Bulkhead leaking, need advice

[mikoz]

I have a 13yr old DSA Pro-100. The overflow has 2 ins and 2 outs. One in and one out and dripping from underneath, around the gasket area. I've tried tightening the seals, but it's still happening. The rate for them both is about 1 cup per day I'd guess. I've diverted the drips into the sump using some plastic (after first being alerted to it by a water leak detector I have in the base), so it's not a critical situation.

I really don't want to drain the overflow and try to pull everything apart and redo everything... for a few reasons especially since it's against a wall which means access from behind isn't possible) and I'm afraid I'd just to do more harm and also I can't get my arms in there easily. What's the best way to attack this from underneath the tank, if that's at all plausible?

 

[Reefing102]

An option…though generally not “permanent solutions” is silicone or glue around the bulkhead.

Another thought is bulkheads generally aren’t designed to be super tight. If it’s tighter than finger tight, it might be too tight causing the seal to leak

 

[wvned]

The old gasket is probably hard as a rock now and maybe cracked.
Assuming the nut is on the bottom you have to cut the pipe, remove the nut and pull the rest out the top.
Hope the overflow is water tight.
Drain the tank way down and then scoot it away from the wall with help.
There is no magic way to fix this.

 

[mikoz]

why do you think that the tank would have to moved away from the wall? If you take the pipes out (which I think is easy... just unscrew the nut on the bottom all of the way and simply lift them out), can't the new ones be dropped in from above? granted, you'll have to hank over the tank since the back, where the overflow is, is located against the wall, but should be possible without moving the tank.

Finally, I heard that there may be special thread sealant for this type of application (not just generic HW store silicone), which may be something to try before taking out the pipes. Any thoughts on that?

The tank is 13 years old, I want to keep it running until there's a major problem, like the with the glass or something, but making major time investments at this point doesn't seem good in my case. Plus, my wife wants to redo the floors and is looking for anyway possible to decommission this thing

 

[wvned]

Bulkheads seal with a gasket. The threads just let you screw the nut up and don't seal anything.

 

[mikoz]

Bulkheads seal with a gasket. The threads just let you screw the nut up and don't seal anything.

Sure, but as a patch... if you seal the threads with a sealant, it may be enough to prevent anything from passing through. it's sort of like patching a roof from inside the attic, I agree....

 

[wvned]

Not sure how to make it clear. The water dripping down the threads has nothing to do with it leaking past the gasket. If you glue the threads all up it will drip somewhere else.
You cant put a patch inside the attic because the bulkhead goes straight through the glass. What would have to be sealed is around the bulkhead going through the glass in the bottom of the tank.
The gasket seals the outside of the bulkhead body to the glass inside the tank with the sealing washer. Applying stuff to what you see under the tank doesn't seal where the water is leaking. It will make it almost impossible to remove the broken bulkhead later though