Pipe Dope for 2" Home Oil Tank Lines?
I see the White can of Blue Monster says "Formulated for extra lubrication on metal pipe fittings".
I've used a little this and a little that throughout the years on oil, gas, water lines and never do enough to have a favorite.
Was going to skip teflon and just put a good coat of dope.
What do you all like for oil tank fill and vent lines?
Thanks for the input.
Comments
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You cannot use Hercules Pro Dope on oil lines.0
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This is a very good product. Look it up?
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Any brand od teflon tape cannot be used on oil.
Whatever you pick make sure you can use it on oil. It will say on the can. GasOila is ok. I like rectorseal "true Blue"0 -
permatex 51d was always my go to and seemed to not get the weepers that all fill pipes seem to get over time. the fact that it is black is also a bonus in my book. less messy looking.0
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Thanks guys. I'm going to seek out and make sure my dope is "Heating Oil" friendly. I tried to find GasOila locally, unfortunately nobody has it and I need to do this job asap so I'm going to go with probably Blue Monster, or Megaloc, both which say compatible with Heating Oils.
Local guy told me he uses BlueMonster dope, and Blue Monster 1" tape (Supposedly compatible with heating oils) on all of his 2" oil fill/vent line threads and that's what he stands by. I guess everyone has their methods, time to decide on mine.
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Thread sealant compatibility charts attached
There is no difference between blue monster branded ptfe tape and other brands except the color and density. It's all PTFE. Densities vary wildly, just compare to the tape that comes with shower heads that come apart like lamp wick.. but it's still ptfe.
ptfe tape is not recommended because of the higher chance of misuse and overtightening. not because of the chemical incompatibility. little strands at the end falling off clogging the tiny holes and being a great lubricant can lead to overtightening. of course you can say "i won't do that" but when there's an alternative option of using paste that's equally available.. there isn't a point in risking it. And manufacturers prohibit the use of ptfe tape for those reasons as it is probably one of the most common issues faced with their equipment.
Only question I have is for Rectorseal which lists some products applicable for Heating Oils, but not for Diesel Fuel Oil. Is #2 heating oil not the same as diesel fuel oil?0 -
@HandyFS
any teflon tape is against the oil codes unfortunately. The oil pump mfgs caused a stink about it 40 years ago so it is no longer allowed on any oil piping.0 -
What about hardening vs non-hardening dope? I am planning on replacing my flex hoses on my Tigerloop, as they are over 4 years old, and seem to have some minor vacuum leak there. What dope should I use on the new flex line connections? The flex hoses are only supposed to be good for 5 years, esp the 221* part number which is said to deteriorate when exposed to biofuel ( which is now everywhere) .
I will use the new Beckett S223-24, which is B100 rated now.
I am thinking there is a vacuum leak there, because I was having daily loss of prime for a few months now if the system sits idle for some lenght of time. After trying a few things, I tightened the nuts on the Tigerloop flex hoses, and the problem went away. The nuts on the flex hose where they attach to the tigerloop were a bit lose. I could turn them a 1/4 turn without putting much torque on these/Seems like increasing the TFI from 15 ro 30 seconds also made a difference. Unless the issue is something else, and the problem comes and goes coincidental to whatever I am doing.
What brings me to the Pipe dope: I wonder why those nuts loosened up. I put in an overhead supply line when I replaced my tanks with a couple of Roth, a year and a half ago. The setup worked flawlessly for about a year, but started having daily lockouts about 3 months ago. I wonder if using as "better" pipe dope could prevent these nuts from coming loose? I have some Energy Kinetics branded non-hardening white dope left ny the folks who put i my system 4 years ago, or could buy whatever you guys recommend.
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ THIS ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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That looks like the soft-set, Ptfe infused Gasoila. Is that the recommendation?,(ie Not the Gasoila NT) The EK product looks rather similar: Energy Kinetics Smart Thread Sealant (PN: 10-0620).
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Read the can. Gasolia is ok for gas and oil.
You can use any dope that says "Fuel Oil" on the can.
Teflon dope is usually ok.
No Teflon tape
I prefer soft set.
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So the main difference between soft-set and hard set is that the former is easily un-doable. It still sets, and in that sense prevents a nut from coming loose. Is that right?
I am reading elsewhere on this site that teflon tape is not recommended for oil lines, because it could lead to over-tightening a connection, because of its lube-like properties. (Not because it gets dissolved). So would the same logic apply to ptfe infused dope?
One datapoint: EK-s Tigerloop install instructions specifically recommend the EK Smart PTFE Sealant, with the caveat that care should be taken not to over-tighten the nuts. Something like "if you think it needs another 1/2 turn, then don't". That product is actually made by Locktite btw.0 -
You can use any dope including PTFE that says it is ok for fuel oil on the can. Hard set or soft set can be used.
Dope should not be required on flare nuts
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I totally get that.
The reason I am asking this question is because my flex hose connections seem to loosen up over time, and I develop a vacuum leak there, leading to "No flame" lockouts. It seems like tightening the nuts on the Flex hoses (Beckett/ Tigerloop) cures this problem, at least for a while, I get 2-3 weeks of trouble free operation, otherwise 1 or 2 lockouts per day. What I am trying to prevent is this "coming loose". I will be replacing these flex hoses because they are nearing their rated life expectancy (5 years) and want to use a high quality thread sealant when I do. Money is no object, I only need a small amount. Top candidates are the EK Smart Ptfe sealant (A rebranded Loctite product, 30 minute cure time, cures to limited strength) or the Gasoila Soft-set Ptfe, or Gasoila FasSeal ATS Anaerobic, or Gasoila NT.
The original installer used some type of blue dope, likely a Rectorseal product.0 -
Searching for the "ideal pipe dope for Heating Oil Exposure",
I see 3 requirements. It has to be compatible with:
1) The bulk oil.
2) Vegetable oil.
3) Ideally, any likely additives (anti-gel, like HotsHot and similar), pre-mixed or added by the user.Based on this, looking at the Gasoila lineup, the ATS is out.
Although it is recommended for Diesel fuel, Kerosene, and Jet fuel, not for Home Heating Oil.
Looks like this is because it is not compatible with Vegetable Oil, which may be present in today's biofuel mixes. Looking at the application matrix, this leaves us with the "Soft set PTFE" and the "NT non-ptfe" products. The application profile is identical for these 2. Compatibility includes aromatic solvents, which may be in various anti-gel additives, so that is all good. That leaves us one question: Why Ptfe ? Or why not?If a thread sealant is marked as compatible with Diesel, Kerosene, or Jet fuel, you cannot just go
by that, because of the required vegetable oil compatibility.0 -
Probably the Soft set PTFE, because of its better solvent resistance, better pressure and heat resistance.
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Can someone guide me to the code section that prohibits the use of Teflon tape on home heating oil piping, thanks.
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The oil pump mfgs railed about this probably 40 years ago. They claimed that with Teflon tape people made the fittings in to tight and damaged pumps. They also claimed that Teflon tape would get inside the pumps.
To me its horse ****. Use caution and it is fine but the code is the code,
I looked in NFPA-1 oil burner regs and all it says is use a "suitable pipe dope or sealing compound"
However in the Sun Tec oil pump manual it says "Teflon tape will void warranty"
So most people will not use Teflon and it may not pass inspection if you use it. To me Teflon tape is better than dope on oil.
Just use Gasolia or other dope approved for fuel oil.
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But can you cite the code that says this?
I think that's what he was asking.
Single pipe 392sqft system with an EG-40 rated for 325sqft and it's silent and balanced at all times.
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I could find nothing in NFPA-1 that prohibits Teflon tape. MA used to have there own oil code that did not allow Teflon tape so that was my go to but they scrapped that 10 years ago and adopted NFPA-1.
On the Suntec web site there install manual clearly states "Teflon Tape will void warranty"
I do recall that the oil pump MFGs were the ones that originally pushed this.
Since you are "supposed" to install anything in accordance with the MFG listing requirements then it basically becomes the rule, even if not specifically in the code.
maybe someone that is more up to date than me will comment.
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From NORA. I have found tape on strainers.
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I don't see Nora listed as a contributor to any of the code & standards agencies?
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Common sense dictates.
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The modern challenge is the rarity of common sense; very few possess it. And even fewer practice it.
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Based on the above discussion, I have not seen any hard "code" prohibition on using teflon tape, just a caution to make sure the tape is "compatible" if used, whatever that means.
OTOH some manufacturers effectively say "Do not use tape, if you want our warranty". Why does anybody even care? A good pipe compound is not enough for someone?0 -
To me we always used Teflon Tape with dope on oil back in the day until they started this stupid rule.
Never saw a problem with it, but I don't make the rules.
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Ridiculous rules come up from time to time. Teflon tape and dope have been used for decades. Applying it properly so that it doesn't flake off into the path of the fuel is what a pro does. Nuffsaid.
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