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tighten bulkheads.


fellterrier

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they hang off your shoulders, found at the end of the appendage, my friend. hand tight plus just a small bit extra is generally all that is needed and much more pressure with a bulkhead wrench or other type wrench is likely to introduce cracked glass or unneeded if not done with care. 

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I have used a strap wrench like this one when trying to tighten a bulkhead nut in a tight spot where I could not get my hands on it to tighten it. https://atdtools.com/5375 (Additionally, you can make one simply by using a length of pvc pipe and a section of strapping material.)

 

However, as stated prior, you need to be very careful with the amount of force that you apply to the nut as damage to the bulkhead fitting and/or glass may occur.

 

HIH,

Tom

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they hang off your shoulders, found at the end of the appendage, my friend. hand tight plus just a small bit extra is generally all that is needed and much more pressure with a bulkhead wrench or other type wrench is likely to introduce cracked glass or unneeded if not done with care. 

Ha!

Bulkhead wrenches are the worst piece of crap tool invented!

Use real tools- deepwell truck sockets to hand tighten them, then a big pair of 4" jaw channelocks.

That's how it's done in the real world.

Bulkhead nuts break first, not the glass bottom. 

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Ha!

Bulkhead wrenches are the worst piece of crap tool invented!

Use real tools- deepwell truck sockets to hand tighten them, then a big pair of 4" jaw channelocks.

That's how it's done in the real world.

Bulkhead nuts break first, not the glass bottom. 

 

I guess that we all do it differently.

 

I've never had to crank down on one that hard to get a seal. Except for the risk of putting so much stress on the plastic that it fails early, I'm sure it'll seal well. 

 

For the OP, I've learned not to grease the rubber gasket with silicone grease. Doing so can encourage the gasket to slip out from between the flange and the glass making it more likely to leak. 

 

I once had a situation where I didn't have enough room to get a tool around the nut because I had drilled a "just big enough" hole in the cabinet to let the bulkhead pass through. I couldn't even get my fingers around it very well, either. In that instance, I found that I could take a large spring clamp (hand tool), removed the plastic jaw protectors, and used that to hold onto the nut while I snugged it down by hand. If I'd had a deepwell truck/tractor socket like Rob (zygote2k) mentioned, that would have worked well, too. 

 

The thing is, you need a good seal and for that, you're going to want a clean and flat surface inside the tank where the gasket sits and a clean gasket. After that you should only need to tighten the bulkhead nut down enough to compress the gasket a little and with  enough pressure that the nut doesn't back off easily on its own.

 

I once had a situation where the bulkhead passed through a "just big enough" hole in the top of a stand made of 3/4" plywood. I couldn't get a wrench up there and my fingers couldn't get a good grip on the nut. Improvising, I grabbed one of those large A-shaped spring clamps that you see, removed the rubber tips, and grabbed onto the nut with that. I found it was easy to turn the nut that way and to tighten the nut down easily. If you've got one of those clamps around the house, then give it a try. It's a lot cheaper than going out to buy a deep-well socket that you won't be using that often. 

 

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