a position to test properly once everything was in place. sods law and all that.

Racquel, that LS-X looks interesting, i'm reading up on it - have you used it much? on something like a leaky nut? Im wondering whether it's just designed to be used inside the joint rather than applied after the nut has been tightened?


thanks everyone
paul

Can be used to fix leaks too.
Get a tube at B&Q and it will tell you how.
Water makes it set.
Used it on many joints and I find it better than PTFE or Plumbers mate.
I once had a leaky waste pipe connection. I tried PTFE and Jointing compound to no effect. LS-X cured it. You should always keep a tube at home. Very handy. And it stays pliable so the joint will come apart in the future no problem.

 

[Bahco]

Can be used to fix leaks too.

Racquel
I would keep a tube handy near your shower if I was you

 

[kevplumb]

now now bitchy

 

[croydoncorgi]

Has to be asked: if you fitted the tap / sink so that it was impossible to get at the tap tails after the sink was set-in, what was going to happen when the tap needed changing??? And if the access is so bad that you can't get TWO wrenches in there (one to hold the coupling, one to turn the nut) you're probably b*****ed anyway. If you just put a C-spanner / basin wrench on the coupling compression nut, turning it would probably twist the flexi and / or damage the screw-in connection in the base of the monoblock. In this situation, my preference would be to put a Pushfit connector on the end of the flexi (maybe also with a stump of copper tube) and use that to join to the copper supply pipes. That way, no force required.

 

[paul2004]

croydoncorgi,

the existing pipe work was a compression joint (after a cut off value) and so i ended up using them - i'd much rather pushfit but didn't seem possible in this situation.

there wasn't enough vertical height between the existing pipe supplies (which run behind the cabinets quite far up the wall) and the full length of copper piping down from the tap so i had to shorten the tap pipes and use flexible hoses which is responsible for putting me where i am! but i couldn't see another solution.

if the tap needs changing it will *all* have to come out anyway - the tap is fixed through the steel sink.

But retrospect is a wonderful thing!

Why doesn't anyone do really short spanners... or spanners with an L shape!

But i have some of the LS-X stuff now and i'll give that a go.

thanks everybody
paul