REAL PLUMBER TRIES FLEX TAPE

REAL PLUMBER TRIES FLEX TAPE - Plumber Tests out As Seen on TV Products

Today we put FLEX TAPE to the test! Will Phil Swifts' famous tape stand up to our INTENSE water pressure test?! Grab your plunger and measuring tape and let's find out!

Thanks for watching! I'm Roger Wakefield, LEED AP, The Expert Plumber and welcome to my channel. On this channel, I teach homeowners how to save money on their plumbing by doing DIY plumbing projects. I also teach plumbers and plumbing company owners how to be the best plumbers in their area and run successful plumbing businesses. My goal is to teach you everything you need to know about plumbing.

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[Steve-bmzm]

I think it Has to to be a uniform diameter all around the piping. You can see folds in the tape. You should try gluing the joints next time and then put cracks in the pipe and put flexseal around them and see if it hold pressure.

[Aepek]

Never used the tape before, BUT, have used flex seal: paste, liquid, and flex seal/max spray (the rattle can version) on different projects to see if worth is, how holds up and does what claims to do, and so on. The paste, liquid, and spray versions for projects we did…..worked pretty well, and check on them every so often (and have clients check too, as they were willing to be “testers” for us) and seems to still be working.

[brianpite]

I would like to see it used on a flat surface. Like a cracked pipe.

[oscaradeaza]

You didn’t smooth out the tape, so there are wrinkles in the tape due to a odd shape; it’s up there and not here. Put add another layer of tape where there are holes from the wrinkled flex seal where you didn’t smooth out. That’s how it’s leaking and shows what you did wrong.

[henrysotomayor]

Like many others I'd have to agree set up the piping and once it's sealed and ready to your standards drill holes and check to see if flex tape works.

[MrAlex_Raven]

Other folks have used it before and it's essentially *better than nothing*; but even Phil Swift is very up front with how it's for temporary repair. Also there are still impressive things that you can replicate still from his demonstrations; so I think this may be worth a revisit.

[blackbirdpie]

I agree with Steve, if the diameter is not uniform the tape will buckle, which it has. The buckles and wrinkles created gaps for there to be leaks. If the surface is flat.. perhaps build up a rim of multiple layers of tape on the inserted pipe so it equals the OD of the fitting, then overlay the joint with a flat piece it might have a chance.

[teentraveler]

The random cutscenes of Bill Swift was hilarious.

[WindOFs]

Can you try something professional?
In Europe we have Junco tape. It's great silicone sealing tape and it's not gluing to a surface but to itself!
You wrap leaking section of a pipe with tension overlapping it on itself and it hold like 8 bar and resistant to cold, heat, acids, oils and other things. No glue involved so you can use it on dirty pipes while they leaking!
Package cost 10$ and enough for 4 holes. And practically it's lifetime is like half a year on a supplying lines but decade's on drain lines.

[vivian]

On the Flex Seal products website, there are instructions for how to apply Flex Tape. Among the steps, it states, "Make sure all water, air pockets, creases and folds have been completely removed. These are areas are where water could seep through and create a leak" and also recommends to, "use a squeegee, roller or a flat item like a ruler to really press the tape onto the surface. Make sure to remove any air pockets." This video did the exact opposite, with an over-abundance of creases, folds and a very messy application. It's no wonder the tape leaked. Having said that, tape should be considered a temporary fix, not a permanent one.

[MeowThingy]

It's because the surfaces are uneven. You'll have that problem with anything you use. Taping over a high and low point with one strip of tape doesn't lay it evenly. It has to be placed on a flat surface. That's only my guess, I've never actually used it.

[mutes]

My situation was a bit different. I had a 2500 gallon plastic water tank with a significant leak on the bottom that would seal up when there was only a couple inches of water left in the tank. So I climbed in the tank put a couple of layers of flex tape over the leak and spread some flex paste over that. The flex paste had some problems sticking well under water but after enough smearing and fussing I got it covered. It's been about 6 months and the tank is kept full and hasn't leaked a drop. Maybe I had a unusually good experience or maybe it was the correct application for the products. I'll leave it in place temporarily until it starts leaking again. Hopefully it wont. But if it does I've got a plastic water tank specific fiberglass kit. But the flex products have worked for me so far.

[kenbrown]

well, obviously the problem is it only works on large leaks.

I've done a couple temporary repairs where I've wrapped the pipe with tape, and then put band style pipe clamps over the tape. it'll reduce a leak to a drip, long enough to schedule a real repair. but I don't do it with flex tape.

[donaldthomas]

I've used the spray on an actively leaking foundation during a rainstorm and it sealed the giant crack. Never had another issue

[Ry_]

I've tried seal and tape on PVC pipes and both did not work in the least. It only achieved spending my time, money and energy on finding out I had to replace the pipe to fix the leak. Man, trying to be lazy is a lot of work.

[rupe]

I have only used Flex-Seal, not the tape. Used it for all the roof joints on an enclosed trailer and haven't had a leak in three years. Also seems to be holding up well in the sunlight.

[jnash]

Thanks Roger, I too tried Flex tape on a toilet tank crack and it also continued to leak. Glad it wasn't just me. Jeannette

[wade]

I used flex tape a couple times once on a drain pipe, and on my bathtub floor fiberglass it has a crack in it yes I did sand the area of the tub almost 2 years later still sealed no leaks.
The drain pipe was the tub drain had a crack in the lower side no leaks.

[deidara]

no one is more wholesome than Roger

change my mind

[brianboru]

It wasn't for plumbing, but at the office we worked at we had a mail box we bought so the mail folks could drop mail off without having to knock on the front door and wait for someone to get the mail from them. A double sided strip of tape the area of my open palm managed to hold up a metal mailbox about the size of a box of cheerios against a glass façade for almost two years without a hint of losing it's adhesiveness. It can't fix everything but the things it does well with, it does REALLY well.