Hot water tank drain hole is stripped

westend wrote:
...

AFAIK, Teflon is inert and has no toxic effect on anything...

Not inert, contains TFOA. Not banned anywhere, I believe, however it is a carcinogenic. Tried to ban in CA years ago, Arnie vetoed it.

We couldn' use in in Reactor Systems nor Hydraulic systems on Submarines in the day. (Besides, with all the asbestos, who cared about little Teflon in the drinking water.)

I've got to say, I never knew folks were so concerned with what's in their water until I became a member here. Toxins from plumbing products, taste in water, and fear over what is in the water are things I don't have any concern over.

AFAIK, Teflon is inert and has no toxic effect on anything. Using an acid on pipe threads shouldn't be a concern as the acid is diluted many times over and a rinse of the system after dealing with the issue should clear up everything.

jwmII wrote:

stevenal wrote:
Never Seize? Navel Jelly? Sounds like yummy stuff for a potable water system. Personally I think I'll stick with Teflon or other sealants intended for water systems.

Be neat with your work and don't just slop it on. The internals will never see the anti seize product you use. There is also a Teflon based anti seize, a copper based anti seize, etc, etc.

By definition, that which is used as a sealant must be in contact with the fluid it is sealing against.

fj12ryder wrote:

stevenal wrote:

Chlorine bleach is water soluble. Don't know about navel jelly, but never seize is oil based and won't rinse. It will leach, however. Like I say, yum.

Who drinks their hot water? That's always been a bad idea because of the mineral build-up in the water heater. And I'm referring to a home water heater as well.

The hot water tank is not isolated. Heat cycling and expansion/contraction makes it likely that toxins in the water heater will end up on the cold water side.

Jay Pat wrote:
Big box stores have a plumbing wire brush with very stiff bristles. Check the plumbing dept (plumbing tools).
The brush diameter is about 5/8" dia and about 1" long.
Works great for cleaning out the threads.
Pat

That's what I do every time I put the anode rod in plus I wire brush the rod threads before wrapping the Teflon tape. Our trailer is now 8 years old and anode rod still screws in nicely.

stevenal wrote:
Never Seize? Navel Jelly? Sounds like yummy stuff for a potable water system. Personally I think I'll stick with Teflon or other sealants intended for water systems.

Be neat with your work and don't just slop it on. The internals will never see the anti seize product you use. There is also a Teflon based anti seize, a copper based anti seize, etc, etc.

GordonThree wrote:


Teflon is now banned by the EPA for use in food-contact products, due to one of its constituent ingredients suspected of causing birth defects and possible links to cancer: WaPo.

The link speaks of a processing agent, I saw no indication that Teflon itself was banned. Teflon tape and Teflon containing pipe compound is still in the (potable water) plumbing section of my local hardware stores, so no ban is evident. (The Navel Jelly and Never Seize are found in other store sections). To avoid tape ingestion, though; start taping one thread back from the end of the fitting so no pieces break free into the system.

And some people don't have enough to worry about.

stevenal wrote:

Charlie D. wrote:
One can always/should run water to clean out the system. Same as you would do using Chlorine to sanitize.

Chlorine bleach is water soluble. Don't know about navel jelly, but never seize is oil based and won't rinse. It will leach, however. Like I say, yum.

Who drinks their hot water? That's always been a bad idea because of the mineral build-up in the water heater. And I'm referring to a home water heater as well.

fj12ryder wrote:

Dusty R wrote:
For cleaning female pipe threads you can take a short piece of pipe of the same size and cut 2 or 3 slots across the threads with a hack saw or cur off wheel in a side grinder. This will save the price of a tap.

I've tried this and you might as well bite the bullet and get/borrow a tap. It doesn't work very well. I was going to say it doesn't work at all, but it may have done something, just couldn't tell.

I've done it- it works better if you heat the pipe very hot (like white hot), then quench in a bucket of water (some say sugar water).