Boss White v. PTFE ...or nothing!

[Max Tout]

Is it best to use Boss White/jointing compound, PTFE, or 'nothing at all' , around the olives when installing compression fittings in both ‘potable water’ and ‘non-potable’ water situations ?

 

[glasgowplumber]

I always compress the olive, loosen the fitting, tape it, re-tighten. Takes slightly longer each time but the last thing you want is anything leaking late in the day when you think your done.

Ive only ever worked with one person that put boss white on olives, guy was about 92 though so it's to be expected. I use boss white & tape on certain male adapters

 

[SJB]

A new fitting on a new piece of copper with a new olive, doesn't need anything in my experience.
I might put a couple of wraps of ptfe around an olive if I'm just replacing an isolation valve and using the nut and olive that's already on the pipe. I've never used boss white in all my time.

Most important thing is having a clean piece of pipe for the olive to sit on.

 

[Masood]

I agree with SJB. No need for anything on new pipe & olive, a wrap of tape if reusing existing olive & nut. Always put a smear of Hawk White on gas fittings..

 

[mike76]

When I was serving my time apprenticeship! Not jail ! The guys I worked for frowned at ptfe tape on joints said real diy lads only used it ! I rather boss white, but use ptfe aswell just if the pipe needs a bit of beefing up

 

[Best]

There has been many threads about same subject. Plumbers tend to disagree on this one.
Truth is this - compression fittings manufacturers say no extra jointing is needed, BUT THAT IS WRONG!
If you use nothing but an olive then most of the cheaper fittings will often leak & the better quality fittings will also have a few joints that weep. I am not talking about always bad drips, but microscopic weeps that you can barely find, if at all. The seized nuts or white corrosion on brass fittings or staining on pipes in a year or two is caused by slight leaks & nothing else.
Clean new copper pipe is still imperfect, olives are imperfect & copper olives tend to weep on hot pipes, like heating ones.
Boss White is not potable but great for male & female fittings on heating. It tends to ooze & set rock hard with high heat, so can be a pain on olives.
Jet Lube is brilliant & does gas. It is non hardening. Expensive but you won't waste any as it won't set like boss White does in its tub. A paste is better than ptfe tape as it is a fine, almost liquid sealant.
Anyone who says they never use anything on brass fittings & has never had a leak, should go back to their joints after a year or more if they get the opportunity. We have all fitted cheap fittings - like the standard isolating valves, at some time I bet. These isolating valves come with copper olives, but they tend to leak slightly & seize. Not every joint, but a lot of them & yet a smear of paste & no leaks ever from them.

 

[Best]

I always compress the olive, loosen the fitting, tape it, re-tighten. Takes slightly longer each time but the last thing you want is anything leaking late in the day when you think your done.

Ive only ever worked with one person that put boss white on olives, guy was about 92 though so it's to be expected. I use boss white & tape on certain male adapters

I also loosen the compression fitting after compressing it, but I use paste. Pity to have to do this, but safer. That way you can check the olive is full on & properly compressed. Especially good to do on oddball valves etc which come with hard olives & hard to compress. You always know your pipes aren't going to fall out of a fitting someday!
On that point, one thing I omitted to say, is a very huge benefit of using paste is that the fitting will compress much easier & no squeal.
By the way, I am not 92 but always use paste. :smile:

 

[Ermintrude]

I always use jet blue and

 

[SimonG]

Paste on heating and water. Heldite on oil.

 

[Neil K]

I work on district heating. I use both!

 

[kris]

I only ever use boss white on coils on a cylinder, or at 1" boiler connections on floor standing boilers or wood burners , I use ptfe on any thread where needed but fiitings no , only connections where i need to make sure like inside walls etc,,, (belt n braces)

PS Boss white stinks,

 

[SimonG]

Linseed oil. But I like the smell. Some of the potable stuff is absolute cack. Hwos have a good one in.

 

[MOSSEP]

Paste for me too

 

[stevetheplumber]

paste for me as well potable or not

 

[tolly]

jet lube v2/jet blue for me, use it on every olive and the odd bit smeared over a fibre washer on a tap con that doesn't want to play ball.

 

[tolly]

Im not overly fussed though as the only compression joints I make are in accessible areas, use end feed backplate elbows and end feed male irons on concealed showers etc.

 

[Cello]

Like "Best" says, using paste does help with tightening up the joint. I also apply petroleum jelly to the threads as well as Boss White to the olive and the joint tightens up silky smoothly and easily - particularly useful if the joint is awkward to get at so that it is difficult to apply much torque.

 

[Whyme]

I always use jointing smeg cos i like to leave a job and only go back if its for a different paying one.

 

[plumben]

LSX and Ptfe for me use gas ptfe & what ever gas paste city pluming's got in,
Always use something, its no worth getting a leak for the sake of 5 seconds,
also find if the pipe gets a knock it'll sometimes weep if you haven't pasted/ptfe

 

[tolly]

your spot on there about the pipe getting knocked and then weeping thing

 

[plumben]

your spot on there about the pipe getting knocked and then weeping thing

Theres nothing worse than rad tails or kitchen sink tails getting knocked and weeping making your work look bad

 

[kirkgas]

Boss white can't be used on potable, and there's no need to use two different compounds on any fitting,

 

[Ermintrude]

Just use one that does all.....

 

[kris]

Theres nothing worse than taking or trying to take an old old fitting thats been put on with boss white/putty years ago by our founding fathers ,especially hot water tanks (vented), lots of swearing

 

[Best]

Theres nothing worse than taking or trying to take an old old fitting thats been put on with boss white/putty years ago by our founding fathers ,especially hot water tanks (vented), lots of swearing

Yea, - male or female fittings put on with flax, or Hemp as most call it & boss white, can be so hard to remove & better with heat from a torch first. Trying to get the male fitting of top of copper cylinder that obviously still has water up to that level.
I used to use flax many years ago on some male or female fittings on cylinders, but I decided the ptfe tape, which was still not fully accepted by many in the trade in those days, was best because it was a perfect seal if done right, but easy to remove the fitting in the future. Ptfe was dearer but still small cost really.

 

[Whyme]

Bring back Stag i say.

 

[Best]

It has just occurred to me, one good reason flax was used years ago with little thought of the trouble it would be to remove the fittings in the future, was that everything in plumbing lasted a lifetime - literally! A copper cylinder had a typical life of well over 40 years easily & taps much the same.
Bathroom suites, oil boilers etc, all built to last.
An apprentice, I bet, could have retired later in life, still not getting a call back to some of his work he helped with when a lad, as it still was working as good as new.

 

[Best]

Bring back Stag i say.

No thanks! I hate having red fingers with that stuff! :smile:

 

[tom609]

jet blue from p/centre for me every joint

 

[AWheating]

if its on a heating system like a rad valve or a control i use a smear of paste due to the fact the temps are alot higher, if its a compression fitting i cant easily get to/ a spanner on i may wrap the olive if its a value fitting but normally on hot and cold i dont put anything on.

i never put paste on ptfe tape or any plastics are it can react to the plastics compound.

sometimes i use tru blue instead of paste.

 

[MarkAqua]

if you dont use jet white/ boss universal on an olive your asking for trouble. New, old, black or white I dont care, paste that olive mother lickers

 

[The Goose]

Jet blue for me on every fitting. New old etc works a treat and years later comes apart no problem.
Also good on hot, cold, gas, potable. And most importantly won't ruin a carpet if you knock it overunk: