Really crummy Scamp shower fitting

[Steven Tonnesen]

To anyone owning a Scamp with a shower: what kind of faucet is in your shower?

The one I found in mine is called an Empire. It is GARBAGE!! Look at the picture and you can see. It is formed in a mold that insures leaks. With this fitting, sealing occurs at the threads. The threads are made in an ill-fitted mold. There is no way this cannot leak. Leaks cause can and do cause rotting of the floor.

What brand of shower faucets are in your Scamp? If they are Empire, check your floor for rot.



[attachment=1644:attachm
ent]

[Dan Quinn]

one prob i see is never use that tape on plastic fittings that will leak every time ..i have not seen any faucets that arnt plastic mold style in a long time unless you buy the real expencive house type...

[Gina D.]

I am not a plumber, but the boyz at Ace hardware told me the same thing. Never us tape on plastic fittings.

I haven't. Not one of the few minor jobs I have done leak.

[Steven Tonnesen]

I am not a plumber, but the boyz at Ace hardware told me the same thing. Never us tape on plastic fittings.

I haven't. Not one of the few minor jobs I have done leak.

So if I had not used teflon tape, it would not have leaked??!! This makes no sense to me. What, if anything, should I have used??

[Frederick L. Simson]

So if I had not used teflon tape, it would not have leaked??!! This makes no sense to me. What, [b]if anything, should I have used??

You should not use anything. Using teflon tape on plastic fittings is like "carrying coals to Newcastle." Totally redundant. A solution in search of a problem.

[Dan Quinn]

So if I had not used teflon tape, it would not have leaked??!! This makes no sense to me. What, if anything, should I have used??

use nothing that is the way made...

[Gina D.]

they also told me to never mix copper and pvc/plastic, but I have a metal shower arm and a plastic shower head.. no leaks. Been there for several years.

[Byron Kinnaman]

Metal to plastic works fine without the teflon tape.

[Kurt & Ann K.]

Thanks,
I've plumbed a whole house, done many repairs for customers and friends with both iron and copper but never encountered the newer plastic fixtures.
I'd probably have used either teflon putty or tape myself. However, when using brass to brass fittings, no sealant is used. Now that I think about it, iron risers for sprinkler systems in the yard are screwed directly into the PVC fittings without putty or tape.

I'm not too old to learn new tricks!
Kurt & Ann K.

[Lew King]

Couldn't you use pipe dope like they
use on iron pipes ?? Not sure if that is ok for potable water
tho.???
Lew

[Brian B-P]

Teflon tape is the more convenient modern replacement for pipe dope - same purpose, same applications as far as I know. The real solution, in my opinion, is to use a fitting design which incorporates a proper seal - not pipe threads. In Steven's shower, of course, that's not an option because he has to work with the existing fixture.

Have a look at modern hydraulic systems: they use flared tubing against conical seats, O-ring sealed seats (face seals), compression fittings (that grip smoothly all around a tube), and other techiniques which don't depend on what race car preparation expert once called "a built-in spiral leak" (the pipe thread). Even most of the plumbing in a house no longer uses pipe threads, leaving only these occasional fixtures to cause us grief.

[Lloyd Drinkwater]

If one looks at a pipe thread you will find they are made with a taper,both male & female fittings. It's the threads that make the seal. pipe dope or tape takes up any inperfections or nicks in the thread and also cuts down on friction so the joint takes up smoothly.
You will find all hot water tanks electric & gas still use threaded connections for the inlet & outlet water connections.Also all the thermostats/gas valves used on our heaters and refrigerators use female threaded ports.
I have been in the Refrigeration trade for over 40 years and have always used thread compound on joints, including brass to brass.
On plastic fittings no joint compound or tape is required,as the plastic will take up any slack in the threads,plastic to plastic or plastic to metal.

[Benny K]

When I was employed, I found that the only sealant that I used very successfully on gasoline piping using black iron pipe was Masters Compound....I had problems with the Loctite thread sealants and also T tape....... I used Masters on everything, black pipe, galv pipe, threaded brass and copper fittings......it also was the only sealant that worked well on high pressure grease lube supply pipes and small fittings from the reels down.....on plastic fittings I normally used nothing.......I had tried Vaseline, silicone dilectric grease, and some other stuff but some products would attack certain plastics.........Personally I don`t like the teflon tape even though it is clean to work with...prefered the Loctite sealant to the tape....running away with myself here.....Benny

[Brian B-P]

I knew someone would mention gas fittings... the pressure in a natural gas line after the regulator is so incredibly low, and the fittings so massively oversized, that it seems that just about anything would work; it doesn't seem like a challenging application. Household water supply pressure is about a hundred times higher, and industrial hydraulics run 40 or more times higher pressure than the water plumbing.

I agree that there are still a lot of pipe threads in very successful use, in household plumbing and elsewhere. I still think it's technology to avoid if possible, especially in applications which involve vibration, such as in a moving vehicle.

[Frederick L. Simson]

I'm confused. I thought that all of the trailers had plastic faucets. In fact, the whole plumbing system in my Fiber Stream is made entirely out of plastic. Plastic pipe, plastic compression fittings, plastic faucets, plastic drains, plastic tanks...

[Benny K]

I don`t think that anyone mentioned gas fittings as yet.......I mentioned gasoline and high pressure lubricating grease....suppose I could have also mentioned black pipe threaded fittings used in industrial applications such as hydraulic hoist systems which are relatively low pressure (350 psi or so) .......on my bus conversion I ran 3/8" black pipe from the propane regulator to the tee offs for the appliances, then single flared copper from there on and it was approved........anyway this is pretty far off the topic of plastic faucets so back to the topic I go.......Benny