Hi Everyone, I'm just in the middle of having my kitchen fitted and in the corner of my kitchen the gas pipe comes in from the meter, the pipe is not normally visible but is exposed due to the units being removed, the gas pipe runs inside a plastic pipe, however there seems to be a cold draught coming from outside along with some nice big spiders that use the hole as transport from the gas box to my cupboards. so someone from B&Q told me that general purpose silicone would seal the hole and stop the air and nasties from getting in. So last night I filled the hole/gap only slightly, upon wiping the nozzle I noticed that it said that the silicone was not to be used on "copper or brass etc", quickly googling this I found that it was acetoxy silicone and was corrosive to copper pipes. Immediately I managed to remove about 95% of the silicone from around the pipe with a small wooden chopstick and kitchen roll, I managed to get most of it out before it had set, I then sprayed down the gap with WD40. I've just finished work tonight and inspected the gap and I noticed some silicone what I couldn't get to has turned some of the pipe green a little, this is hard to remove as the copper pipe is pushed right up against the plastic pipe sleeve, I've tried to remove it using a long tooth pick but it's still there so i just sprayed more WD40 down it. Question is SHOULD I BE WORRIED! My main concern is that come months or years down the line will this silicone eat into the gas pipe? I know I shouldn't of even gone near the pipe but I didn't have a clue that silicone could be so corrosive to copper and the likes. My kitchen units are going in this week and the pipe will not be accessible once the units are fitted, so do I need to act now or am I just panicking over nothing. Also I still have a hole letting in cold and spiders I can upload a photo if required
You have probably cleared enough of the silicone off for it not to make much of difference. The sealant you want is Flue jointing compound of FJC as its better know it avaliable for any plumbers merchant. Personally I would reseal the hole prior to your units going back in.
Any left will probably be too small to make any difference, even the blood from the creatures in Alien was exhausted after burning through a couple of decks Personally I have never heard of any pipe being eaten right through by silicone, I suspect it is only corrosive till it has cured anyway. If it really worries you give the technical help line that will be somewhere on the sealant tube a call, they are usually very helpful if a customer has concerns. As said the right stuff is FJC compound. http://www.bes.co.uk/products/041.asp?kw=9464&ref=googlebase&gclid=CN3elu7jwMQCFUnLtAodhxgAYg#9464
Only FJC can be used (flue jointing compound). A non setting heat rated putty. If it's a semi concealed wall meter box, the purpose provided cavity sleeve must be used & sealed inside the meter box where the pipe enters the sleeve, this will stop any gas entering the cavity that surrounds the perimeter of your home. If it's a gas pipe entering the building from a low level ground box where the pipe is fully exposed open to outside air, then you use FJC (only) to seal one end only to which end is your preference, no joints are permitted in the sleeve or the pipe that passes through it, use of iron through copper or visa versa is not permitted due to corrosion. Sleeve must protrude 5-10mm from each wall face, especially outside where corrosive lime from mortar joints is carried down with rainwater Kind regards
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