Newms118 August 30, 2014 Share August 30, 2014 I have my tank overflow plumbed Herbie style, and haven't seen any issues (tank was filled back in February of this year) until today. I was putting a powerhead in my sump and potentially touched the drain pipe somehow. I didn't notice any type of leak until I actually turned on the powerhead. At first I saw the drops coming from the junction between the bulkhead and the PVC, but when I dried the pipe I could see it was actually coming from the bulkhead. I turned off all my pumps and the leaking stop. I dried everything again making sure to not bump the drain pipe and turned my pumps back on. So far no more leaking. I haven't tightened anything but am wondering if the best course of action would be to drain the overflow, clean the glass, reapply the gasket, and tighten the bulkhead again. What do you guys think? Just clean and reapply gasket, or buy a new gasket altogether? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Decadence August 31, 2014 Share August 31, 2014 The gaskets last a very long time. An old gasket can lose its plasticizers and become hard, making it not able to seal as well. You can restore it by putting it in a small plastic bag with spray silicone for a few days - clean it well afterwards. If the gasket still feels alright, there is no reason that you could not reuse it after cleaning the glass. Make sure that the gasket is not on the side of the threads, rather the side of the flange. If you put the gasket on the nut/therad side, water will eventually leak past the gasket via the threads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newms118 August 31, 2014 Author Share August 31, 2014 The gaskets last a very long time. An old gasket can lose its plasticizers and become hard, making it not able to seal as well. You can restore it by putting it in a small plastic bag with spray silicone for a few days - clean it well afterwards. If the gasket still feels alright, there is no reason that you could not reuse it after cleaning the glass. Make sure that the gasket is not on the side of the threads, rather the side of the flange. If you put the gasket on the nut/therad side, water will eventually leak past the gasket via the threads. Yep, gasket on the wet side (not the side with the threads). I have some silicone that I never used. When i take the gasket out I'll put it with some of the silicone and see if that helps it. Such a mess to have to clean out the overflow to work back there. How often do people re-seat their bulk head due to leaks? Is this rare or something that should be expected from time to time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Decadence August 31, 2014 Share August 31, 2014 Don't spray silicone on it and put it back on. If you want to reintroduce silicone as a plasticizer into the rubber to soften it, put the gasket into a plastic bag with spray silicone and seal it in there for a few days - clean it well when you take it back out before installing it. I don't believe that I have ever had to reseal a bulkhead after being in the hobby since 2003. How are you tightening it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newms118 August 31, 2014 Author Share August 31, 2014 Don't spray silicone on it and put it back on. If you want to reintroduce silicone as a plasticizer into the rubber to soften it, put the gasket into a plastic bag with spray silicone and seal it in there for a few days - clean it well when you take it back out before installing it. I don't believe that I have ever had to reseal a bulkhead after being in the hobby since 2003. How are you tightening it? I hand tighten, and then when its harder to turn, I do another 1/4 turn. I don't use a wrench for fear of breaking the glass or deforming the gasket. I just think when I bumped the drain it may have wiggled the bulkhead a bit to let it leak. But its stopped leaking so I believe If I re-seat it I should be good to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerseller August 31, 2014 Share August 31, 2014 A blank statement of "the gasket goes on the wet side" is incorrect. The gasket always goes on the flange side, NEVER the nut side. There is no exception to this rule and no gray area either. It is not uncommon, not desirable but not uncommon, to have the gasket on the dry side if you install the bulkhead in a non traditional way. (backwards - from most applications) Are you sure you can't simple give it a little more tighten without breaking it down? Being able to bump the bulkhead allowing it to leak, even slightly, causes me to believe there is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newms118 August 31, 2014 Author Share August 31, 2014 A blank statement of "the gasket goes on the wet side" is incorrect. The gasket always goes on the flange side, NEVER the nut side. There is no exception to this rule and no gray area either. It is not uncommon, not desirable but not uncommon, to have the gasket on the dry side if you install the bulkhead in a non traditional way. (backwards - from most applications) Are you sure you can't simple give it a little more tighten without breaking it down? Being able to bump the bulkhead allowing it to leak, even slightly, causes me to believe there is. Thanks for pointing that out flowerseller, wasn't thinking about putting the bulkhead in the non traditional way. The gasket goes with flange side is much more specific. As far as retightening the bulkhead, that just makes me nervous. At the least, I could untighten and then retighten so that I know how much more I can twist the nut without it going too far. Just don't want to hear a crunch from the glass... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epleeds August 31, 2014 Share August 31, 2014 I bet if you try to hand tighten the nut, it will turn ever so slightly. If the tank has been running for 6 months with no issues, I would think the bulkhead was tight enough to seal, but bumping the pipe knocked it out a minute amount causing the leak. Just reach up and see if you can tighten it by hand. I wouldn't drain and redo unless it's a last resort Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerseller August 31, 2014 Share August 31, 2014 At the least, I could untighten and then retighten so that I know how much more I can twist the nut without it going too far. Just don't want to hear a crunch from the glass... That would be the better option to try first. Very good thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k August 31, 2014 Share August 31, 2014 pull it apart and fix it right. bulkheads are cheap enough that you don't want to resort to re-siliconizing the gasket in order to get a few more years out of it. being afraid of tightening the bulkhead to stop a leak is silly too. take it apart, clean the glass, wet the washer and crank it down woth a pair of channellocks. You'll break a bulkhead before you crack the bottom of the tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newms118 August 31, 2014 Author Share August 31, 2014 pull it apart and fix it right. bulkheads are cheap enough that you don't want to resort to re-siliconizing the gasket in order to get a few more years out of it. being afraid of tightening the bulkhead to stop a leak is silly too. take it apart, clean the glass, wet the washer and crank it down woth a pair of channellocks. You'll break a bulkhead before you crack the bottom of the tank. Ok, anyone seeing this "you'll break a bulkhead before you crack the bottom of the tank," what are your thoughts? Is the bottom piece of glass that strong? I've read numerous times not to do use a pair of channel locks to tighten the bulkhead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Mc August 31, 2014 Share August 31, 2014 It might be a bit extreme and I wouldn't want to test it but I use channel locks regularly to tighten bulkheads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k August 31, 2014 Share August 31, 2014 Ok, anyone seeing this "you'll break a bulkhead before you crack the bottom of the tank," what are your thoughts? Is the bottom piece of glass that strong? I've read numerous times not to do use a pair of channel locks to tighten the bulkhead. FWIW, I install and replace nearly 100 bulkheads every year. I use channellocks to tighten all of them. I've cracked more than a few bulkheads but have never cracked the bottom of a tank. I've tightened bulkheads till the gasket squeezes out too but never cracked the bottom. In tight spaces, I use a big truck lug nut socket to tighten bulkheads very snugly by hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerseller August 31, 2014 Share August 31, 2014 I also use channellocks to tighten larger bulkheads. I'm guessing Rob's suggesting he uses channellocks to EVENLY tighten them. Tightening a bulkhead with even pressure on the nut as opposed to tightening a bulkhead with a cantilever type pressure against the fitting are two different things. The latter being the real culprit in cracking tanks. (unless it's a very poorly drilled, splintered, hole to begin with) Just watch you have the plyers on the nut, not on the nut and against the flange shaft as well. = cantilever type pressure I'm also not suggesting you need to brace yourself against a fixed object to get even more pressure since you can strip or crack the nut. I also won't mention wetting the tank, gasket, and flange surfaces prior to tightening since we all do that anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerseller August 31, 2014 Share August 31, 2014 You can also use vegetable oil instead of water. Just remember you're not frying chicken here so a little dab will do ya. spread thin, wiping up any excess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newms118 August 31, 2014 Author Share August 31, 2014 I also use channellocks to tighten larger bulkheads. I'm guessing Rob's suggesting he uses channellocks to EVENLY tighten them. Tightening a bulkhead with even pressure on the nut as opposed to tightening a bulkhead with a cantilever type pressure against the fitting are two different things. The latter being the real culprit in cracking tanks. (unless it's a very poorly drilled, splintered, hole to begin with) Just watch you have the plyers on the nut, not on the nut and against the flange shaft as well. = cantilever type pressure I'm also not suggesting you need to brace yourself against a fixed object to get even more pressure since you can strip or crack the nut. I also won't mention wetting the tank, gasket, and flange surfaces prior to tightening since we all do that anyway. Ok so this may sound stupid, but its a good idea for the gasket to be wet before tightening? I'm asking bc after I cleaned the overflow and gasket last night, when I was retightening it, there was no way to fully dry the surfaces, so all were still wet. I had a feeling that this may be bad. But its actually better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami September 4, 2014 Share September 4, 2014 Rob's got a lot of experience due to just the sheer numbers of these that he'll install. When he tightens them down, it's with an experienced hand. That said, if you're tightening evenly and not putting too much angular stress on the glass, you'll most certainly bust the bulkhead before you bust the glass. But, chances are, neither will break because you'll have more sense than to tighten it that much. Clean surfaces are a must. It only takes a little debris in on the glass, on the gasket, or under the flange to create an opening that results in a leak. A little water on the gasket won't hurt but it's not absolutely necessary. What you don't want is to lube the gasket up with something that helps it to squeeze out from under the flange as you tighten the nut. This can happen if you use something like silicone grease on the gasket or some other lubricant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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