Are all teflon gaskets created equal?

[Horsepoorx2]

I have had this happen twice, and though I love my brew, I prefer it in my belly as opposed to on the outside of my body and/or running down the drain. Upon repositioning the racking arm on one of my unitanks, it began to leak at the gasket. The first time this happened, after multiple attempts, much sweating, and enlightening the Gods and my neighbors on my arsenal of profanities, I was able to stop the leak. I was hesitant to reposition the arm again before the tank was empty, but decided I needed to in order to find the clear brew. (Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice . . . *%$#!) This time I was unable to stop the leak, and the contents were not even under pressure (other than head pressure). Luckily, I had an empty unitank and racked it over. I took the gasket out an examined it. The raised portion of the gasket (that sits in the groove) was very narrow and slightly distorted on both sides. I would like to know (1) if there is a difference in quality and performance of these gaskets between suppliers/manufacturers, and (2) is there a technique to be used that I am not? Thanks! Cheers, J

[gasketman]

Gasket Quality

There is as much variance in quality in the gasket market as any other manufactured product. Teflon is particularly difficult to produce, and throughout the industry you will find wide swings of both ID/OD and the height of the bead on the gasket. However in your case, it may not be the quality of the gasket as much as the application and the material. I know that Teflon gets a lot of use on racking arms because it has that slick surface and that makes it easier to rotate and turn. The downside to using Teflon is the lack of compression set. That is the measurement used to determine the "bounce back" of a material - usually rubber - and it is an indication of how often that material can be re-used before it no longer can be compressed. Teflon has none, once it is compressed it does not come back. This is why I recommend using Teflon Envelope gaskets for racking arms. It is a thin Teflon envelope with a rubber gasket inside. This gives you the slickness of the Teflon and a little bit better compression set from the rubber insert. I hope that helps.

[kai]

Is this a tri-clover gasket?

I've only seen one teflon tri-clover gasket, and it looked pretty crappy compared to ones made from EPDM.

[Horsepoorx2]

Thanks, gasketman. That is hugely helpful. Would you happen to have a source?

J

[gasketman]

Teflon Gaskets

We have them in stock, but I haven't added them to the website, so you would need to call to order them. 877-456-5230 or email me dwight@brewerygaskets.com. Thanks, Dwight

[liammckenna]

Do EPDM gaskets not work for you in this application?

If you haven't tried them, I would.

Pax.

Liam