I have to take an entire section apart fitting by fitting, redope them and reassemble. I've got 4 or 5 small leaks where I thought I only had one. Needless to say, it's not holding pressure.

All I need is 3 lbs for 15 minutes.

stop with the sad face...failing the test will save your home and your life

re-do the line, try again!

Can you use teflon tape instead of pipe dope or is it required? Don't overtighten the joints. Tighter is better in lots of situations...but not plumbing/gas fittings. I don't know how to work with gas lines and testing, but for plumbing, I tighten down by hand, give it a half turn more or so and check for leaks....if it leaks, I go 1/4 turn until it doesn't.

The line I'm working on is 1 1/4". I could be mistaken, but I don't believe teflon tape is recommended for anything larger than 1".

You could have some bad threads. Friend installed gas lines from home depot, some were prethreaded and some were cut in the store. Both had sealing issues.

Yellow TT is just thicker than they white.

I would use rectorseal(sp), made here in Houston, you can get it at HD.

Inspection failed.

I didn't even bother doing the pressure test because I knew it wouldn't hold. The inspector gave me some good tips on how to deal with old systems like mine and how to make it better.

I've got 180 days to make it right.

Had a plumber a while back use only dope because "I ran out of teflon that day." Guess which joints leaked.

quote:

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Use 1" Tape, 2 complete wraps. Leave significant lead exposure on the first wrap. After tensioning the 1st wrap, complete the second wrap with minimal exposure of the thread
lead.

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http://www.imacsystems.com/Gas_Seal_Teflon_Thread_Tape.pdf


better pipe dope
http://www.rectorseal.com/index.php?site_id=1&product_id=212

Also make sure you aren't (un)screwing yourself as you go from joint to joint.

That's the pipe dope I use.

I've run gas pipe in many houses and we only used rectorseal. Just tighten the s#*t out of it. You aren't going to break the fitting unless you are using a pipe machine.