Toilet ring Plumber Putty, radiant floor

Hi All -

My local plumber recommended i use plumber's putty to set my new toilet in the basement (Slab on Grade) - due to having recently poured the cement with pex radiant tubing in it. His reasoning is if we ever get the floor too hot, if the pipes are too close to the close flange, etc, it could melt the wax ring. PP will prevet this.

Is this sound? Is it doable?

thanks for any input!

Chad

Another option is a waxless flange adapter. There's a thread about them here:

https://terrylove.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24924

I'd opt for a waxless seal. But, unless the pex run is really close to the flange, it shouldn't be an issue...you normally don't run the water temp higher than say 120-degrees, and at that point, the wax won't melt. If your water temp is higher than that, your floow wouldn't be comfortable either. A radiant system has a long response time...and except in the coldest days, normally wouldn't run hot anyways. It can take days to initially bring a big slab up to temp, depending on the thickness, insulation, and water temp. Once there, it's mostly how much insulation you have.

Thanks for the replies, the heat pipes are within 4 inches, I'd say. And given that it does take a while to heat up, if we accidently got it too hot, I suppose it'd take awhile to cool down

I will check into the waxless... I'm using a cadet 3 - any reason that wouldn't work?

Thank you all!

Chad

PS - I like the idea that i can remove it / reinstall it if need be, as my cement floor will need another coat of sealant in a few weeks time.

There are two (at least) companies that make waxless toilet seals: Fernco, and Fluidmaster. Either should work...HD sells the Fluidmaster.


If you use the Fluidmaster waxless seal, push it onto the bottom of the bowl first.

I have set and always will set all water closets with non-drying plumbers putty.

Non-drying or not, wax won't dry out...not sure about putty...

Very interesting thread topic...