Leaky Fitting

Kind of a ghetto fix. But until you can fix it right (use a slip fitting next time instead of threaded) you can shut off your return and use red hot blue glue around it. It will seal it tight and level it leak free. I would probably leave it off for about 15 mins before turning it back on. Fixed my elbow when I had my 40b

Bulkheads can be a real pain sometimes. The plastic that bulkhead fittings are made of is soft and when it's threaded on the inside it becomes very thin and won't take much tightening. You are right not to tighten any further. Sometimes a little more Teflon tape will work, but then you risk over-tightening it until it splits.
For the hundreds of tanks I've set up and worked on over the years, I always use bulkheads that are threaded on the in-tank side to screw in the loc-line and slip on the outside to glue in the plumbing.

My suggestion is to remove the threaded "Street Elbow", wipe some PVC cement (no Primer) around the inside thread and screw in the elbow. PVC Cement makes it slick at first and then starts to set, so screw it in quickly until it's snug. Because of the softness of the ABS bulkhead plastic, just a little glue is needed. Too much glue will overly soften the plastic and will take a day to set and be usable.

I would simply loosen the nut and turn the bulkhead to unscrew it from the elbow. Spread PVC cement inside the bulkhead then screw the bulkhead back on to the elbow and tighten the nut. The cement is set enough to turn on the return pump in 15-30 minutes.

FYI, Silicone does not stick well to PVC and ABS plastic. It is also a mess that takes 24 hours to set. We can't wait that long and shouldn't have to if we properly use PVC or ABS cement.


Edited by Mark Peterson - May 18 2011 at 10:19am

That sucks. But might have been a bad bulk to begin with.