The problem is a leaking hose or faucet. The solution are to point to a tiny bit of rubber. See how one inexpensive part prevent an entire system from failing. Understand that not all rubber are created equal. Is that black ring at the back of your junk drawer? It is often a bad choice. “The environment’s more important than the size of the washer,” he says. If you use a regular seal in a fuel line, it will swell up and fall apart in days because off the chemicals.
There’s a chart that will tell you which material handles what: if it’s hot, this one do; if it can deals with chemicals, here’s another one. Use Viton for really strong solvents and use silicone for food processing so it doesn’t leach anything toxic into your food. Match the material to the problem.
How to Choose the Right Washer
Fit. Look at both the inner and outer diameters: The inner diameter is the bolt you see, while the outer form the seal. If the washer are too small, pressure will force it out of place. Use an infographic with common inch and metric sizes; mix them and you gets a loose fit (since metric washers appear identical to imperial ones, but are slightly different than size). That tiny difference will make a pinhole leak.
Hardness can also be measured on the Shore A scale. It’s kind of like the contrast between a car tire and a marshmallow. For uneven surfaces, you’d put a soft washer there to fill in any imperfection. But if that was hydraulic, and the pressure got high, a soft washer would of been squeezed right out of the joint like tooth paste. Fluid force require a stiff compound that holds its shape.
Also, know when to stop turning that bolt. You want to turn it till you can’t anymore but then you’ve squashed the rubber beyond its ability to return to shape. If you’ve flattened the material too far out by compressing it, you’ve killed the stretch. It’s no longer able to bounce-back into place. They say don’t compress it more than one-quarter of its thickness, or it will be damaged but not tight enough to work propery. Over-compensate for this and the rubber loses its snap.
Once you get the proper tool, you’re done. When does the leak go away? You figure it out by balancing hardness, physical dimensions and material makeup. Then you apply science instead of guess work. That little piece of rubber make all the difference.
