4300 Gallon Plywood Build (3600+ Take 2)
- Thread starter nolapete
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About 16 inches of water and one of the bulkheads started leaking. Not seated tight enough evidently because the other three held fine. Pump kicks butt pumping water out. I need a sump pump or bilge type pump to pump out the rest of the water.
Are you filling the gap between the bulkhead fitting and the actual tank with silicone?nolapete;4203355; said:
I was a firm believer of zero silicone on my bulkhead fittings, letting the gaskets do their job, sealing the flanges of the fitting to the
"tank-flange-gasket" interface.
Then PhullTank57 talked me into trying his method of fitting the bulkhead fitting into the hole, then the area/space between the actual tank and the body of the bulkhead filled with silicone, then the gasket and nut...
I know the walls of your tank are thick, so you must have long reach bulkheads.
Basically what the silicone in there does is shim/sleeve the area between the hole size and outside diameter of the fitting...capturing the silicone the full thickness of the tank wall...
I'll never go back to the old way again, never had one leak using this method...
The need to over-tighten the nut to get a seal and possibly compromise the flange is non existent...
~Ben
I never use silicone on my bulkheads and I never had a leak but I'm interested in new ways........zennzzo;4203552; said:
Are you saying the gasket is on the out side of the tank? The dry side with the nut? I always put the gasket on the inside of the tank/wet side. Then the nut is on the outside and it squeezes the gasket to the tank making it water tight. I never needed silicon? Interesting.
I never put silicone on bulkheads and wouldn't in this case because of the coating on the tank. The bulkhead is actually loose. I just need to pull the pipe to seat it and tighten the nut. The other 3 worked fine.
If you have to put silicone on a bulkhead, it's a poorly designed bulkhead and/or gasket combination. Flexpvc.com has great bulkheads.
If you have to put silicone on a bulkhead, it's a poorly designed bulkhead and/or gasket combination. Flexpvc.com has great bulkheads.
I don't think he means using silicone to seal the bulkhead, he means filling up the space around the threaded portion of the bulkhead with silicone. This can help prevent the bulkhead shifting in the hole if the hole is too big, as well as helping to prevent any minor seepage around the gasket from leaking any further.nolapete;4203953; said:
Its basically just a back up plan to the actual gasket, not in place of the gasket.
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