brew703
Well-Known Member
Dumb question. Received today. Didn't have any tape on the threads. Is the white tape the correct one to use?
4 Way gas manifold
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The white "teflon" tape is perfect.
Yellow tape is for hydrocarbons - if you ever plumb a gas brew rig, definitely use the yellow tape there.
That said...if this manifold is fitted with male flare threads at the outputs to the kegs, DO NOT USE TAPE THERE! You must use flare gaskets, as tape will not close the big hole in the middle of a matching flare nut...
Cheers!
Yellow tape is for hydrocarbons - if you ever plumb a gas brew rig, definitely use the yellow tape there.
That said...if this manifold is fitted with male flare threads at the outputs to the kegs, DO NOT USE TAPE THERE! You must use flare gaskets, as tape will not close the big hole in the middle of a matching flare nut...
Cheers!
@ day_trippr, didn’t know that there was a yellow tape for gas... good to know. I’m also guessing it is for both natural and LP. and didn’t know they would use flared for co2. Good info here. Thanks
Folks seem inclined to tape cylinder couplers and CO2 flare fittings. But using tape thread or dope on a flare fitting is not only not going to seal a metal-to-metal coupling - because of that big hole right through the female/nut side - it can prevent sufficient tightening to clamp the opposing coupling faces to the shared gasket.
The yellow gas tape (yes, for NG, propane and other fuel gases) I only learned about when building my brew rig. I guess white tape can get eaten up in the presence of fuel gases, which would not be a good thing
Cheers!
The yellow gas tape (yes, for NG, propane and other fuel gases) I only learned about when building my brew rig. I guess white tape can get eaten up in the presence of fuel gases, which would not be a good thing
Cheers!
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brew703
Well-Known Member
No they are not flare fittings. Once I removed the check valves, which were a *****, i wrapped with the white teflon tape. It actually looked like there was some of that liquid teflon that was used. I cleaned some of it then wrapped and reinstalled.
The plug on one end I could not get off nor the barb on the other.
I did pressure test it under water at 12 psi and I didn't see any leaks.
Another question I have is should I have cleaned out the inside of the manifold to ensure nothing gets through to my kegs? I did inspect somewhat but probably could have cleaned out the threads a bit more than I did. Didn't think about it at the time.
If you haven't plumbed the manifold yet you could give it a flush with hot water and/or blow it out with a compressor and air gun nozzle (the rubber tipped guns are great for such things) but if it's plumbed I wouldn't be concerned. The fact that it didn't show any leaks would imply the threads weren't overtly clogged up with crud, and whatever would be in a manifold is going to be benign - a few aluminum filings, a bit of tape or a fragment of dried cement aren't going to kill anyone
Cheers!
Cheers!
since you did a test of 12psi, did you test it till it failed, ie raised the psi up to 30?
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brew703
Well-Known Member
No, didn't raise to 30 but I guess that would be a good idea.
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brew703
Well-Known Member
Yeah i already put the valves back in. Guess I'll go with it as is.If you haven't plumbed the manifold yet you could give it a flush with hot water and/or blow it out with a compressor and air gun nozzle (the rubber tipped guns are great for such things) but if it's plumbed I wouldn't be concerned. The fact that it didn't show any leaks would imply the threads weren't overtly clogged up with crud, and whatever would be in a manifold is going to be benign - a few aluminum filings, a bit of tape or a fragment of dried cement aren't going to kill anyone
Cheers!
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Me neither lol
When I took mine apart there was a lot of cutting grease and aluminum chips and filings inside. I don't think it would harm anything, there's nothing that can live in cutting grease, AFAIK. I cleaned them out thoroughly for good measure. Hot water is not going to do it.
There's only about 2 turns of thread in the holes, and needed to use 6-8 turns of white tape to get a seal AND enough friction/thickness to have them face forward.
You can use yellow tape, it's the exact same material as white, just thicker. Or the blue or gray, even thicker tape offered by certain brands out there.
There's only about 2 turns of thread in the holes, and needed to use 6-8 turns of white tape to get a seal AND enough friction/thickness to have them face forward.
You can use yellow tape, it's the exact same material as white, just thicker. Or the blue or gray, even thicker tape offered by certain brands out there.
When I took mine apart there was a lot of cutting grease and aluminum chips and filings inside. I don't think it would harm anything, there's nothing that can live in cutting grease, AFAIK. I cleaned them out thoroughly for good measure. Hot water is not going to do it.
There's only about 2 turns of thread in the holes, and needed to use 6-8 turns of white tape to get a seal AND enough friction/thickness to have them face forward.
You can use yellow tape, it's the exact same material as white, just thicker. Or the blue or gray, even thicker tape offered by certain brands out there.
There's only about 2 turns of thread in the holes, and needed to use 6-8 turns of white tape to get a seal AND enough friction/thickness to have them face forward.
You can use yellow tape, it's the exact same material as white, just thicker. Or the blue or gray, even thicker tape offered by certain brands out there.
OP
OP
brew703
Well-Known Member
I set the psi to 30 for about 10 min and saw no bubbles or any drop in pressure. So I'm fairly confident there are no leaks.
I'm on the bubble about taking off the valves and cleaning out the inside of the manifold just for piece of mind. However when I inspected yesterday didn't notice anything like grease of any metal shaving.
I did wrap the valve threads about 5 or 6 times but wasn't able to get the end cap or the hose barb off. I would have to put the manifold in a vice to get enough leverage to remove. I'm tempted to just roll with what I have and hope there are no issues down the line.
Thinking about hooking up on friday so I can monitor for leaks.
I'm on the bubble about taking off the valves and cleaning out the inside of the manifold just for piece of mind. However when I inspected yesterday didn't notice anything like grease of any metal shaving.
I did wrap the valve threads about 5 or 6 times but wasn't able to get the end cap or the hose barb off. I would have to put the manifold in a vice to get enough leverage to remove. I'm tempted to just roll with what I have and hope there are no issues down the line.
Thinking about hooking up on friday so I can monitor for leaks.
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