Ask Me Help Desk - Fitting fixture to drop-eared elbow

Fitting fixture to drop-eared elbow

Hi, great site!

I have a tub spout and a shower that have male screw threads on them. Looking around the web (and this site) I figure I need to use drop-ear elbows and have bought two that fit the threads.

My questions is: do I have to screw the fitting all the way into the elbow? )If so then I need to figure out how to end up with the fitting the right way up!) or will PTFE tape on the threads keep the seal just fine?

I'm installing onto fresh studwork.

Thanks

By fitting do you mean the shower riser pipe, drop ear goes on top of that pipe then the shower arm off the drop ear. Are you using copper, galvanized or what?

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Originally Posted by ballengerb1

By fitting do you mean the shower riser pipe, drop ear goes on top of that pipe then the shower arm off the drop ear. Are you using copper, galvanized or what?

I mean the spout and the shower outlet. They're not like US fittings though: like I say they end in male screws. The elbows I have are 15mm compression fittings which I'm fine attaching to copper pipe. I think the screw threads on the shower and spout are brass.

Here's the spout:

http://www.soycarretero.com/wp-conte...d/IMG_0522.JPG

The chrome plate just slips over the spout and you stick it to the wall with some silicon sealant.

The question is really: with a screw fitting, do you have to screw it all the way home or can you be, e.g. a 1/4 turn looser than that as long as you use tape on the threads?

Let's get together on terms here. What country are you in?
What you have depicted is called a shower are,(see image) This goes into a drop earred ell,( see image). What goes on the end is not a spout it's a shower head or spray head(see image). A spout,(see image) is what the water vcomes out out when you draw a bath. Are we clear?

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The question is really: with a screw fitting, do you have to screw it all the way home

You must Teflon Tape the threads and screw the shower are into the drop earred ell until it's tight and won't turn any more.
They're not designed to swivel.
We have just installed the shower arm on the drop erred ell and now you tape the threads and screw on the shower head. That takes care of the shower arm and head. What's with those elbows you have that are 15mm compression fittings ? Where do they go? Back to you, Tom

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Originally Posted by speedball1

Let's get together on terms here. What country are you in?

England

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What you have depicted is called a shower are,(see image)

No it's a bath spout.

Tapstore.com SL3 160mm Bath Spout

That's why I mentioned that it's not like in the US. Searching the net I see that pretty much all US bath spouts work in a particular way... but this one is different.

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You must Teflon Tape the threads and screw the shower are into the drop earred ell until it's tight and won't turn any more.
They're not designed to swivel.

Thanks,this is the answer to the question I asked.

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We have just installed the shower arm on the drop erred ell and now you tape the threads and screw on the shower head. That takes care of the shower arm and head. What's with those elbows you have that are 15mm compression fittings ? Where do they go? Back to you, Tom

15mm copper pipe is the standard supply pipe here, so that's my shower riser. The drop-eared ell connects to the riser with a compression fitting and then presents a female screw-thread that the shower's wall outlet will screw into.

The problem I have is: if the outlet must screw all the way into the ell, then how can I figure out which way up it will be when fitted!

For info, here's the shower. The bottom of the rail is also the outlet.

Tapstore.com SL3 Shower Kit with Built In Outlet

You mount the drop erred ell first and screw the spout in after. Is that your concern? Sorry about the confusion, My fault. Regards. Tom

Yep I hear you about fit the ell then screw the spout in. But then what if the spout is not in a vertical alignment? I would have to either unscrew it a little or saw/file off some of the thread to allow it to tighten furth. That's why I asked about whether the teflon tape is enough of a seal.

Or do we expect that it will be the right way up when fully screwed in?

Thanks for your patience / persistence on this one!

The tub spout you posted is not going to seal in a drop L. The threads on the spout are strictly for anchoring the spout to tub(black nut and white washer anchor spout from back side). Then you would need to solder a piece of half inch copper into the back portion of spout. Have you had a plumber look at your set up, or is this a strictly do it yourself operation. Is there an allen screw on the spout that will allow you to remove spout from threaded portion?

It's been DIY so far. There is an installation helpline at the company that sold me that parts but they've not been very forthcoming with info except that "in Europe they fit these to a metal mounting system"

I do see that a large allen key would fit. I'll have to see if I have a large enough key! Thanks