Are bulkheads worth the price?

[Adam]

Hi all,

Just another two cents..

I have never paid more than about $7.00 for any bulkhead. I have used the cheap hayward 1.5" versions and the "economy" 1" from Aquatic Ecosystems. I have had an occassional leak which is usually easily fixed by reseating the bulkhead. I have never had the thread jumping problem. Just be sure not to mix up the nuts for the bulkheads since different brands may have slightly different threads.

The only other problem I have had with inexpensive bulkheads is that they sometimes come with cheap neoprene gaskets that break down over time. BUNA and silicone gaskets are best.

IMO, the hassle of getting standard pvc fittings to fit properly, seal properly and not leak is not worth the difference in price (maybe $3 per hole with the inexpensive bulkheads).

Unless the fitting is going to support a lot of weight, be under a lot of stress or is carrying tremendous pressure, I don't see the point in spending the money on schedule 80.

HTH

Adam

 

[impur]

Sched 80 bulkheads locally here are about $25 apiece. I bought my bulkheads from savko.com for about 4 bucks each and they leak where the fitting screws into it.

I've used electrical PVC as bulkheads and it never leaked a drop in 2 yrs 8 months of continuous use. Those cost me $2.80.

Its really up to you in the end. IMO making them out of PVC is just as good.

 

[BeanAnimal]

"They leak where the fitting screws into it"

The pipe threads on most PVC stuff do not match very well. This could have been the threads on the bulkheads or the fittings you tried to screw into them. It is a very common problem.

Your picture illustrates the very tiny surface area that a "DIY" bulkhead seals on. You may have had good luck with them, but they are still not an ideal solution (as outlined above).

 

[RokleM]

I have never had a quality bulkhead (like from savko) leak a drop. I'm assuming not enough or too much teflon tape or paste was or wasn't used.

 

[impur]

I redid the teflon tape 3 times, added silicon even. Nothing stopped it from leaking.

Someday i'll give teflon paste a try. I'm still too upset at the whole CL to even touch it.


BeanAnimal - you are right, the PVC ones only have roughly half the surface area to seal as normal bulkheads. But the threads are much better (electrical PVC fittings are not tapered), they are much cheaper, and when used with a good washer and the right sized hole i've never run across a problem. I understand what you are saying, but IMO i'd go with PVC over normal bulkheads all day. Obviously PVC to PVC threaded connection would match much better than PVC to a bulkhead. The proof to me is in my attempts to use both, the PVC ones being much better everytime.

 

[dippin61]

yeh.. you should of seen impurs set up.. can you say insane? ticked him off so much he scrapped it, and is going with ph's inside the tank i think he still is at least.

 

[BeanAnimal]

Like I said, most threaded PVC fittings do not match up very well. TEFLON tape can actually make matters worse by allowing you to overtighten the fittings and cause distortion or stress cracks. Teflon paste is much better.

When using past or tape... WITHOUT TAPE OR PASTE, tighten the fittings hand tight, counting the number of turns. Take them apart and apply the teflon. Now tighten the number of turns you counted and add 1-1.5 The fitting should be leak free. If it is not, then one or both of the fittings are misshapen.

Moral of the story... use SLIP fittings.

Bean

 

[javatech]

They leak most of the times when the person over tightens the big nut , if water is getting to the threaded part then your not doing it right

 

[BeanAnimal]

java.. he was talking about the pipe to bulkhead joint leaking (at least that is how I took it).

 

[impur]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8846497#post8846497 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BeanAnimal
java.. he was talking about the pipe to bulkhead joint leaking (at least that is how I took it).

Yah thats the spot i was talking about.


I didn't scrap the whole thing yet. Its still installed, just not functioning. I'm going to give it another try, redoing the street el to bulkheads with teflon paste, and adding some true union ball valves. But thats not gonna happen till maybe summer when i'm done being ****ed at the whole debacle. Oh man, it had better work after i go thru all that! :mixed:

 

[six.line]

When I said $30 for a bulkhead, I meant $30 for 4-5 bulkheads. Sorry;, I wasn't very specific there.

Bean, you say to use slip bulkheads. This means there is no threading on the bulkhead, they just slide and insert themselves? How do you tighten them down, how do you ensure there will be no leakage?

 

[BeanAnimal]

PVC glue

 

[culdublvd]

Impur: Your leak could also be caused by over tightening too. PVC fittings, for most people up to 1" can be just hand tightened, provided you use teflon tape and paste. Anything over that Maybe 1/2 turn or so. I always use 3 wraps of tape and a thin layer of paste.

 

[six.line]

Regular ole PVC glue? Is there a specific brand or anything I should be looking for?

 

[BeanAnimal]

SLIP PVC fittings take standard PVC glue (medium bodied PVC cement) and primer.

Bean

 

[culdublvd]

Oatey on red hot are what I use day to day. Make sure you use a purple primer.

 

[wardworld]

There needs to be primer??? I wasn't aware of that. I was always just slapping some glue on and sealing them. Of course, this was on irrigation lines. I want to be more precise on my 120 tank (which I'm in the process of re-doing the bulkheads for).