Pitless Adapter - Stainless or Brass?

[Pettrix]

I noticed they now make pitless adapters in stainless steel.

The well guys out here use brass but is stainless steel a better option? I wonder which one is stronger? The one I found has a 6,000 lb load capacity and is made by American Granby

 

[Valveman]

Stainless Steel is good, but has it's problems. SS threads will gall easily. You need to use some kind of anti-seize. And SS threads are harder to keep from leaking. But with the right kind and amount of thread sealant, if the threads go together and do not leak, SS is good.

There really is no good brass anymore. The Government made us take all the leak out, which was stupid. Because now the "brass" is really some kind of alloy like Sebilloy. It has a high copper content and will turn green like the Statue of Liberty. It also has a high tendency of pin holes in the castings. It is probably not much of a problem with things like pitless adapters or just pipe couplings. But with any kind of valve or anything with a close tolerance, the copper will turn green, flake off, and make the parts stick together.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Pettrix]

So which is better? From the sound of things it's a lose-lose situation with either one.

 

[Valveman]

So which is better? From the sound of things it's a lose-lose situation with either one.

It was a lose-lose situation when the government made us take all the lead out of brass. It cost America billions of dollars, gave us less robust products, and did not make it one bit safer.

Now you have the lesser of two evils to choose from, kind of like the next election.

The faux brass could develop pin holes, but is less likely to leak at the threads. The SS is stronger and won't have pin holes, but is more likely to leak at the threads.

Roll the dice. Six of one, half a dozen of the other.

 

[Pettrix]

What type of thread sealant should they put on the stainless steel threads?

Teflon tape or paste?

The American Granby is rated for 6,000 LBS so it seems heavy duty. The brass one, I am not sure, maybe 2,000 - 5,000 LBS?

 

[Texas Wellman]

I use a special teflon tape made especially for stainless steel. It has a powder-like anti-seize on it. I don't know if it really helps but better than nothing. I also use rectorseal #5 on all my connections. The SS does indeed gall and have a tendency to leak because it's so dang hard the threads and pipe do not give. If you screw stainless into stainless there is a big time chance of galling but stainless into another metal is OK (except for the electrolysis part).

 

[Pettrix]

I use a special teflon tape made especially for stainless steel. It has a powder-like anti-seize on it. I don't know if it really helps but better than nothing. I also use rectorseal #5 on all my connections. The SS does indeed gall and have a tendency to leak because it's so dang hard the threads and pipe do not give. If you screw stainless into stainless there is a big time chance of galling but stainless into another metal is OK (except for the electrolysis part).

So do you prefer stainless or brass?

The well pump goes in next week. My installer said he NEVER installed stainless. So this is the first stainless pitless adapter he would install. I don't want to risk having him install stainless and then have problems. Should I just stick with brass?

 

[Valveman]

If you've got a good pump man, let him do it the way he normally does it. Heck I wouldn't even be too afraid of a VFD if I thought I could 100% count on the installer to stand behind it.

 

[Texas Wellman]

If you've got a good pump man, let him do it the way he normally does it. Heck I wouldn't even be too afraid of a VFD if I thought I could 100% count on the installer to stand behind it.

+1
Brass is still ok.

 

[Craigpump]

Brass is fine. I have 1" brass pitless adapters holding 1000' of steel pipe.