Any plumbing experts here?

Community Discussion Shoot the Breeze
1

I am trying install a quick disconnect for my shower head to make it easy to remove and clean periodically. I found a 1/2" NPT QD on Amazon that looks like it’s for making beer. The problem is that the female threads for the top half of the QD are leaking even with teflon tape. So I thought, ok, I need a gasket, which I bought but didn’t help because the threads aren’t reaching the gasket at all. I don’t want to torque the crap out of the QD to get the threads deeper and risk damaging the stuff behind the wall. I am not above cutting the QD female side down so that the gasket does its job but before I do that I am wondering if there’s anything else I should try.

Shower outlet pipe:

IMG_8582.HEIC
IMG_8582.HEIC4284×5712 2.1 MB

Top of the QD (shower pipe part):

IMG_8583.HEIC
IMG_8583.HEIC3024×4032 2.95 MB

QD bottom with shower head:

IMG_8584.HEIC
IMG_8584.HEIC3024×4032 2.37 MB

Gaskets:

IMG_8585
IMG_85853023×4030 1.98 MB

2

Pipe dope, put on the Teflon tape then coat with dope, I use this method for large (3” & 4”) stainless steel fittings.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Hercules-Pro-Dope-8-fl-oz-Thread-Sealant/1000158427

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3

I thought PIPE DOPE was a synonym for CRACKHEAD !
:rofl:

4

NPT threads are tapered right, and that the male and female portions of the taper have to have the same proportions to help seal?

Possible that the taper on the male portion of the shower outlet and the female portion of the “beer plumbing” QD fitting don’t have matching tapers/proportions?

5

The pipe dope is usually a Teflon base that makes a mess if you’re not careful.

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6

Thanks! No issues on potable water lines?

7

Taper should be good as the male side threaded into the shower head fully without issue.

8

Strange. One of those rubber gaskets should fit inside the female end of the QD, then seal up on the end of the shower pipe, when you screw it on. Unless the layers of existing teflon won’t let it screw down enough…

If the QD doesn’t bottom out on the shower pipe, you could even try two rubber washers.

9

Yeah it only threads about half way in from what I can tell. I was also thinking about stacking the gaskets. I may do that as well as the dope.

10

Picked up the pipe dope… will give it a whirl tomorrow morning and report back.

11

I was gonna say Leak Lock and let it dry overnight.. Definitely try the 2 washer trick too.

12

And it looks like the existing teflon starts half way up. Try taking all the old teflon off first, then see if it screws on further, with two washers inside. If it screws on half way, there’s no reason it shouldn’t bottom out on the washers.

13

Something else that I’m wondering… will you get any restriction in water flow through that QD, which will make the output from the shower head seem less?

14

The diameter of the opening is pretty big overall. On the shower head side, I’ve already opened up the flow restrictor. :wink:

15

Success! The threads had more gunk than I realized but I scraped that all out. I doubled up the gaskets, added some new tape, lathered on the dope and it’s good to go!

Many thanks for all the advice.

I think my only remaining concern is the pressure on the QD part. I believe it’s rated for 60psi but I have no idea what my house is. I was thinking about a simple (and easily removable) wire safety so that if the head gets pushed off it won’t smash into the fiberglass.

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