After having changed the mixing elbow a few times over the years there are a few things I’ve noticed:
1. After buying a new one I decided to save the old one and cut it in half. That project wasn’t the highest on my list so the old one knocked around for several months until after sailing season. When I went to finally cut it in half in order to see how much build-up was inside, all the carbon build-up had crumbled and fallen out. Being cast-iron, especially if used in salt water it can rust through on the side and this one had what appeared to be (not verified) a couple small cracks there.
2. The removal of the coupling has always been a difficult problem, sometimes worse than others. This time I got the eBay stainless mixing elbow and did some research for a material that could be used on the threads. What I wound up with was a thread sealant called Gasoila® E-Seal.
http://www.gasoila.com/products/pipe-thread-sealants/gasoila-e-seal-thread-sealant.html
It’s a black sticky stuff and hopefully this will do the trick. It is non-hardening and has a temperature range up to 600ºF
The smallest container is a 1/4-pint which for most of us would be a lifetime supply if only used on the mixing elbow threads. While it has only a one-year shelf life, but …. one can stretch it a bit. The PTFE is a particulate that is in suspension so it will stratify over time. So prior to use, make sure the product is throughly stirred up prior to use and re-use. The $20 approximately is a small price to pay when compared to the cost of the effort to remove mixing elbow and coupling.
Main: http://www.gasoila.com/contact-gasoila-chemicals
Gasoline® E-Seal http://www.gasoila.com/products/pipe-thread-sealants/gasoila-e-seal-thread-sealant.html
1. After buying a new one I decided to save the old one and cut it in half. That project wasn’t the highest on my list so the old one knocked around for several months until after sailing season. When I went to finally cut it in half in order to see how much build-up was inside, all the carbon build-up had crumbled and fallen out. Being cast-iron, especially if used in salt water it can rust through on the side and this one had what appeared to be (not verified) a couple small cracks there.
2. The removal of the coupling has always been a difficult problem, sometimes worse than others. This time I got the eBay stainless mixing elbow and did some research for a material that could be used on the threads. What I wound up with was a thread sealant called Gasoila® E-Seal.
http://www.gasoila.com/products/pipe-thread-sealants/gasoila-e-seal-thread-sealant.html
It’s a black sticky stuff and hopefully this will do the trick. It is non-hardening and has a temperature range up to 600ºF
The smallest container is a 1/4-pint which for most of us would be a lifetime supply if only used on the mixing elbow threads. While it has only a one-year shelf life, but …. one can stretch it a bit. The PTFE is a particulate that is in suspension so it will stratify over time. So prior to use, make sure the product is throughly stirred up prior to use and re-use. The $20 approximately is a small price to pay when compared to the cost of the effort to remove mixing elbow and coupling.
Main: http://www.gasoila.com/contact-gasoila-chemicals
Gasoline® E-Seal http://www.gasoila.com/products/pipe-thread-sealants/gasoila-e-seal-thread-sealant.html
