For manufacturers, industrial equipment leaks can have serious consequences, including safety risks, environmental hazards and costly downtime. As a leading distributor of custom and standard gaskets, Expert Gasket & Seal provides a wide range of high-quality, precision-engineered gaskets designed to prevent leaks, protect equipment and keep manufacturing operations running efficiently. Explore the common causes of industrial equipment leaks and discover how choosing the right gasket can help prevent leaks before they become costly problems.

Top Causes of Industrial Equipment Leaks

Industrial machinery often faces demanding operating conditions, such as extreme temperatures, high pressures, chemical damage and machine vibrations, which causes sealing materials to deteriorate over time. Some of the most common causes of equipment leaks include:

• Improper gasket selection: When a gasket material is incompatible with operating conditions, it can degrade, swell or harden, weakening the seal.
• Temperature extremes: Excessive heat can cause a gasket to degrade, while repeated heating and cooling causes metal components to expand and contract, putting stress on the gasket and potentially compromising the seal.
• Pressure changes: Pressure fluctuations can place excessive stress on a gasket, potentially causing it to lose its seal or blow out.
• Chemical exposure: Chemical exposure can weaken or degrade gasket materials that aren’t designed for the application.
• Improper installation: Incorrect installation, improper torque and damaged surfaces can keep a gasket from sealing properly.
• Equipment movement and vibration: Continuous vibration and movement can loosen fasteners or create small gaps between the gasket and sealing surfaces, increasing the risk of leaks.

Choosing the Right Gasket to Prevent Equipment Leaks

A properly selected and installed gasket plays a critical role in keeping industrial equipment sealed and operating efficiently. A gasket creates a secure seal between connected equipment components, helping contain fluids, gases and other process materials.

When selecting a gasket for your facility, consider the following key factors to ensure reliable performance and leak prevention:

• Chemical compatibility: Choose a gasket material that is compatible with the specific pH, concentration and type of acid, base, solvent or gas used in the application. Refer to our chemical resistance chart for more information.
• Temperature extremes: Select a gasket material designed to withstand your equipment’s operating temperature. Learn more about high temperature gaskets.
• Pressure changes: Select a gasket designed to handle both the system’s normal operating pressure and pressure changes without compromising the seal.
• Proper compression: A gasket must be compressed correctly to form a reliable seal. Too little compression can cause leaks, while too much can damage the gasket.
• Equipment and flange design: Gasket size, thickness and design should align with the equipment and sealing requirements to ensure a secure fit and reliable seal. See our gasket size chart for available ASME sizes.

Stop Leaks Before They Stop Production

If industrial equipment is leaking at your facility, it’s time to find a lasting solution. Contact Expert Gasket & Seal to get to the root of the problem and find the right gasket for your applications.

In the fast-paced world of industrial and chemical manufacturing, time is money, and even short disruptions or inefficiencies in a facility can quickly escalate into expensive consequences. While it can be tempting to reach for standard gaskets, “the grab and go” option, in the long run they may not be ideal depending on the specific requirements of your applications.

In this blog, discover when it’s time to move beyond standard gaskets and connect with Expert Gasket & Seal for a custom gasket solution designed to reduce downtime and help your facility save thousands.

When a Custom Gasket Is the Right Choice:

1) Unique Sizing or Dimensions

Custom seals are manufactured to precise specifications, ensuring a tight, accurate fit between two surfaces. This exact fit reduces the risk of leaks, pressure loss and equipment failure, therefore improving overall system performance and reliability.

2) Extreme Operating Environment

Some industries, such as industrial manufacturing, automotive and chemical manufacturing, operate under highly demanding application requirements and difficult conditions that include high temperatures, high pressures or caustic substances that can break down gasket materials. Custom gaskets are ideal for extreme operating conditions because they are engineered with precise materials to withstand heat, pressure and chemicals, ensuring a reliable seal where standard options would deteriorate or fail. As an authorized Durlon ®  distributor and fabricator, we’ve seen strong performance from the Durlon ®  Durtec ®  ETG in these types of applications.

3) Reduction in Downtime and Maintenance

Custom gaskets and molded rubber parts used in manufacturing and industrial machinery can help minimize downtime and ongoing maintenance. When designed specifically for a system’s requirements, they deliver better efficiency and reliability than standard components that may not be a precise fit.

4) Specific and Unique Performance Requirements

Certain applications have precise gasket characteristics, such as minimal leakage, enhanced flexibility or high resistance to compression. Custom seals can be tailored to these requirements, delivering consistent performance even in challenging environments.

If the installation did not begin by checking for damaged or warped parts, then be warned, big problems may lie ahead! Take the time to thoroughly inspect all components of the equipment required for installation. For example, large nicks, deformations and other major surface imperfections in the flange will wear out even the best gasket, so that would need to be resurfaced or replaced before installation.

5) Regulatory Compliance

Certain industries, such as those subject to FDA regulations, require custom gaskets and molded rubber components made from approved materials that aren’t always available in standard offerings. Custom solutions help ensure compliance with material standards while maintaining smooth and reliable system operation.

Is a Custom Gasket the Best Solution for Your Facility?

Then it’s time to contact the experienced team at Expert Gasket & Seal! We’ll work with you to identify the most effective custom gasket solution for your applications.

FDA-approved gaskets are important in the food, beverage, pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Why? Because any product or material that may come into direct or indirect contact with consumable products has strict rules and regulations.

Common Materials Used in FDA-Approved Gaskets

We provide a variety of FDA-compliant materials for our gaskets, including:

• PTFE Sheet and Gaskets
• Durlon 9000/9600 FDA Sheet and Gaskets
• FDA Rubber Sheet Including Nitrile, EPDM, Neoprene, Viton^® and Silicone
• Standard in Line, MPU, I-Line, Q-Line Pipe and Sanitary Gaskets
• Siftex FDA Flexible Connectors
• FDA Vulcanized & Molded O-Rings

Why Are FDA-Approved Materials Necessary?

• Safety and Hygiene: It’s important to find gasket materials that prevent chemical leaching, contamination or bacterial growth.
• Compliance: Using materials that are not FDA-compliant in applications could lead to contamination, posing health risks and potentially violating regulations.

Have questions? Contact the experts! The highly qualified team at Expert Gasket & Seal would love to help you find the best solution for your FDA- approved gasket or seal application.

As a leading distributor of custom and standard gaskets, we know that gaskets play a crucial role in sealing joints and preventing leaks for a wide variety of applications. Improper installation, however, can lead to gasket failure, leaks and costly repairs. To avoid this happening at your facility, check out our top tips to ensure proper gasket installation and long-lasting performance.

 

Choose the Right Gasket

When installing a new gasket, it’s important to first make sure the gasket material is suitable for the fluid or gas being sealed, and can withstand extreme temperatures, pressure and chemical exposure if necessary. We offer a wide variety of gasket materials, including metal, soft plastics such as PTFE and rubber such as Neoprene, Silicone and Viton FKM. Gasket size and thickness are also crucial to proper function, so before installation it’s important to ensure that the gasket matches the dimensions of the joint, including inner and outer diameters and thickness.

 

Clean Sealing Surfaces

To get the best seal from your gasket, it should be applied to surfaces that are as clean as reasonably possible. Remove any old gasket material, dirt, oil or debris from the sealing surfaces using a scraper or solvent, and also repair or replace corroded or damaged flanges before proceeding.

 

Ensure Proper Bolting

Bolting and the selection of appropriate fasteners for gaskets play a crucial role in ensuring the integrity, performance and safety of bolted flange connections. Proper bolting provides the necessary clamping force to compress the gasket and form a tight seal, preventing leaks of gases or liquids in piping systems, equipment and other applications. Without proper bolting, the gasket could lose compression, leading to system failure, so it’s important to make sure that bolts and fasteners can withstand the internal pressure of the system.

 

Inspect Flange Condition

Uneven surfaces can compromise the seal, so it’s important to check your flange for warping, dents or irregularities on the flange surfaces. Also, repair or replace corroded or damaged flanges before proceeding with a new installation.

 

Flange Load Requirements

Gasket materials must receive adequate flange pressure to compress sufficiently and create a tight, continuous seal. This required flange pressure, also known as the “y” factor or minimum seating stress, must be evenly applied across the entire seating area to ensure an effective seal. However, in real-world applications, the pressure distribution is rarely uniform. The highest force is concentrated near the areas around the bolts, while the lowest force typically occurs midway between two bolts. Flange designers must account for this uneven distribution to ensure reliable sealing performance.

 

Apply Gasket Properly

Before tightening your gasket, first do a dry fit to ensure proper alignment. For best fit, the bolts holding the gasket shouldn’t merely be each tightened in turn, but in a pattern of opposite pairs – for example, top/bottom then left/right. We recommend doing at least three passes and tightening each bolt a bit more with each pass to create the best seal.

 

Perform a Final Inspection

Perform a final inspection that includes checking alignment and conducting a pressure or leak test to confirm the integrity of the seal before full operation.

Is it time to install new gaskets at your facility? Then contact us to speak with our experts about your specific project needs and we’ll help you find the perfect gasket solution!