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Leaky bulkhead, what do I do?
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chris.rogers View Drop Down
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Joined: November 26 2005
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    Posted: January 29 2007 at 12:30pm
Hey all,

Over the weekend I drilled the tank, painted the back of it, and installed all the PVC (primed and cemented together now). When I began to fill it, I noticed that one bulkhead was leaking. I drained the tank and I tried running PVC cement around the 'dry' side of the bulkhead (the back of the tank) and that didn't help. So I dried off the bulkhead on the inside of the tank and applied some GE silicone to both the inside and then again over the pvc cement on the outside. I left it to dry all night, and got up this morning to fill the tank back up. It was still leaking.

So I drained the tank again, re-applied a generous amount of silicone to the inside perimeter of the bulkhead and came to school. Have I done everything that can be done? What other options do I have if this doesn't work?

P.S. Is it just me, or do DIY projects take multiple steps? I went to Lowe's 4 different times on Saturday, I've drained/filled the tank 5-6 times, and I had to re-draw the PVC arrangement several times to get it right and I still didn't have PVC aligning properly. Luckily I brute forced the pipes into the fittings, and thinks appear to be all right, but man... DIY isn't nearly as rewarding thus far as I thought it'd be. Maybe I'm just not doing it right. LOL
Ils sont fous, ces Romains!
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acuramech View Drop Down
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Points: 330 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote acuramech Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 29 2007 at 1:01pm

forcing the pipes could be the cause..  i drilled my closed loop and installed the bulkheads and pipes.  i began to fill it and had the same problem.  i was freakin out.  i ended up tightening the bulkhead nut down with a pipe wrench..  dont know if i would recc that but it did stop the leak.  my thinking is it was prob a weird angle on the pipes and make the bulk head sit a bit off center.  i dont know if i would use silicon on it though.   my two cents... prob worth more like 1.  ha ha
"TANKLESS"
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jfinch View Drop Down
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I went to Lowe's 4 different times on Saturday, I've drained/filled the tank 5-6 times, and I had to re-draw the PVC arrangement several times to get it right and I still didn't have PVC aligning properly. Luckily I brute forced the pipes into the fittings, and thinks appear to be all right, but man... DIY isn't nearly as rewarding thus far as I thought it'd be. Maybe I'm just not doing it right. 
 
No, that sounds about right.  LOL
 
Be careful using silicone around the gasket.  If you use too much you can actually squeeze the rubber gasket out of the joint when twisting down on the nut (well maybe Adam couldn't , but most others could LOL).  I usually add just enough silicone to the gasket to make it slightly "greasy" feeling then tighten down the nut and I've never had any issues.
Jon

What I've been doing...
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chris.rogers View Drop Down
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Points: 1553 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote chris.rogers Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 29 2007 at 1:20pm
For some reason I kept thinking that I couldn't tighten the nut on the dry side of the bulkhead because it would twist the bulkhead...    Confused  Duh.

Then I remembered that the nut moves freely of the network of PVC connected to the bulkhead.

Since all the silicone will be dry by the time I get home to tighten it down, should I remove the silicone?
Ils sont fous, ces Romains!
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