mister crabs Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 how do you seal a leaking bulkhead? I have teflon tape and paste.......did a FW test of my plumbing tonight and i had a steady trickle out of the drain bulkhead. any ideas? other than that my plumbing is solid and holding water......if i can get the bulkhead fixed tomorrow and the baffles in the sump i can get the real water in tomorrow night!! woohoo....FINALLY! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
180Brandy Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Did you try bubble gum? Just kidding. Did you check the seal and make sure the fit was tight? Other than that I have no idea. Be sure to post pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JManrow Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 First I would try food grade silicone grease on the gasket. If that doesn't hold it, 100% silicone sealant should do the job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mister crabs Posted March 7, 2007 Author Share Posted March 7, 2007 i have the silicone that i used for my overflow. will that work? I tried reseating the gasket and it seems to be right but still leaks. I was afraid when i drilled my hole that it may have been just a hair too large. food grade silicone grease? where do i get that at? and where exactly do i put the silicone at? in the little recessed tray area where the gasket seats? or around that where bulkhead hits glass? I think this is going to be a PITA because in all my excitement I forgot to put unions on my drain line....lol. maybe i can cut it and put one in tomorrow..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JManrow Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 i have the silicone that i used for my overflow. will that work? I tried reseating the gasket and it seems to be right but still leaks. I was afraid when i drilled my hole that it may have been just a hair too large. food grade silicone grease? where do i get that at? and where exactly do i put the silicone at? in the little recessed tray area where the gasket seats? or around that where bulkhead hits glass? I think this is going to be a PITA because in all my excitement I forgot to put unions on my drain line....lol. maybe i can cut it and put one in tomorrow..... Restaurant supply or any skindiving shops. I have seen 99.7% pure silicone grease at hardware stores. That would probably work just as well. I just grease the whole gasket. If the problem does turn out to be the drilled hole being too large, maybe use some putty like the type that is used for mounting sps frags. *One thing I might add about silicone grease, is that it will extend the life of gaskets and O-Rings by helping prevent them from drying out. It will also revitalize old ones that are leaking until they can be replaced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly guy Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Did you by chance OVER tighten it?? Sometimes that can make them leak. You might try backing it off completely and reseating it if you havent already done so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAVES Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Teflon tape and paste is not going to help anything, sealing the threads useless you need to seal the gasket. I for one have never had a bulkhead leak to the point where I needed to glue with silicone or use grease. If it leaks, losen it, re-seat it and tighten back up. like fly said, IMO if you over tighten it can cause a wrinkle in the gasket and cause a leak. Hand tighten as tight as you possibly can, or if its at a bad angle, use channel locks for the last 1/4 turn. hth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mister crabs Posted March 7, 2007 Author Share Posted March 7, 2007 ok...i will try loosening it and reseating it tonight when i get home. i hand tightened it but i have been known to over tighten things even by hand... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Also might try flipping the gasket over. Maybe there is a bur on it or something preventing it from laying flat. Worth a shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pledosophy Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 I use a product called Plumbers Grease which is available at HD. Cost like $3. Been using it for years with no problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCR Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 I hope this is a stupid question..........you do have the gasket on the right side? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tidalsculpin Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 Also, check the angle of pipes going into the bulkhead. A slight flex can cause a trickle. This was happening for me a month ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mister crabs Posted March 8, 2007 Author Share Posted March 8, 2007 yes the gasket is on the right side....i am only mildly retarded....LOL the angle may be a factor.....i will check it....its an external durso setup with the elbow inside the overflow on the inside part of the bulkhead and the durso part on the outside going to a 45 degree elbow and then down into sump....i will post a pic if i can figure out how. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mister crabs Posted March 12, 2007 Author Share Posted March 12, 2007 ok.....so i reseated the gasket and checked to make sure the pipe wasnt at any wierd angle.....still leaks.....any danger in just using gobs of silicone on outside? LOL...i need an easy fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robz Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 I just had the battle of the bulkhead leaks as well. First after I got my new tankset up and running it was the bulkhead in the sump leaking. Tightening it made it worse. I had to drain the sump and unhook the pump. I put2 gaskets. One on the wet side and one on the dry side. Hooked the pump back up re-filled the sump and it fixed it. Then I noticed a trickle comeing down the drain hose from one of the overflows. Worst spot possibel to have a leak! It wasen't seated right. Turned off the return, and loosend it and re seated it with a good twist and a few cuss words. It was a nightmare! It took the better part of my 2 days off to get the 125 moved and set back up, but now it is running and leak free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mister crabs Posted March 13, 2007 Author Share Posted March 13, 2007 ok so replaced the gasket with a new one, added one on outside threads, and made sure my pipe was completely vertical and not stressing the gasket and i still have a very slight leak. its like 1 drop every 60 to 90 seconds. any ideas? I know salt creep will fill it in eventually but how long will that take? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly guy Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 If you replaced the gasket with a new one, and added one on the nut side, lose the one on the nut side. Its not helping you, possibly even responsible for why its not sealing now.....i kind of doubt it, but maybe. They DO make bulkheads for high pressure applications with a gasket to be used on the nutside, but its a hard gasket, and a much burlier bulkhead overall Have you inspected the bulkhead for damage?? Maybe you should have replaced the entire bulkhead. A drip every minute should seal itself within a week, but that doesnt guarantee it will. Try taking off your extra gasket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J & Jr Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 Hi, I am suffering the same problem with one of the five bulkheads on my new tanl the 1 1/2" I have been following this thred and have tried everything except the second gasket on the outside as I don't see how that could help. this may sound very dumb but as I was takeing the bulkhead apart one more time to clean and inspect for cracks (I thought I might have overtightend once) I noticed that the gasket was smooth on one side and had two raised rings on the other which side should face the glass of the tank? the smooth (which is the way it has been so far) or the ridged? or does it matter so far this is my fifth try and am getting frustrated the other four worked the very first try Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly guy Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 The ridges go against the glass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J & Jr Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 Thanks fly guy I never took the fitting apart to look at the gasket befor just installed it the way it came, now am wondering about the other four trying to decide wheather to leve good enough alone or check them all before putting in live stock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly guy Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 If the other four sealed even with a backwards gasket, i would leave them. They arent going to start leaking becasue of it if they are sealed now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mister crabs Posted March 14, 2007 Author Share Posted March 14, 2007 well my silicone only worked so long and it now leaks again. so i lowered the water below the overflow and just have a heater and a ph in tank for now.....i will try messing with it again tomorrow morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCR Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 can you take some pic's if possible. We'll have to get the hot tar out before much longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R2R2 Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 Many times, adding silicone to the gasket just causes it to "squish" out from under the flange of the tank adapter, distort, and leak. You could try filling the space below the gasket around the free space between the glass and the bulkhead under the nut. This has worked for me once or twice. Ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowman Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 Then wait for a while to put water pressure on it. It needs to seat first Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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