Shoutout to the old guy who showed me his trick for stubborn flange gaskets

I was fighting a leak on a 6-inch steam line flange for an hour, and he told me to heat the new gasket with a torch for 30 seconds before putting it in. It sealed up perfectly on the first try, no more weeping. Anyone got a different method for those old, pitted flanges?

3 comments

3 Comments

wendyk561mo ago

Ever try using two thin gaskets instead of one thick one?

angela6871mo ago

Heating the gasket is a solid trick. I read somewhere about using a thin layer of high-temp silicone as a filler on really bad pitting too.

hayden1441mo ago

My buddy tried that silicone trick on an old truck head. It held for about two weeks before it started weeping oil again. He ended up having to get the surface machined flat.