Are all bulkhead fittings created equal.
 

Are there good quality bulkhead fittings and bad quality bulks head fittings, or all they all equal?

If there is such a thing as a superior quality, could you please let me know the supplier. Please PM me if they are not a Canreef sponsor.

Thanks

well there are sch40 and sch80, so I'd assume that the sch80 ones are stronger.

This is correct. The ones most used in Aquaria are the Sch 40 along with the piping and other fittings. Most places should have them or be available to get them. What size are you looking for? Drain and return? Closed loop drain or specialty? PM me and let me know :)

Dan

There's also the really cheap ones that usually come with tanks, these are the ones that fit in the smallest holes, are fine threaded, not reverse threaded and have thin gaskets.

You should go with a sch80 with a corse reverse thread.

Can you recommend a supplier?

Just watch out for those damn metric ones being sold as imperial sizes - ran into a few of these over the years... Boy can they ruin your "quick plumbing fix".

These are nice of course but have you ever actually seen a sch40 bulkhead fail? It doesn't happen very often, I've never seen it.

I have a couple 1" bulkheads I won't be using, shoot me a PM if you want.

sch40 is way more than enough for aquaria applications. J&L sells them, OA probably does, I'm sure lots of reef stores do or can suggest where to get them.

The reason I posted this question is that there seems to be alot of play in the locknut on the bulkhead threads. Most people I work with agree that if you picked up a nut and bolt and there was that much play, you would know that you have the wrong nut.

sch40 is OK to, but the cheap bulkheads I was referring to are not sch40, they are thinner and I have seen many fail and what's worse is the nut usually becomes cross-thread and is a real pain to get off. I've replaced many peoples bulkheads and trust me it's not worth it.

I would use schedual 10 if there was such a thing :mrgreen: sched 40 is even way overkill for what we do. how often do we run 150 PSI on our systems?

almost any bulkhead that fails is from inproper instalation, or a defect in the bulkhead its self, not because it is a cheap one or it is schedual 40.

Steve

Schedule 80 bulkheads for the win!!!

Personally I like the idea of overbuilding certain things, and the quality of schedule 80 fittings is amazing. 1/4" rubber gasket versus 1/16" gasket

I won't use less than sched40 but not because of the pressure rating. I have used sched20 in the past but if it's something you are going to keep for more than maybe 5 years it gets really brittle. I had an old piece off of my uv I was able to crush just squeezing it in my hand.

where did you find sched 20? I would love it for the smaller size. the sched 40 ones will do that also, you can get different materials so they won't or paint them with a UV block..

Steve

I also would like to know where you buy your bulkheads.

I don't remember, probably the "big box o' junk" at work. I haven't seen any in a long time.

I work at an aquarium store that does custom stuff. We're not a sponsor so I will send you a PM.

Yeah nothing to due with the pressure rating, I like to use the sch20 pipe as it's got a larger inside diameter but it's hard to find. But when it comes to bulkheads you need the larger, coarser thread to achieve higher torque and ultimately a better seal. The thiner bulkheads crack easier and usually don't even have reverse threads. They also have thinner gaskets and a lower tolerance to movement which comes from various forms of maintenance.

I learned a long time ago, if you putting a bulkhead on that you plan on being there for a while, put a thin coat of silicone on both sides of the gasket. handles all kinds of abuse well once that is done, and it is still pretty easy to remove when you have to.

Steve

So I answered my own question today. The ABS bulkheads I had were purchased from a very quality aquarium supplier. We were having alot of trouble with them and ended up tearing the tank down to get into the back overflow area to replace them. I checked with another LFS last night and their bulkheads were the same. This morning I drove to a not so local LFS and what a surprise. Their ABS bulkheads are a much superior quality. Thicker seal and locknuts that fits.

So the answer is, no, not all bulkheads are created equal.