I think every experienced plumber has his own preferences when it comes to hemp, though I do think apprentices should not use the 10m jars or dressed hemp because mistakes can be made very easily. They should be trained with the 500g balls, once mastered they will be able to handle all the other stuff if they wish. In regards to PTFE only one thing to say "Plumbers Tape For Emergency" only!  
Oh and please don't use loctite on plumbing fittings..  Have you ever had to do a little maintenance job or replace a valve where the last plumber that installed it used loctite?? If you did you will understand why that's a no no!   If hemped properly it will never leak.

Definately the big 500g ball of hemp.you NEVER want to run out.
I always use hemp because it simply seals best.It expands when wet and seals much more effectively.
ptfe tape seals when tightened but if fractionally moved backwards or moved it will weep or leak.
locktite seals ok but is hard to undo if you ever do repairs.
i sleep ok using hemp!!

I wouldn't take much notice of what there doing in the u.k as most of the time it's just a way to sell you another product, i should know cause i'm a pom.
Been doing this nonsense for about 25yrs and there still ain't a better product for water than hemp.
What i have found for using on gas is the loctite string sealant which you can also use on water is excellent as it gets into the threads like hemp and it works alot better on larger size threads where other gas sealants have caused me trouble in the past, also found it works well on pvc pressure threads.
The other loctite sealant i'd only use if i'd nothing else with me as it is a right bast##d if you've ever got to undo it.

hi guys,talking of hemp,i was recently told by a plumber from the u.k. that hemp was not allowed anymore, because of health reasons i think he said, it rots? Can anyone confirm this and if it is true what do they use instead,cheers

Yea i heard something like that robbo but was told it was because the hemp made an ideal ground for growing legonellia...


I only use the big balls of hemp cus plumber is right once you have mastered the correct method of teasing and dressing the hemp then you can use any style of hemp with ease...and another bonus is that the 500g of hemp is far cheeper than paying for already dressed hemp.

And just be carefull when using hemp on plastic fittings i have seen a few fittings that have split because too much hemp was used and when the hemp swelled up it has split the fitting so on the plastics i only use a light layer of hemp.

you can use hemp on a male plastic thread to a brass/metal female thread, just not on a plastic to plastic male/female thread

I've started to use the Loctite string thread seal as it gets into the threads like hemp, use it on most of my gas threads now and found it works good on pvc pressure fittings. Be carefull not to use too much on a male thread into a pvc socket as they can split the socket.