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Am I the only one who was over-tightening boiler tube caps for years?
I was doing a walk-through on a job in Cincinnati and the foreman pointed out the stress marks on my last few caps. He said, 'You're putting your back into it, but the gasket does the sealing.' I just used a torque wrench for the first time yesterday. How do you guys make sure you're hitting the right spec without overdoing it?
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gavin_mason315mo ago
Used to crank them down until my knuckles were white, figured tighter was always better. Saw the same stress marks on a flange last year and it clicked. The old guy on site just shook his head and said the bolt only needs to hold the seal, not crush it. Bought a decent click-type torque wrench and actually read the manual for the gasket. Makes a world of difference, and my forearms don't ache anymore.
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stellag215mo ago
Wait, you were just going by feel before? That's wild.
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diana554mo ago
46 inch-pounds is what most caps want for a standard compression fitting, I've learned that the hard way. A click-type wrench stops you from overcompensating when the gasket feels loose, trust me. Marking your wrench at the spec with a paint pen saves time (and your hands) on the next swap.
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