PTFE Compatibility & Pressure Ratings

Polytetrafluoroethylene - PTFE Compatibility 

This chart is pretty self-explanatory. It's from DuPont's technical people, so please understand our caveat printed below and on our literature: Make Sure You Understand the Properties of What You Are Using As We Make No Warrantee of Suitability.

After comparability on the chart below, the main factor determining suitability for use is the density of the grade you are using, i.e., how much air is in your film. Does your present supplier specify the specific gravity of their product? We do.

For a fuller listing and more discussions, please see:

Teflon® PTFE Fluoropolymer Resin, Properties Handbook, DuPont Co., July 1996
Teflon® Fluorocarbon Resin, Performance Guide for the Chemical Processing
Industry, DuPont Technical Bulletin No. E-21623-3
Exploring the Chemical Resistance of Teflon® Resins by Sina Ebnesajjad, Pradip R. Khaladkar

A word or two about pressure ratings:

The pressure comment on the spool label of our (Domestic) products is specific to the test performed by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) in the certification of our products.  All PTFE thread seal tapes, regardless of manufacturer, which are submitted to UL for certification are subject to their uniform test at 100 psi.  If we produce a product labeled with their certification, we have to include that paragraph at the bottom of the label which includes the 100 psi statement.

That does not mean our tapes cannot exceed 100 psi and in fact they generally do. One Hundred PSI is just the extent of the UL test and their required labeling. 

All our White USA-made Threadmaster® products are 100% virgin PTFE, they do not contain any fillers or reprocessed materials, and are frequently used in systems where pressures exceed 10,000 psi.  We cannot certify to this level because we do not control the other components in the system nor the assembly process.  But as a rule our tapes, when properly used, will meet or exceed the minimum pressure rating of the components they are used with.