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Leaking connector on ball valve

Started by eastman03, October 17, 2018, 01:56:31 PM

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eastman03

Hey guys, brand new to the forum, and new to owning an outdoor wood boiler, I just moved to the country.  I just had a question about these types of connectors from plastic waterlines to the metal valves.  They seem to leak (a little bit) when the water is cold, or warming up.  No problems when the lines are hot, for the most part.  I'm just not sure of the name of these connectors.  I have tightened them down enough that I don't want to risk breaking the plastic.  Is there a way to fix these up so they don't leak?
Looks like a great forum, lots of good info I've seen already! Sorry if this is a question that has been asked 1000 times.  Thanks

Close up of the leaking connector.




Picture of the stack of connections from the main line, and the bypass and the garage lines, and furnace lines.




Picture of my wood collection.



Bert

Is it leaking on the threads? I would think teflon tape or plumbers putty would do the trick if you can take it apart. It should not leak.
Saw you tomorrow!

mrcaptainbob

You'll do yourself a favor by getting rid of all those plastic fittings. It's the whitish compression fitting between the PEX and the gray fitting that's decomposing. Don't know if it's caused by heat, time or whatever, but crumble they do. The material actually gets mushy. I'd suggest swapping all of them out for either crimped fittings or the SharkBite type. The SharkBite types are pricey, but you do it only once. And....they're reusable should you want to revise the plumbing. I had that issue with mine. Twice. The entire stove drained itself into the basement about twelve years ago. Another time one of them gave way at the stove side and killed a LOT of the lawn in the area. Could've grown orchids in that humid hot house. I'd recommend doing them all at once. And doing it on your schedule. Those stupid connectors should be outlawed for this use. 

eastman03

Yea, I figured that would be the best answer.  Any other option I take at this point would just be a stop gap until they are all leaking or failed.   I think this is called a ground connector (I forget exactly), but the threads aren't what holds the water back to my understanding.  It's like a gasket the flushes up on the brass side and the plastic threads clamp it together.  They are junk, and probably past their lifespan.  Of course I see this problem now a week or two before I need to be burning.
Thanks

realzed

I'm not sure how much room you really have but you might consider some cam-lock type of fittings as well to help get rid of your problems - they always worked great for me in a variety of water systems and are easily opened up if the need arises and they seal very well from my experiences on water systems (not heating systems admittedly) but they have saved my bacon a number of times! They probably do take up a bit more room than conventional threaded connectors - but the way I look at it, they don't require the usual  wrench or 2 to get into tight situations either once installed on the appropriate sections of pipes or hoses..

thecfarm

I had some sort of plastic nut on my OWB lines.  ::)   But my lines look bigger than yours,mine are one inch.  I used Ford couplings on mine. Problem solved. The coupling that I have,Ford, the town uses them on the town water lines. It's like a band that go around the line and than a bolt tightens the band around the line.
Good luck. Welcome to the forum.
Google Ford couplings. Some are a compression nut. Some are like the ones I used.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

hedgerow

Quote from: eastman03 on October 17, 2018, 01:56:31 PM
Hey guys, brand new to the forum, and new to owning an outdoor wood boiler, I just moved to the country.  I just had a question about these types of connectors from plastic waterlines to the metal valves.  They seem to leak (a little bit) when the water is cold, or warming up.  No problems when the lines are hot, for the most part.  I'm just not sure of the name of these connectors.  I have tightened them down enough that I don't want to risk breaking the plastic.  Is there a way to fix these up so they don't leak?
Looks like a great forum, lots of good info I've seen already! Sorry if this is a question that has been asked 1000 times.  Thanks

Close up of the leaking connector.




Picture of the stack of connections from the main line, and the bypass and the garage lines, and furnace lines.




Picture of my wood collection.



Is that pipe actually pex or another type of plastic. I haven't seen those type of fittings on pex around here. I would also wonder if the pipe and fittings are rated for 180-200 degree water that the OWB could be sending  them. I would sure re do that piping before a flood happens. 

eastman03

That was going to be another question of mine.  I'm not exactly sure what kind of pipes those are, I think I just called them pex because they are plastic, but I believe they are specific wood boiler pipes, so they should be able to handle the heat and such. 
Thanks for the help guys, I will be looking at several temporary and permanent solutions.  I've never heard of the ford,  or the cam-lock type of fittings, but good thing for google.  I do have a fair amount of space where the lines enter the house in the utility room, so no problems there. 
Great resource here!

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