Choice of gasket is decided by

  • Temperature, pressure and the corrosive nature of the fluid or gas
  • Maintenance operations
  • Environment requirements (asbestos is banned in many countries)
  • Cost of the material

The table below can be used as an indication of some common gasket materials and their limitations.
Gasket Material Used for Products Maximum Temperature (oF) Maximum Pressure
(psi)		 Maximum Temperature * Pressure
(oF * psi)		 Maximum Temperature (oC) Maximum Pressure
(bar)		 Maximum Temperature * Pressure
(oC * bar)
Synthetic rubbers water, air 250 60 15 000 121 4 496
Vegetable fiber oil 250 160 40 000 121 11 1 322
Synthetic rubbers with inserted cloth water, air 250 500 125 000 121 34 4 130
Solid Teflon chemicals 500 300 150 000 260 20 5 320
Compressed Asbestos 1) most 750 333 250 000 399 23 9 068
Carbon Steel high pressure fluids 750 2 133 1 600 000 399 145 58 036
Stainless Steel high pressure or corrosive fluids 1200 2 500 3 000 000 649 171 110 636
Spiral wound
SS/Teflon chemicals 500 500 250 000 260 34 8 866
CS/Asbestos 1) most 750 333 250 000 399 23 9 068
SS/Asbestos 1) corrosive 1200 208 250 000 649 14 9 220
SS/Ceramic hot gases 1900 132 250 000 1038 9 9 313

1) Note! Asbestos is not legal in many countries