Cannot stop bulkhead leaking!

[duncangweller]

Hi all,

I moved house last month so packed up the tank and moved it a few km's up the road. It was set up for a month and the bulkhead on the drain line was leaking. I tried to adjust it but to no avail.

I cut off the plumbing, drove all the way to J&L and bought a new bulkhead, dried everything off and screwed it in place......it leaked. Drained the overflow again, added a second gasket on the outside of the bulkhead and it leaked even more.

What's the secret to these bloody things. I don't seem to be able to do anything to stop them leaking. I have already lost my lemon peel angel trying to get this up and running, and I don't want to lose any more.

HELP!

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

[denny_CC]

the glass on both sides needs to be completely clean , gasket on the flange side not the nut side.


abead of silicone has worked in situations but i honestly wouldnt do that they are designed to work without it.

if it still leaks then start looking at if the hole is to big or the glass is chipped or possibly broken around the holes.

hth

[The Guy]

Originally Posted by duncangweller

Hi all,

I moved house last month so packed up the tank and moved it a few km's up the road. It was set up for a month and the bulkhead on the drain line was leaking. I tried to adjust it but to no avail.

I cut off the plumbing, drove all the way to J&L and bought a new bulkhead, dried everything off and screwed it in place......it leaked. Drained the overflow again, added a second gasket on the outside of the bulkhead and it leaked even more.

What's the secret to these bloody things. I don't seem to be able to do anything to stop them leaking. I have already lost my lemon peel angel trying to get this up and running, and I don't want to lose any more.

HELP!

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

Hi Duncan: When my tank was drilled the inner edges were chipped a little and I was concerned, I gave BRS a call and explained the situation to them. They told me to put a bead of silicone around the rubber gasket to take up the voids in the chips and I did that I filled the overflow box with water after letting the silicone set for 24 hours everything is tight an not leaking, maybe try that, good luck. Also they said don't over tighten on the nut.

[wickedfrags]

what size hole? the white hayward bulheads are best, that being said you should be able to get the leaking to stop regardless

using whatever gaskets the bulkhead supplier provided should work, consider using some "orange" teflon tape on the male threads. Another option is to use white thread sealant, pipe thread "Dope" on the threads. The same sealant used for natural gas lines, propane etc. It is not a permanent seal, you can still take the bulkhead apart.

you should be able to get the leaking to stop only hand tightening the bulkhead, but use no more than a half-three-quarter a turn after hand tight to avoid cracking the glass. Last option is to put silicone on the threads, but that is the least professional approach....and the last option! good luck

[duncangweller]

I believe it is a 1 3/4 hole. When I had the tank set up in my old place there was a minor leak around the bulkhead which stopped after a few days. Since I have moved o can't get the thing to stop leaking.

Also, now that I have tried a gasket on both sides I can't get the bloody nut off the outside.......aaaaaaarrrggggghhhhhh!

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

[Zoaelite]

Are you sure there are no chips? When drilling our returns the final punch through caused about a 2cm X 2cm chip which caused for some major head aches. Although it makes the bulk head practically impossible to remove after silicone will work wonders to stop the leaking.

Don't over tighten though, this is a very fast way to break your glass.

[wickedfrags]

use a threaded male adapter on the inside of the bulkhead to assist in removing the outside nut....should help stop the spinning....assuming your bulkhead is double threaded...

i would try the rubber gasket on the inside if only one came with the bulkhead fitting

Originally Posted by duncangweller

I believe it is a 1 3/4 hole. When I had the tank set up in my old place there was a minor leak around the bulkhead which stopped after a few days. Since I have moved o can't get the thing to stop leaking.

Also, now that I have tried a gasket on both sides I can't get the bloody nut off the outside.......aaaaaaarrrggggghhhhhh!

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

[sphelps]

You'll save yourself a lot of grief by using a Sch80 bulkhead rather than the cheap thin ones you get at most LFSs. They have courser threads and thicker gaskets and aren't nearly as finicky as the ones you're using. Only down side is you'll have to use a smaller size as they require larger holes but you can use bushings/reducers before and after to maintain existing pipe size so the effects are pretty minimal.

[The Guy]

Originally Posted by Zoaelite

Are you sure there are no chips? When drilling our returns the final punch through caused about a 2cm X 2cm chip which caused for some major head aches. Although it makes the bulk head practically impossible to remove after silicone will work wonders to stop the leaking.

Don't over tighten though, this is a very fast way to break your glass.

+ 1 totally agree, it's not unusual to get chipping on the punch through and the silicone seems to do the trick.

[Zoaelite]

Originally Posted by clown lover

+ 1 totally agree, it's not unusual to get chipping on the punch through and the silicone seems to do the trick.

Not unusual but when it happens you look at the person drilling your $2500 tank with what I can only consider laser beam vision...