jnug wrote:Got the parts ordered yesterday. I had correctly identified them earlier. So they were inexpensive as I had hoped they would be. I have some of the newer food safe adhesive/sealant around. I might try some of that on the threads when I assemble the new parts into the machine.

This will be a good opportunity to descale as well. Have to empty the reservoir anyway and it is about that time.

Got 3 bits of advice, should you wish to take it.

1. Fittings that can use sealant should be secured with PTFE (if possible)
2. Compression Fittings where you shouldn't use PTFE, you shouldn't use sealant.
3. Never use thread sealant if possible

I might try some of that on the threads when I assemble the new parts into the machine.

There exists a breakdown of Expobar parts in the downloads section of this site: /downloads/ .

Lots of "fittings" on the Expobar line are simple flares and there is no need for any type of sealant or Teflon tape.

The key to a successful reassembly is patience, patience, & more patience.

I am considering using one of the newer food safe adhesive/sealants because the repair facility attached to the parts store where I bought the parts uses it on their compression fittings and is now apparently recommending it. I have to admit to surprise but food safe adhesive/sealants have not been around that long. I did not ask the reason they are now using it and I must admit, I am not sure I can come up with a good reason on my own. But In fact I am fortunate to have some of it because it is costly as all get out, I guess a factor of its relative newness to the marketplace. You could buy gold for less. It is of course entirely possible that they recognize me by now, know I have changed out several parts of this machine and might recommend something to me that they would not normally recommend. There is no telling and I am at a loss to come up with a reason why one would generally apply even one of these newer adhesive/sealants to a fitting like that. Although I must admit, there is nothing I have seen that reacts like these newer food safe adhesive/sealants. While I am familiar with them, it might be that I have just not thought through their benefits for this kind of application. While they do provide a benefit to anything with metal threads, the benefit they provide has little to do with the way a compression fitting works. I am not at all convinced that compression fittings used in this application would last long enough for the benefits to be realized.

I bought one of the mating parts as they are also cheap and having it will allow me to see how the mating surfaces join without actually mating them...as you really do not want a compression fitting fitted up until you are actually assembling the parts. I know this is true of other compression fittings I have seen. Though as I stated earlier, I have never been inside one of these fittings. Finally saw a video showing the innards of these fittings Monday night.

Once I get a feeling for how the mating surfaces would join in actual assembly I will make a choice one way or the other regarding the adhesive/sealant. My gut reaction is to not use it. The only possible advantage I can see might be for the fitting above the electronic components. Should that one fail again, a serous dose of water onto those components can't be a good thing. You might earn at least a margin of safety for those electronic components in the event of that failure depending on the nature of the failure. Really you just want those components to survive that initial failure should one occur since you won't likely use the machine again until you get the replacement parts and repair it again.

Another reason my gut reaction is to not apply it is that the machine is already several years old...works fine for all intents blah....blah....blah. But at a guess for this application, a newly made compression fitting should last several more years without any assistance from an adhesive/sealant. At that point something else will very likely be the death of this particular machine. Those fittings won't last forever no matter how good you make them IMO, not in this application. I can see why they use them. I guess from a user perspective, from a user that has no qualms with repairing his own machine, I would have preferred a more repairable design. But really I am being picky. No I don't like waiting for parts to conduct repairs but they are not costly parts. Were they twice the price or maybe even three times the price, I would be more inclined to a genuine complaint. But they are not.