Those caps are very important. I consider them the primary seal. Ideally refrigerant will not leak with them removed but seals fail and they will prevent leaks if properly tightened.

 

How to you properly tighten them? Is there a torque spec you use?

 

I use nylog them.
The Schrader cap is to protect and seal the schrader and the other two should never have to perform the duty of sealing but I figure why not give them the best chance in case the stem ever leaks.

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"Is this before or after you fired the parts cannon at it?" - senior tech

 

No gasket because they are a 'perfect' machined fit. You do need to give them a gentle snug for them to seal proper.

 

Never hurts to put nylog on the threads though.

 

They are mainly to keep duct and moisture out. Secondary is leak seal. Which brings me to one of my pet peeves.

How many of you alls have found a leaky schrader and go to change the core and it won't come out cause some monkey brain tightened the cap so tight it collapsed the top edge of the fitting. Anyone have any success reusing that fitting?

 

Yes just by shear dumb luck I discovered a method that works really good on that enormous pain in the ass...I’m gonna see if I can do a video on it maybe this Saturday. If I can get it done I’ll post it here.

 

You don’t need any thread sealant, It just makes them a mess to remove later. It also gives a place for dust to stick. Just tighten then dry. It’s brass to brass machined finish. It will seal, it will also leak if you leave them loose so give them a little snug (just don’t go crazy on them or, as mentioned above, you will collapse the hole)

 

And who are the yahoo's that go around putting leak lock on the service caps? That's almost as bad as finding compression fittings wrapped with teflon tape.

 

what about just using torque wrench...

 

I finally got around to doing a video on extracting a valve core from a damaged flare. I decided to post it under the tips and tricks section because it fits in better there. Here’s the link…

https://hvac-talk.com/vbb/threads/2...ve-a-Valve-Core-from-a-Damaged-Flare-on-a-Service-Valve?p=26063001#post26063001

 

I finally got around to doing a video on extracting a valve core from a damaged flare. I decided to post it under the tips and tricks section because it fits in better there. Here’s the link…

https://hvac-talk.com/vbb/threads/2...ve-a-Valve-Core-from-a-Damaged-Flare-on-a-Service-Valve?p=26063001#post26063001

 

I didn't know what that is too. Thanks for starting this thread!