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Damn plastic to plastic threaded fittings .... damn the jam

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oak
oak Member Posts: 22
in THE MAIN WALL
Please, can anyone offer a solution to the jamming of my threaded plastic whole-house water filter bowl jamming into the threaded plastic housing? It's nuts. Even with the most expensive dielectric food-grade lubricant, and only hand tightening the unit, the plastic bowl jams so tight I literally rip it off the mount every time I have to change a filter. If there is no lubricant that can prevent this, how about a recommendation for a 3/4" feed prefilter that uses ... say .... plastic to metal, for example.

This is the same problem as PVC threaded pipe jams.

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  • JUGHNE
    JUGHNE Member Posts: 11,061
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    For the filter bowl, you shut off the supply in and discharge out....but do you have a way to release the pressure within the bowl. Some have a button to release the pressure.
    STEVEusaPASuperTechdelta T
  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Member Posts: 9,646
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    Mine seem to bind on the o-ring a lot more than the plastic.
  • HomerJSmith
    HomerJSmith Member Posts: 2,441
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    Ya! it's a common problem. Silicone grease doesn't seem to help.

    I haven't done this but I think I'll try it. Clean the threads, male and female with lacquer thinner. Then I would lubricate the threads with graphite power. You can get graphite in a auto parts store. Graphite is inert to plastic and a great lubricant.
  • pecmsg
    pecmsg Member Posts: 4,847
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    One piece of grit, one grain of sand cuts the plastic and form's notches that grab when trying to remove. Wash both Male and Female threads well before tightening. The O-Ring is the seal, a little food grade grease on there, hand tighten, slowly turn on if leaking replace the O-Ring.
  • realliveplumber
    realliveplumber Member Posts: 354
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    HomerJSmith said:

    Ya! it's a common problem. Silicone grease doesn't seem to help.

    I haven't done this but I think I'll try it. Clean the threads, male and female with lacquer thinner. Then I would lubricate the threads with graphite power. You can get graphite in a auto parts store. Graphite is inert to plastic and a great lubricant.

    Lacquer thinner on potable water?
  • Big Ed_4
    Big Ed_4 Member Posts: 2,785
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    Plumbers grease on the threads and drop the pressure when opening .....
    I have enough experience to know , that I dont know it all
  • JUGHNE
    JUGHNE Member Posts: 11,061
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    If you have no pressure release button/valve, you can shut off the supply valve. Leave the outlet valve open and drain some water (drop pressure on cartridge) from a sink.

    At least 4 people here think this will not unscrew easily under pressure......this is true of other situations also.
  • hot_rod
    hot_rod Member Posts: 22,143
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    There used to be some 1/4 turn twist lock style that worked much better. I think they were brass body, stainless canister. Probably gone due to low lead requirements?
    Bob "hot rod" Rohr
    trainer for Caleffi NA
    Living the hydronic dream
  • HomerJSmith
    HomerJSmith Member Posts: 2,441
    edited August 2020
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    realliveplumber, The threads donna contacta potable water, besides the evaporative quality is rapid and it may be a silicone grease cutter. You're not taking a bath in it. Just saying.

    It's a pain in the you know what to use a 24" pipe wrench to crack the threads on a whole house filter's plastic housing. No pun intended.
  • rick in Alaska
    rick in Alaska Member Posts: 1,457
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    I have also found if you use two filter wrenches with the handles 180 apart on the filter, that the filter will come off with a LOT less pull. I also use stem lube on all my o-rings and threads.
    Rick

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