Five Ways to Avoid Early Seal Failure
Most premature O-Ring leaks trace back to a handful of avoidable installation mistakes.
When an O-Ring leaks early, the cause is usually installation, not the seal itself. Here are the five that account for most of it.
- No lubrication. A dry O-Ring pinches and abrades on the way in. A thin film of the right lubricant prevents both.
- Petroleum grease on EPDM. It swells the seal and destroys it. Use silicone grease on EPDM, every time.
- Rolling it into the groove. A twisted O-Ring spiral-fails under a dynamic stroke. Slide it, don’t roll it.
- Sharp edges left exposed. Threads and corners slice the seal during assembly. Use a sleeve or tape as a lead-in.
- Wrong squeeze. Too little and it won’t seal; too much and it takes a compression set. Design to the groove, not by feel.
The full walkthrough, including a failure-mode table, is on the Installation page.
