Lamp wick and dope

mike19dc

What is your go-to dope for when you are using wick, I was always taught with pro dope (the gray stuff) but was wondering if anyone had any better suggestions for dope to use with wick, thanks 👍

Mad Dog_2

Everyone's got their favorites.  I prefer Megaloc or Real Tuf white paste. Really work it in to the root of the threads.  The ONLY thing I use the gray dope is for slip nuts and traps.  Some of the Old Timers I worked for in NYC in the Mid 1980s called all dope, schmaltz...(Yiddish for Fat).  Apparently, the first pipe dopes were chick fat and grease!!  Eewwww.  Mad Dog 🐕 

hot_rod

Why the wick? Is this for a straight thread BSP connection?

Danny Scully

I find wick to be fairly common @hot_rod, BSP or not. “Old school” as they say. We use megatape and pro dope for everything. Gray on gray, looks great. 

EBEBRATT-Ed

I hate pipe dope questions. You talk to 100 people and get 100 different answers. In most cases for run of the mill work what dope you use doesn't matter.

There are plenty of other things that are more likely to cause a leak.

If you're talking super high pressure and temperature then that's a different story

ChrisJ

So....

In my opinion the absolute best pipe dope is this





But

It doesn't come off your hands or clothes..... So if I want something easy to work with I use Megaloc.   

All of the recent compressed air (130 psi) connections i made and hydraulic connections (10,000 psi) were all done with the loctite 5117.

No leaks, even at 10,000 psi using normal npt connections and that was dope alone.

I use ptfe tape first followed by dope on questionable threads.


Also not 100% sure it's ok for potable water.  Never looked but would check before using it for such.

Mad Dog_2

They all get the job done, generally.  Its more of a Pride of craftsmanship & style thing to differentiate yourself: ' I'm a Burnham Man...Riello guy...Megaloc..."  ad nauseum.  Any Pipe dope that smells like Petroleum (Permatex, et cetera) I would not recommend on domestic water joints. Mad Dog 🐕 

SlamDunk

@ChrisJ 5117 is made of polymerized vegetable oil so it works with potable water. Superior stuff but is like roof tar on your hands. You have to sand it off.

ChrisJ

SlamDunk said:

@ChrisJ 5117 is made of polymerized vegetable oil so it works with potable water. Superior stuff but is like roof tar on your hands. You have to sand it off.

Roof tar, pine sap.... yeah.
I now wear nitrile gloves whenever I use it.

hot_rod

A handy way to use thread. And as you can see it fits in most hands perfectly Great for BSP threads.

Bob Harper

Anyone using SWAK or GOOP from Swagelok? Also, their leak detection fluid, SNOOP is a great thin-film non-corrosive solution. SWAK takes a day to cure but is used extensively in industry. Goop is used for ss, Ti, and exotic alloys. Expensive but worth it. You can't leave Swak on your trucks as it has a narrow storage temp. range.

Mad Dog_2

Is that by "Ronco" ?  As seen on TV?  Do I get not one...but TWO free Ginsu knives???  Remember those commercials? I've seen Goop in the hardware store, but Doesnt Gwyneth Paltrow also hawk a product by that name?  All kidding aside Bob, what have you used it on?  Mad Dog 🐕 

Intplm.

I don't use Lampwick any longer. Good stuff but Teflon tape has been the go-to for me for years now.
Conscience notwithstanding.

Bob Harper

I've mainly used SWAK on industrial air lines such as valve positioners. It has worked well on problematic NPT joints and Buderus parallel threads. I've used GOOP on a few exotic titanium screws. I carry SNOOP in my EDC bag but Big Blu is a suitable backup for a thin-film bubble soln.
SWAK has to cure a full day before you pressurize the line but once cured, you can break the joint loose if need be. It is a stiff, brittle seal unlike dope.

Mad Dog_2

Very good to know...Mad Dog 🐕 

mattmia2

Why do you use gray dope on slip nuts and traps? Seems teflon paste would work better to lubricate and keep it from seizing.

Mad Dog_2

Yes.  What I really meant to say is that"s the ONLY time I use it, and only if that's all I have.  I haven't bought a can of pro dope since the late 1980s.  Alot of the big union jobs ordered it...economical.  I've known plenty of great plumbers thats all they used for gas too!  

If you haven't already noticed I'm fiercely independent  and don't like to do or use whatever "They" say is the best.  I Like to run my own pack.    Kind of how I became a Burnham man.  Long 🏝 Island 🏝 really was Weil Mc clain Territory until the late 1980s.  I remember being at a Backyard Keg party as a First year apprentice, 1986. I met another young plumber and he was bragging: "I only do Weil Mc Lains bro...everything else is S---   
He was super cocky and arrogant ..not a bad guy, we became friends later on, but now I wanted to Put in ANYTHING he wasn't putting in.  P---- & Vinegar ...19...ha ha 😂 🤣 😆.  The next party 🥳 a few weeks later...I was boasting..."Yeah...I'm a Burnham guy...They're Hands Down the best!!!

Its very similar to people and "their" music 🎶..."Ritchie Blackmore is God!!!" No way..Clapton is The best!!"  Its a very personal thing and a Pride thing..a way to differentiate yourself....no one is right or wrong...its all personal preference and opinions.  All dopes work...Blackmore & Slowhand are awesome 👌...Mad Dog 🐕