Such overtightening will cause the metal threads inside of the line to become warped, making it much easier for water to slip past. It may also damage the rubber O-rings inside of the line. Only tighten the line as far as is necessary to prevent water from leaking out when you turn the fixture on.
Hand Tight is Right
In fact, pipes should only be hand tight to help aid the flow of water throughout your home. The unique construction and configuration of pipes means they are made to be tightened just enough, making them super tight can actually prevent water from flowing properly.
If you can't disassemble the valve or fitting, it's a good indicator that the connection is much too tight. The only thing to do in this instance is to remove and replace the fitting in question. Additionally, you'll need to replace any tubing run that you can't remove from the fitting.
They should be hand tightened and then another 1 or 2 turns, but no more. More turns will put too much pressure on the fitting and may crack it and cause a leak. The Tensile Stress created by tightening the fitting beyond hand-tight and 1 or 2 more turns will crack the female fittings.
While it's important to tighten components enough to prevent a leak, overtightening can have several disadvantages: While overtightening, you might strip the pipe threads, making the fittings useless. You might also crack or otherwise break the fitting.
If a valve is over-tightened, it deforms the tubing and the connection, as mentioned earlier. These deformities create cracks and gaps where the fluid can begin leaking out.
Problem #2: Over-Tightening the Flare Connection
This causes the flare face inside the nut to be crushed or cracked. Over-tightening may cause the tubing inside the flare nut to spin, which scratches the flare seat or flare face so that it no longer has a good seal.
A simple rule of thumb for installing tapered pipe threads, both metal and plastic, is finger tight plus one to two turns with a wrench. Be cautious of overtightening NPT and NPTF connections. FTHT (Fit to Hand Tight) is the threaded assembly screwed together hand-tight but without any sealant applied to the threads.
The average American house has plumbing lines running to and from multiple rooms. For a variety of reasons, any of these pipes can loosen over time and produce unpleasant noises such as rattling or banging. Let's take a quick look at the cause of loose pipes.
Since the valve is held open and unable to seat or close completely it can become overheated and burn. Depending on which valve it is (intake or exhaust) you can experience blow back thru the carburetor, injection intake or air flow mass body, its called a backfire.
Yes, it is possible to overtighten a valve stem. If the stem is tightened too much, it can cause damage to the wheel rim and the tire itself. It can also cause the tire to lose air quickly or become permanently flat. Therefore, it's essential to be careful when tightening valve stems and not use excessive force.
Residential water pressure tends to range between 45 and 80 psi (pounds per square inch). Anything below 40 psi is considered low and anything below 30 psi is considered too low; the minimum pressure required by most codes is 20 psi. Pressures above 80 psi are too high.
It depends entirely on the connection being made. Tapered pipe threads seal better with tape, compression fittings should never have teflon in them, nor should flare fittings. Obviously soldered lines do not need tape.
Yes and no. Larger pipes increase the water flow through the line, but if the water isn't up to that necessary flow, it won't increase your water pressure. Municipal water systems have impressive pressure, but that doesn't mean a larger line can help. Bigger lines do not always help things get faster o stronger.
You only need to use 2-3 wraps of tape, however thinner tape may need 4-5 wraps. Make sure you start wrapping at the end of the fitting, covering the end to prevent the thread from seizing. For the joint assembly, you should tighten the threaded joint 1-2 turns beyond finger tight, be careful not to over tighten.
As a general guideline, after hand-tight engagement, tighten 2-3 full turns for sizes up to 1 inches for NPT fittings. You should have between 3.5 and 6 engaged threads. Any number outside of this range may indicate either under or over tightening of the joint or out of tolerance threads.
Also, do not use too much Teflon tape as this could be counterproductive and prevent the joint from sealing properly and/or causing the tape to gum up.
This means the tape will tighten in the right direction and not unravel when you tighten the nut. Wrapping PTFE tape three times around the joint is enough—any more than that and you risk overloading the thread with tape.
Luckily- there is a better way. Even better news is that there are TWO better ways. The better, safer, more efficient way to ensure seal integrity is to use Engineered Silicone Formulations and in some instances- Teflon-Bonded Silicone.
A common cause of leaks from flare joints is incorrect torque. Insufficient torque results in inadequate seat contact, while excessive torque can result in damage to the tube and fitting through cold working.
37° flare fittings — As the most common fitting in the world, improper installation of 37° flare fittings can be generally attributed to insufficient tightening or over tightening. Many times these fittings are over torqued, which collapses the cone on the 37° flare and causes premature failure, resulting in leakage.
Here are some of the Do's and Don'ts of PVC joint assembly: Don't over-tighten joints by giving them "one more turn to be sure."Do finger tighten plus one or two turns - No More. Don't wrap Teflon tape or Teflon paste or pipe dope to add bulk to or to lubricate the joint.