Small Leak
- Thread starter SSalty
- Start date
rcgates
Premium Member
The white tube looks like flex pvc also called spa flex.
flex pvc is not meant to be use on barb connections, it is meant to be
used just like pvc with slip joints and pvc glue.
I would recommend that if you are going to use the flex pvc, that you change out the bulk head you are using to a non-barb type.
flex pvc is not meant to be use on barb connections, it is meant to be
used just like pvc with slip joints and pvc glue.
I would recommend that if you are going to use the flex pvc, that you change out the bulk head you are using to a non-barb type.
Looks like flex PVC and if I'm not mistaken, flex PVC glues to PVC with standard PVC cement. But the bulkhead fitting looks like its ABS. Funky fitting too, is that a bulkhead with a built in hosebarb? Never seen one.
Anyway, the best cement to use for bonding ABS to PVC is probably that abs cement which is sold right next to the standard PVC cement in the plumbing section of Lowes, Home depot or wherever.
Of course, if it's not an abs bulkhead, or if flex PVC doesnt glue up like standard PVC with the same PVC cements then ... nevermind me.
Anyway, the best cement to use for bonding ABS to PVC is probably that abs cement which is sold right next to the standard PVC cement in the plumbing section of Lowes, Home depot or wherever.
Of course, if it's not an abs bulkhead, or if flex PVC doesnt glue up like standard PVC with the same PVC cements then ... nevermind me.
Yes. You can get the flex PVC off the bulkhead, right?
Find a straight PVC coupler, slip in one end and female thread in the other, the right size for your flex PVC to fit into. Get a hose barb fitting with the barb end the same size as the barb on your bulkhead and with male threads to screw into the threaded side of the PVC slip fitting. Glue the flex PVC into the slip end of the coupler and screw the hose barb into the threaded end of the coupler (use teflon tape on the threads). Then get a short piece of clear vinyl tubing that fits over the barb ends, one end on the bulhead barb, the other on the new barb you put together with the flex pvc / slip coupler. Voila, tighten the hose clamps and you are done.
Find a straight PVC coupler, slip in one end and female thread in the other, the right size for your flex PVC to fit into. Get a hose barb fitting with the barb end the same size as the barb on your bulkhead and with male threads to screw into the threaded side of the PVC slip fitting. Glue the flex PVC into the slip end of the coupler and screw the hose barb into the threaded end of the coupler (use teflon tape on the threads). Then get a short piece of clear vinyl tubing that fits over the barb ends, one end on the bulhead barb, the other on the new barb you put together with the flex pvc / slip coupler. Voila, tighten the hose clamps and you are done.
Well, if the tank is full and you can't empty it enough to remove that pipe, you are fubar. If it were me, and I was able to lower the water level enough so that I could remove the pipe ... I would find out if the threads that are used to tighten the bulkhead to the glass are standard size for PVC fittings. Then I would cut the flex pipe off, thread a slip coupler onto those bulkead fittings and start over with either another barb fitting and do what I mentioned before or just glue the flex PVC into the coupler directly. Actually, I would make sure there was a ball or gate valve up there first. For the future, for any critcial connection like that where you cannot maintain it without draining the tank, its always a very smart idea to install a ball or gate valve as close to the tank as possible.
SSalty
New member
Ok, I moved the hose clamp up a little higher and tightened, this slowed the leak down, a lot. Is there any type of sealant that I could use around the pipe and bulkhead that would work? I know the right way would be to change the bulkhead, but I am looking for options before I have to do that. The leak is REAL small, I don't think I would have to change the bulkhead, there has to be something else I could do. I also heard that saltcreap eventually seals small leaks. My sump happens to be right below the leak, so I have time to try other things.
Thanks for you suggestions DarG.
Thanks for you suggestions DarG.
I would do what I suggested before. Glue the flex pvc into a straight coupler and thread another hose barb into the other end of that same coupler. So you need a straight coupler, slip on one end and female thread on the other. A hose barb to screw into the threaded end of that coupler and then a short piece of flexible, clear vinyl tubing that will slide on to both hose barbs. Basically you are just converting the end of the flex PVC into a hose barb by using the coupler and then joining the two barbs with a piece of flexible vinyl tubing and hose clamps. All are very common parts at HD or Lowes.
SSalty
New member
I would hate to have all of those fitting plus my union, that interferes with the flow of the water, if this makes any sense. It happens to be that the guy that was helping me set up my tank sanded down the barbs on the bulkhead, so it is basically a slip bulkhead. Would I be better off glueing the pvc spa-flex to the abs bulkhead with the abs cement suggested above.
Sorry I am making this difficult, but I would like it done with minimal fittings that has to be used.
Sorry I am making this difficult, but I would like it done with minimal fittings that has to be used.
They dont look sanded off all that much but anyway ... fittings mathcing the size of the existing pipe are not going to hrut your flow, we are talking about one more straight coupler and another barb which isn't going to reduce the I.D. anymore than the barb on the bulkhead. But, heres the thing. I have glude ABS bulkheads to PVC pipe with regular PVC glue. Its not the best to use, the glue made for abs + pvc is the one to use. But it does work, it does bond. Seeing that yours didn;t bond at all, I would be very leary to try and cement them again. If you are going to try it again, you have that barb has to be smooth AND the flex pipe has to fit snugly. If the barb still has the ridges, then the only bond you will get is between the top of those ridges with the small surface area inside the pipe that those ridges make contact with. If it isn't snug, then again, you won't get a good bond. That cement is not gap filling, it is a chemical weld. It actually welds (melts) the two plastics together so you have to have good and compete contact between the two pieces.
With that said, if you are going to try it again, make sure the above "rules" apply to both pieces of pipe, make sure it is abs (it looks like it but I am not positive) and use the abs / pvc cement, not the regular PVC cement.
Oh, and if it doesnt work, don't blame me. I wouldnt do it that way. :eek2:
Good luck.
With that said, if you are going to try it again, make sure the above "rules" apply to both pieces of pipe, make sure it is abs (it looks like it but I am not positive) and use the abs / pvc cement, not the regular PVC cement.
Oh, and if it doesnt work, don't blame me. I wouldnt do it that way. :eek2:
Good luck.
SSalty
New member
I will have to think this through. If anything ,if I go with your first suggestion, it always can be reversed versus trying to glue it again, then if it doesn't work I will have to change the bulkhead. So there are pro's and con's. If I do decide to go with the clear vinyl hose, where the hose meets the bulkhead do I just use a pipe clamp?
Thanks again, you have been tons of help.
Thanks again, you have been tons of help.
Should be fine, just make sure you get the vinyl hose all the way to the top of the barb fitting so it covers those 3 good ridges. One hose clamp up high should do the trick fine. If it's a tight fit and difficult to get the vinyl hose all the way up, use a little teflon lubricant or if you dont have any, spit works pretty well. Really.
