> gas was leaking passed the 3/4" pipe threads of the exit fitting. I had
> debated replacing this fitting when I had the tank out but decided
> against it because I couldn't find anything to replace it with that I
> thought would fit properly or be any better. The fitting itself has non
> tapered British pipe threads which screw into a 3/16" thick plate
> soldered to the bottom of the tank.
Get tapered threads and use the brown Permatex 2H, the stuff that dries
hard. That's the best gas-proof leak sealer, assuming that your threads
will do a reasonable job.
When we had the gas pump come apart so many times on Rockwell's dyno,
the culprit was my own lack of knowledge of plumbing fixtures. Chris,
weren't you and Jeffie the ones who went to pick up the right stuff? Can
you shed any more light on the actual events, or was it Danny?
The story involved a little old lady at a family-run hardware store, if
I recall, who shook her head when they showed her what we were using and
what we were trying to do. "You need tapered threads for that," she
said. We ended up -- honest to goodness -- with a couple of pieces
of dual-ended male pipe sticking out of the little fuel pump, with
tapered threads on the ends, and then had brass elbows that fitted onto
the pipe threads. I slathered the whole thing with 2H and we sailed
through the dyno session after that.
> Also I coated the threads of the fitting and the washer with
> a thread compound recommended by a clerk at a local auto parts store.
> The thread compound seemed like the same goopy grey-white paste I'd
> bought in the past from plumbing supply stores.
Doesn't sound like The Right Stuff. The 2H is gas-proof, dries hard,
works great. But it won't seal if the threads don't seal.
--Scott
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