Loctite® 243 Resists Oil Traces, Locks Reliably

Contractor Chose Loctite Sealants over PTFE Thread Tapes

Sayer Constructions – a leading civil contractor in Australia – was installing fire hydrants around building sites. Customer had previously used PTFE Thread Tapes to seal the treaded pipe joints in the hydrants. However, thread tapes failed to withstand high pressures and water surges typical in hydrant systems. Customer could not adjust position during assembly as the ptfe tapes shred if done so.

Easier to Handle and More Consistent Strength than Alternatives

Owens Woodwork and Fiberglass Manufacturing creates fiberglass structures for a wide array of applications. Several examples would be giant pineapples for an amusement park, large decorative columns for a casino, and very ornate decorative fencing. For these complex designs, the structure must normally be molded in several pieces and adhesively assembled. The adhesive joint could either be a tight fitting joint or a joint made by filling in the large gaps between the pieces. Pix above shows an application with a ½” wide gap. Once bonded, the excess adhesive is removed with a putty knife and the adhesive is allowed to cure. The joint is then manually sanded and the final assembly is painted. The adhesive must provide structural strength, have sufficient open time to be dispensed on large parts, and it must be compatible with sanding and painting.

Withstands High Temperature, Eliminates Use of PTFE Tapes

Elgi Equipment is the largest manufacturer of industrial air compressors in India. They were using competitive anaerobic thread sealant to lock and seal the blackened steel threads to cast iron housing in the top block assembly. The competition thread sealant didn’t last high temperature operation conditions and failed. Customer also used ptfe tapes in addition to the sealant as a back-up. They still received inconsistent performance and complaints.

Customer Saves on Warranty Claims

Essar Equipment is a manufacturer of air compressors in India. They were using competitive anaerobic threadlocker to lock and seal the threads of brass and Zinc coated MS end plugs in the tank assembly. The female threads had oil traces and the competition threadlocker didn’t perform consistently in presence of these traces. Customer also used ptfe tapes in addition to the threadlocker as a back-up. They still received sealing failures and did not get consistent performance. Additionally, the threadlocker spilled on to the joint area during assembly and peeled the pain just outsidethe joint – affecting the aesthetics. Many a time, the threadlocker was too strong to disassemble and while opening the plug the aliminium non-return valve (NRV) was damaged - needing replacement.