Hemp or PTFE?

[parhs]

In Greece virtually all plumbers use hemp for sealing threads. Is hemp better than ptfe?

 

[ShaunCorbs]

TBH personal preference hemp will seal a stubborn joint eg that keeps leaking with ptfe

 

[oz-plumber]

It's generally a personal choice.
I choose PTFE unless doing large joints - 65mm and up

 

[centralheatking]

Hemp for galvanised over 2 inch with loads of slodge and wound in the right direction. centralheatking

 

[king of pipes]

Things have moved on in pipe installation in the UK , threaded pipework is often replaced with low carbon steel pipe with crimped fittings Mapress or similar , hemp is old school now slow and pushes up labour costs also it is not suitable for drinking water supplies as it can support bacteria growth, kop

 

[tonyt]

Spoilsport!
There is so much more satisfaction in cutting a thread and making a hemp joint than using a crimper or changing to plastic and just pushing a fitting onto a pipe
Lets go back to lead waste pipe with a nice wiped solder joint too.
When I lived in Austria only a few years back the house was all iron/steel and threads, I found I never had a leaky joint with hemp but did have to re-make some where I used PTFE.
But then again it was my house, my time and I'm a DIY'er. I may well have done things differently if it was a paid job.
I had assumed the Austrians like iron/steel, perhaps as the joints are tougher than copper in a freeze - but that idea has gone now I see they like iron in Greece.

 

[parhs]

Spoilsport!
There is so much more satisfaction in cutting a thread and making a hemp joint than using a crimper or changing to plastic and just pushing a fitting onto a pipe
Lets go back to lead waste pipe with a nice wiped solder joint too.
When I lived in Austria only a few years back the house was all iron/steel and threads, I found I never had a leaky joint with hemp but did have to re-make some where I used PTFE.
But then again it was my house, my time and I'm a DIY'er. I may well have done things differently if it was a paid job.
I had assumed the Austrians like iron/steel, perhaps as the joints are tougher than copper in a freeze - but that idea has gone now I see they like iron in Greece.

Currently in Greece as far as I know for residential use iron is used only for gas pipes, old constructions used iron. Before 15years cooper was used but now plastic due to lower cost. But most plumbers use hemp for brass joints

 

[townfanjon]

@parhs , to be honest over here in brexitexit land not many of us even us PTFE anymore, I haven’t used it for at least 15 years, a sealing thread we all seem to use is loctite 55 , streets ahead of PTFE.

 

[centralheatking]

Spoilsport!
There is so much more satisfaction in cutting a thread and making a hemp joint than using a crimper or changing to plastic and just pushing a fitting onto a pipe
Lets go back to lead waste pipe with a nice wiped solder joint too.
When I lived in Austria only a few years back the house was all iron/steel and threads, I found I never had a leaky joint with hemp but did have to re-make some where I used PTFE.
But then again it was my house, my time and I'm a DIY'er. I may well have done things differently if it was a paid job.
I had assumed the Austrians like iron/steel, perhaps as the joints are tougher than copper in a freeze - but that idea has gone now I see they like iron in Greece.

Hi Tonyt ...you will enjoy UKPF esp.if you are off the wall, but we can get all serious just like that when safety is paramount. say hello to
Lou ...she is our brexit specialist and Dan the man who runs this show
except when he watches disney with his children. centralheatking