Leaking air compressor couplings

[starlingwood]

Hi bought my first air compressor. The threaded couplings leak ever so slightly. Can I use PTFE or loctite or something on the threads or is it just something to put up with?

 

[marcros]

PTFE yes. Loctite I honestly dont know but I always thought that was a thread locking compound rather than a sealant. It is a brand name though, so there may well be a suitable product.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

You can buy liquid PTFE which in confined spaces is easier to apply than the tape.

 

[artie]

I used a white tesco bag a few years ago. Still doing the job.

 

[RichHox]

Before covid put me out of work we used CO2 Dewar's all the time for low smoke and haze machines. PTFE was always the go-to option. I think it's supposed to be 'one wrap' but I sometimes found you had to do at least 2 times round the thread to get a good seal.

Some compressors etc do leak as it moves in the knuckle/joint, never found anything to cure that though.

 

[Dave Moore]

Loctite 55 is really good as it’s a ptfe string which sets when tightened up. We use it at work and it gives great results.

 

[starlingwood]

I used this liquid PTFE in the end from BES. It was blue, I only did this evening so will fire up the compressor tomororw and see if it does the trick.

 

[julianf]

The blue stuff is fine. Some of the fittings here are done with that, some of them with tape. Well, probably most with tape as it's cheaper!, but certainly some are done with the blue stuff.

Blue stuff really comes into its own when you have a non threaded coupling that's supposed to seal but just won't quite mate correctly. A few drips of blue just stops that last bit of leakage.