New pressure switch leaking

[Albiemanmike]

So I purchased a Condor MDR3 combination pressure switch/magnetic starter off of Ebay and received it on Friday. It came with ZERO instructions so I spent a significant amount of time over the weekend scouring the net looking for any kind of manual or instructions to no avail. I did find some PDF's on the Condor German website and downloaded those which were helpful. So I used my brain and experience to install the switch which went pretty smooth. I also plumbed the HF auto drain unit while I was at it which has been sitting in the garage for a couple of weeks. So I finally got a chance to fire it up tonight albeit reluctantly. It started right up and seemed fine as a matter of fact it seemed to start much easier now with the new mag starter built into the switch.

So after it gets up to a good pressure which was around 150 psi and it was still running...... I manually turned it off to check for leaks. Well sure enough I got a serious leak at one of the spare ports on the base of the switch that I capped with a pipe plug. So I figure no biggie just take it out and re-seal it. So I drain the compressor and go to unscrew the plug and it is pretty hard to turn and as I gingerly kept trying to loosen it I could feel that sickening feeling in my stomach. Sure enough the pipe plug has galled the threads inside the switch body so I stopped trying to remove it and just tightened it back up to where it was. Now I need to figure out how to seal this damn thing ??? I can take it off the compressor which I plan on doing tomorrow and take it back to the bench for further analysis but I am certain that the threads are galled and if I try to remove that pipe plug it is going to completely bork that port up and then I will be completely screwed. So who has a good idea for sealing up this damn leaking pipe plug so I can move on to other things? Epoxy? JB Weld? looking for any and all ideas.

 

[Fixnair]

Try using some thin locktite. I think they call it wicking locktite. Any locktite should work though. Remove the switch on the tank and remove all the fittings except the one in question. Now rotate the switch so as to put the fitting on question downward and squirt some blue locktite, or the wicking style if you can find it, in behind the threaded part that is leaking. Allow enough fluid to cover the threads. Lock the switch in a vice so the offending part remains covered wiyh locktite, plug the other ports and apply some air pressure to a remaining port and allow the locktite to b pushed into the damaged threads. If you see locktite spewing out the damaged fitting, that's a good sign. Now remove the pressure and remove all the temporary plugs you put into the switch housing and let the locktite set up a few hours.
Remember locktite is an anaerobic. That means it dries in the absence of oxygen. The fluid will fill the voids in the fitting and seal it.
Remember also to use some pipe dope on the threads and do not overtighten them. Locktite makes an excellent pie dope too.
Locktite has saved me so many times. Love the stuff.

 

[Angelfire]

IIRC, it's the green threadlocker you want as it does what was mentioned above--wicks in and seals. If that doesn't work, not sure if you have enough material to drill out and re-tap for a larger size?

 

[Charles (in GA)]

German switch? metric threads? US standard thread plug? oops!

Just guessing here.

Charles

 

[Albiemanmike]

German switch? metric threads? US standard thread plug? oops!

Just guessing here.

Charles

You know i thought about that but all of the ports were the same thread and I had no problems with the other pipe plugs? And they do have an American facility not just German. I will look into the green Loctite as it sounds like what I need. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Albiemanmike]

Picked up some green Loctite and took the switch off the compressor. Put enough Loctite into the hole to fill up the void so the flid would wick down then emptied the void of excess Loctite. Reinstalled the switch and will wait 24 hours per the instructions to pressurize the compressor and see if it worked or not. Thanks for the idea it was relatively cheap and easy.