leaky victaulic

Bluenose_13

I have a customer with a hot water boiler which has 3 in. victaulic fittings, which leak profusely when boiler drops below 150 F. I don't have alot of experience with victaulic. I want to stop the leaks, is it a matter of possibly just replacing rubbers or what else makes these things leak. Its 6 joints/connections

Al Letellier

vitaulic

It's the gaskets. They will shrink and leak as the temperature drops. Replacement is the only permanent solution. Make sure you get the right ones. Vitaulic makes several different types of gaskets for various applications, including high heat.

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Keith A. Laird, PE

A possibility

Two possibilities (but unlikely given the assumption that these are factory made Vic nipples)

1. Sometimes the machine that rolls or cuts the Vic groove gets out of adjustment, or the guy running the machine doesn't know what he is doing. The result is an out of tolerance groove.

2. Sometimes, if it is a painted nipple, you get a weird reaction between the paint and the Vic lube (which is pretty caustic stuff.) check to see if the paint is blistering in the groove, because it will leak.

Speaking of lube, did you lube it when you put it together? If Vic lube is unavailable, Crisco can be used, but I'm not sure how it will hold up.

Jim Walls_2

grooved ftgs

just some thoughts, as Al said make sure you get the right grade of gasket , Lubricate the coupler , it's possible if there is no lubricant that the gasket is sticking to the inside of the coupler & cannot move with expansion & contraction , sometimes you can tap on the coupling (gently!) and get them to seal , but this will not solve you problem for the long run. Also, are you sure it is victaulic? Sometimes I here the name used for all grooved fittings , no matter what brand. I do not think there is a problem with the pipe groove or it would leak all the time , it really does sound like a gasket or lubrication problem

Bluenose_13

thanks

Jim,Al and Keith thanks for the imput, I apprecitate it.The fittings are definitely victaulic, I didn't install it and its now about 10 yrs old. Lack of lubrication eh?. I'm definitely going to replace gaskets. These fittings are right off the top of boiler, which they are running approx.180 F, should I be considering high temp gaskets.Thanks again.