Plumber's Teflon tape on steam tip?

#1: Post by **jgood** » October 30th, 2022, 3:08 pm

I have a 3 hole tip I like (male threaded tip) but I get a very slight leakage around the threads -- the gasket is fine but the mating of the steam wand and the tip is apparently imperfect. 2 gaskets will not fit. Other steam tips work fine on the wand. Should I put a small amount of plumber's Teflon tape around the threads to seal? Is that OK with the heat of the (uninsulated) wand?

#2: Post by **bobkat** » October 30th, 2022, 3:11 pm

"The minimum safe operating temperature for PTFE tapes is around -200 Celsius, while the upper limits of heat performance tend to be at around +260 Celsius."
This is what I read about teflon tape heat limitations when I Googled it.

October 30th, 2022, 3:16 pm

I've done it on vintage machines. Works fine. I've even seen new machines that come that way.

#4: Post by **DaveC** » October 30th, 2022, 3:39 pm

Or try an fkm o ring, another common feature on many machines

#5: Post by **guijan12** » October 30th, 2022, 3:41 pm

Yup, it shouldn't be a problem!

October 30th, 2022, 10:53 pm

I'd bet dried on milk will seal it within a short time. Even with a good wipe down after uses, there will be milk in the seam that will cook on.

October 30th, 2022, 11:44 pm

guijan12 wrote:Yup, it shouldn't be a problem!

+1

Can't see what the harm can be except that any tape that winds up in the milk might be hard to see.
It's not likely to happen though.

#8: Post by **Paris92** » October 31st, 2022, 12:42 am

I did a bunch of research about using bunched teflon tape to seal around the basket lip of a stovetop Moka Pot coffee maker to prevent steam leaks. The melting point is so high I felt OK about using it. And it worked.