Fishie February 1, 2012 February 1, 2012 so i glued all my pipes together and glued the piece to the bulk head last and now i am seeing water drip from the head of the bulkhead...not the thread...but the head itself.. i used the soft O rind on the inside of the tank in the overflow and hand tightened as much as i could. very frustrated.... i don't know what to do right now other than saw the pieces off and start again.. any suggestions... i did not use any teflon tape...but then again its not leaking at the threads... it has 2 drains and 2 returns...atm it looks like 2 of the are leaking...but i havent put much water in the overflow...so dont know how the others may fare later... can i try to silicone it and seal it...ive not tried that either...or should i try and tighten it with vice grips...the pipes are all 1 inch and i got the bulkheads from brk.
wvreef February 1, 2012 February 1, 2012 sounds like you need to tighten the bulk head some more....do you have a bulk head wrench....some of the bulk heads come with a wrench to tighten them up with....you also should have had two gaskets for the bulk head for each side of the glass....if you tighten it with a different wrench be carefull not to tighten too much as you could break the glass....
Guest thefishman65 February 1, 2012 February 1, 2012 2 gaskets? I have never received two. Fishie, maybe I am reading this wrong, but it sound like the threads are inside the tank since you say the leak is coming form the head and not the threads. If so you have it in backwards. Water can get in the threads between the nut and screw part. Maybe a gasket would fix it, but I have read the more likely the gaskets gets torn up as the nut it tightened. So am I reading this right? Picture?
flowerseller February 1, 2012 February 1, 2012 Regardless of which way you place the bulkhead itself, the gasket always goes on the flange side and NEVER the nut side. There is not an exception to this. It is always a good idea to wet the gasket before installing.
Fishie February 1, 2012 Author February 1, 2012 it looks like this one...except i dont have threads on the inside... to the head of the bulkhead is on the inside of the tank...the O ring is between the head and glass on the inside...and i use the Nut like thing from below to tighten it all the way. it only came with 1 nut ( is that what you mean by gasket?) http://www.marinedepot.com/Double_Threaded_Bulkhead_Fitting_Double_Threaded_Bulkheads-Plumbing_Parts-FT1131-FIFTBHDT-vi.html
Guest thefishman65 February 1, 2012 February 1, 2012 No there should have been a large washer included. Three parts: bulkhead, washer, nut.
Fishie February 1, 2012 Author February 1, 2012 No there should have been a large washer included. Three parts: bulkhead, washer, nut. the O- ring is the washer...so yes that is included...its on the inside of the tank...some of them were flat some were ribbed on one side...i dont think that mattered...so i went ahead and put them in anywhcih way.. i did have all 3 parts then..the big screw (bulkhead), the O ring (washer) and the nut for the dry side which screws up against the glass on the underside (dry side) yet it leaks from the edges of the nut on the dry side...
Guest thefishman65 February 1, 2012 February 1, 2012 Suonds like they need to be a little tighter. Do you have any channel lock pliers - they work real well? Maybe and 1/8-1/4 turn IMHO.
Fishie February 1, 2012 Author February 1, 2012 Suonds like they need to be a little tighter. Do you have any channel lock pliers - they work real well? Maybe and 1/8-1/4 turn IMHO. yea i think thats the only thing left to try...i wanted to avoid it at first since some people dont like to tighten it...maybe my fingers are sore..so i am not tightening enough... i will use the wrench i got for my shower nut to turn it.. I hope it does the trick,... i would hate to have to powersaw it off and redo....sigh
Fishie February 1, 2012 Author February 1, 2012 i got these atm http://compare.ebay.com/like/130541174586?var=lv<yp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar
RubberFrog February 1, 2012 February 1, 2012 So you put the flat piece inside the tank and the threaded portion out the back? If so, that's backwards.
Fishie February 1, 2012 Author February 1, 2012 (edited) So you put the flat piece inside the tank and the threaded portion out the back? If so, that's backwards. I put the big plastic like screw (bulkhead) and the washer through the inside via the overflow area and the threads on it comeout under the tank on the dry side. then i used the nut to tighten it all the way up from under the tank on the dry side.. I believe i did it the right way... i also put the overflow pipes (part of the durso ) and the return pipe into the head of the screw ( that part is undthreaded)...now they were not going in all the way for couple of them so i bumped it against my carpet and heard them snap into place against the line in the bulkhead.. i dont think that should have damaged them ...but i am trying to explain everything that i had done... i also cleaned the glass in the overflow off any debris to make sure nothing was stuck between the tightened surfaces... Edited February 1, 2012 by Fishie
Coral Hind February 1, 2012 February 1, 2012 Are you just hand tightening them or are you using channellocks?
Fishie February 1, 2012 Author February 1, 2012 Are you just hand tightening them or are you using channellocks? hand tightening so far...i used the channel locks a llittle only on one of them..
Fishie February 1, 2012 Author February 1, 2012 http://reefercentral.com/install.html this looks like a different bulkhead...since it has thread on the inside of it...mine only has threads on the outside ...also i only had 1 gasket (washer) which went on the inside... but i understand what you meant...just that based on the bulkhead i have...it is connected opposite to this..i.e. bulkhead ( wetside) , bulkhead nut (dry side), gasket (wetside)
RubberFrog February 1, 2012 February 1, 2012 (edited) It sounds like a slip by thread. meaning it uses the threads inside to tighten it (as pictured above), but it is a slip fit on the outside. Like this- http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/1-abs-bulkhead-thread-x-slip-thread-on-the-flange-head-side.html Edited February 1, 2012 by RubberFrog
Fishie February 1, 2012 Author February 1, 2012 It sounds like a slip by thread. meaning it uses the threads inside to tighten it (as pictured above), but it is a slip fit on the outside. Like this- http://www.bulkreefs...-head-side.html actually the inside has no threads...just the return pipe / overflow pipe slide into it and make a snug fit...at work...so can't take a pic now.
RubberFrog February 1, 2012 February 1, 2012 That's what I mean by "slip". The pipe is just a press fit in there.
Fishie February 1, 2012 Author February 1, 2012 That's what I mean by "slip". The pipe is just a press fit in there. correct...i have slips on both sides then...where i have pushed my 1inch pipes in... and now i have a drip/leak coming through the nut where it makes contact with the glass... I am hoping its just a matter of tightening the nut some more.
RubberFrog February 1, 2012 February 1, 2012 And it's too late to turn it around and put the nut on the inside?
Guest thefishman65 February 1, 2012 February 1, 2012 You don't want the nut on the inside IMHO. i also cleaned the glass in the overflow off any debris to make sure nothing was stuck between the tightened surfaces... How clean did you get it. If the gasket does not make a good seal (either dirt or not tight enough) it would leak as you are explaining.
rocko918 February 1, 2012 February 1, 2012 hand tightening so far...i used the channel locks a llittle only on one of them.. this is the problem. hand tightening is not good enough. use the channel lock to tighten.
Coral Hind February 1, 2012 February 1, 2012 now i am seeing water drip from the head of the bulkhead...not the thread...but the head itself.. I am confused by the leaking from the head statement. What is the "head" that you are talking about? If it was a gasket/thread issue it would leak around the threads. Is it leaking from the slip part and not the threaded part? If so then we may be giving you advice for a different problem. If it is leaking from the slip area then you may need to better glue that. We really need to see a picture showing how you have it installed and where it is leaking.
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