Leaking compression fitting

[MikeG]

Today I installed two compression fittings. One is leaking a little. A drop every minute or so. I think I tightened it a little too much. I was going to remove the valve and wrap a little teflon on the compression ring and put thread sealer on.

Should I instead replace the compression ring? Can these be pulled off easily or should I get a ring puller?

Thanks, Mike

[jimbo]

You should use a puller, although there are techniques to cut it off.

If the pipe has been "tweeked" to much, you may still have a problem. If you could cut the pipe back, this would be ideal. A little pipe dope is a good idea; most folks recommend against teflon tape, but some guys do use it successfully.

[MikeG]

Jimbo - will a faucet handle puller work or is there one specifically made for compression rings?

[plumber1]

If it's the 3/8" comp. side, you can't pull it off.

Just take the nut back away and paint a little compound and JUST SNUG UP .

The compound will be more of a lubricant and then a sealent.

Some times a little grease will work well.

[jimbo]

They make a pipe insert that let's you use a faucet handle puller to pull the rings.

[Terry]

We use sleeve puller like these.
I find that the instructions that come with the compression stops work fine.
I little bit of oil on the threads. WD40 works fine.

NEVER Telflon Tape
YES on lubricant

[MikeG]

Thanks guys. I'll play it safe and see if Ferguson's has the puller. Last thing I need is to shut off the water and have a compression ring that won't come off.

It is the 1/2" side.

Next time I'll hand tighten and do a 1/2 turn with the wrench. It may also be that the pipe needs to be cut. I had to use emory paper on it to get the ring and nut to fit on. Or, the easiest thing at this point is to get a solder on fitting and be done with it.

[Terry]

As a first year guy, it was my job to remove the angle stops from the boxes and disassemble the nuts and ferrules.

I then put pipe dope on the threads, and reassembled.
One day I started to read the instructions on the box, and of course my journeyman yelled at me to quit reading and wasting time.

When I read the "use light oil" on the threads part and turned to him and said,

"We're supposed to put light oil on these."

He said,

"What? Give me that box!"

"Hey! You're right!

"Try some of the WD40 over there, it's got to be quicker than what you're doing! You won't even have to disassemble them."

At this point I'm thinking,

"Duh!........"

And that's the day that 150 plumbers started their switch from pipe dope to oil on the compression stops at Crown Custom Plumbing.

I still get yelled at for reading newspapers and books.
You can find out some neat things that way though.

One thing about plumbers that I always tell my customers,

"Don't let them throw away the instructions."

And when they buy a Toto Unifit equipped toilet,

"Make the plumber read the instructions before he starts on this one."

and

"Don't let him throw away the toggle screws that hold the seat down that are stapled to the Unifit adapter."

I know that plumbers don't like to read those things.
I hate getting calls wondering how to attach the seats when the plumber has thrown out the toggle screws at the beginning of the job.

Granted, in plumbing, some of the instructions are not written well, like the push the wax on the horn of a toilet, which I don't do either.

But sometimes they do hold some key information that should be noted.


One thing I do a lot, is to remove useless Teflon Tape from everything a homeowner can think of to wind it around. Not as messy as pipe dope, but certainly annoying.
In many cases, it's remove the tape, reassemble and Viola! the leak is gone!
Terry Love

[jimbo]

Well, this dead horse is about done! But I can't resist a few more comments.

WD-40 is not oil. It states right on the can it is NOT a lubricant. BUT, we all know it is a little oily, and is one of the most valuable consumer products on the market.

Plumber's grease is also a good thing to use on compression fittings. Nobody mentioned that.

I would not use a "setting" type of pipe dope. But the white or so-called "teflon" pastes do not really set up. I recently did have to take apart a couple of valves I put in I believe about 10 years ago. Came apart just fine.

By the way, on non-ball type stops, I disassemble the stem and put a light smear of silicone grease on the stem threads and stem packing. Seems to help keep from freezing up over the years.


Anyway, looks like everyone agrees: Loose the teflon tape! And now, it's Miller time!