A leaking wall plate elbow?

AdamW · 3 Apr 2004

I have used two wall-plate elbows (as usually used for outside taps) in order to mount my mixer bar shower to the wall. Now, the 15mm compression joint is fine but the end where I screwed in the shower adaptors appears to be leaking.

I put two or three turns of PTFE tape around the thread of the shower adaptors before screwing them in, and made sure they were in there good and proper with a spanner. Should there be some kind of washer in there as well?

At the moment it is metal, wrapped in PTFE, screwed into metal. Nothing like an olive or a washer.

billy bob · 3 Apr 2004

use a bit more PTFE, about 9 turns

oilman · 3 Apr 2004

Loctite 55 string might help or hemp and jointing compound (fills big gaps).

AdamW · 3 Apr 2004

Thanks guys, I will look for all of these options in the local shed. I suspect it will be jointing compound if several turns of PTFE doesn't do the trick.

CH4 · 3 Apr 2004

AdamW,

If the shower is supplied directly from your water main (the hot via a combi boiler, for instance), then do not use hemp. It supports microbiological growth that can contaminate the water supply. There are Water Bylaw Scheme approved substitutes for hemp available, such as Fernox's this. Also, only use a jointing compound that is suitable for potable water.

If the shower is supplied from a tank in the loft then please ignore this post.

HenryRoot · 3 Apr 2004

Try using gas tape instead of the usual PTFE. This is much thicker and easier to handle - well it works for me anyway. Luckily this is one of the few items containing the word gas that you don't need to be Corgi registered for, or get planning permission to use it!

AdamW · 4 Apr 2004

CH4: I bought some potable compound in the end: Homeb*se prices too, so that was £3.30 or something! I am using it on tankfed water, but I bought the potable stuff under the assumption that I am bound to need some for a mains water joint at some point so may as well just keep the green compound to avoid poisoning anyone unwittingly with the cheaper compound at a later date. Plus there are many people who will quite happily drink a glass of tank water (although I have all cold taps connected to mains anyway). Always good to voice your concerns on the forum, whilst it didn't apply in my case someone else will read this and make a decision NOT to use hemp on their mains water.

I had wondered about gas PTFE, didn't know it existed until I saw it in one of my catalogues this evening, came on here and Henry had suggested it too!

ChrisR · 4 Apr 2004

Gas tape isn't good for water if you twist the join around a lot, I've found; put in a monster cylinder and every joint leaked!

logan34 · 23 Dec 2022

Hi,
Instead of the conventional PTFE, try using gas tape. This is much thicker and more manageable. Fortunately, this is one of the few goods with the term "gas" in it for which you don't need to obtain planning permission or register with Corgi. Thanks

robinbanks · 23 Dec 2022

@logan34 Think he might have fixed his leaking shower by now; 18 years is a long time to go unwashed

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A leaking wall plate elbow?

billy bob

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