Help with hose bib pipe

[jbieg8016]

Had a cracked hose bib outside the house this evening. Went to replace it (after shutting off main water) and the entire hose bib and pipe came out of the wall. Pipe was threaded in previously and the valve was threaded to that.

Anyhoo..... got the two parts separated and cleaned the threads of the cast iron pipe. Applied 4 wraps of teflon tape to the pipe (both ends) and attached the new valve no problems.

Everywhere I look, I cannot fine any recommended torque values for anything.

Unsure, but appears to be copper inside the wall.

Found one link that says to go two full turns past hand tight. This does not seem right. Especially when i'm seeing 'do not overtorque' anywhere.

Anyway... installed the pipe back into the wall. Initially went hand tight + 1/4 turn. Found another link that said this may not be sufficient so went one more full turn, backing off and retorquing as I went (old aircraft mech trick).

NO doubt the pipe is tight now..... but..... is there an actual recommended torque value ?

 

[phishfood]

In all of my years of trade school, all of the manuals I have read, code books, etc, I don't remember ever seeing a torque specification for pipe. Nor have I ever seen or heard of a torque meter pipe wrench.

On another note, hand tight for one person may not be hand tight for another, as grip strength and wrist strength will vary considerably from one person to another. At any rate, I would never consider 1/4 turn past hand tight as tight enough, as a tapered thread relies upon the sealant compressing in between the two threads and flowing into any surface imperfections. Indeed, some people argue that a taper thread really doesn't need any sealant, as the taper forces the threads to seal against each other.

 

[phishfood]

One further note, I have never had much luck with using just thread tape to create a reliable seal. I always use tape and dope, and if I had to pick one or the other, I would use a good dope.