Leaking bulkheads

[EDJFA]

I got under my tank this weekend and figured out that my plumbing isn't as good as it needs to be. I tried to fix one of them, thought I had it right, but it's still leaking a small bit.

I think what I'm going to end up doing is draining both of the overflows, cleaning them out as much as possible and then redoing the plumbing.

I started with threaded bulkheads. But, I'm thinking about going to the slip ones to eliminate one more opportunity for leaking.

Do most of you do the glue in bulkheads or the threaded ones?

 

[mkart]

I have always bought glue in. You can get them locally for $10 each and online for $6. I would only use glue in myself. If the tank was drilled to fit a schedule 80 bulkhead I would probably be less concerned but the black ones are not that stout in my opinion.


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[clevername]

Iv always glued. I will say iv also ALWAYS had issues with the bulkhead rubber seals. So now i also always use sealant.

 

[Djbeasley05]

I've had very small leaks but my tanks have been drilled in the back so the salt creep seals it before it drips.


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[Pife]

I always use slip fit bulkheads and silicone GREASE on the rubber.

 

[EDJFA]

Thanks for the info.

Pife - do you mean grease like this:https://www.homedepot.com/p/DANCO-0-5-oz-Silicone-Faucet-Grease-88693/203193536

Is the grease to keep the gasket pliable or does it actually help with sealing?

 

[Djbeasley05]

Thanks for the info.



Pife - do you mean grease like this:https://www.homedepot.com/p/DANCO-0-5-oz-Silicone-Faucet-Grease-88693/203193536



Is the grease to keep the gasket pliable or does it actually help with sealing?

Interested in this also. The one time I used the gasket type, it was in a garage so I'm assuming the temp fluctuations caused it to leak.


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[mkart]

This is what I use on o-rings

https://m.lowes.com/pd/Oatey-Silicone-Grease/50236505


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[Pife]

The one that mkart posted. It keeps the rubber from binding/wrinkling. I also put it on all o rings.

 

[Lance A. Lot]

I always use slip fit bulkheads and silicone GREASE on the rubber.

This is what the guy at macna said to do a few years ago.

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[five.five-six]

So, the #1 offender on bulkheads leaking is overtightning and squishing the gasket. The nut only needs to be hand tight

The other #1 offender for leaking bulkheads is hard plumbing. If there is any lateral pressure on the bulkhead it will leak. With hard pipe, your lengths of pipe need to be dead nuts on.


I use a combination of threaded and slip fittings in my plumbing, my system was designed so that I can remove any of it without cutting anything. It’s a lot more complicated to do this than you might think.


On the bulkhead gaskets, I just coat them with a thin film of petroleum jelly (Vassoline)

For threaded fittings, I prefer pipe dope over teflon tape.


Yes, salt creep will seal slow leaks in threads, generaly in a week or two. Could be 1 day or could be 3 months but a slow leak will eventually clog itself.

 

[mpgrant77]

I agree, use flexible joints for connecting pumps to rigid pipe. This will absorb vibration and keep from transferring that vibration to rigid joints which could result in stress and cracking. Use silicone grease for all o-rings and bulk head seals. Hand tighten all thread connections. Note on plastic pipe fittings never use teflon tape or pipe dope for sealing tapered threads like most standard threads we use. If it ends in T it is tapered. NPT, MPT, FPT, BSPT and so on. There is a special pipe dope specific to plastic tapered threads. The reason is that the leading cause of pipe joint failures is due to over tightening. When you add pipe dope or thread tape to the thread it decreases the friction and leads to over tightening. Thread tape also adds thickness creating more stress in the joint.

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