Leaking Bulkhead Please HELP OMG!!!! SDKJNKalksdn@!#UY#BIDQKD AHHH

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Sorry for the long post in advance. Im praying that someone has the patience to read the entire thing and offer some advice / experience. Thanks to whoever replies.

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So we tried the bulkhead that came with our deepblueprofessional plumbing kit (P.O.S.) and it wouldnt stop leaking. Then we went to our LFS and got a bulkhead. The bulkhead we purchased there also had a thin flimsy nut and it started to slowly drip in the picture. We has it setup for a few days and after messing with the plumbing a little bit it started to slowly drip. I noticed a little salt creep inbetween the nut and the glass before tho.

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It is a pain in the A$$ to keep making up new batches of saltwater for our new sump and emptying the overflow and cleaning water off the stand and floor.

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I have been putting it on just like everyone says (AZDesertrat) hand-tightening + a quarter to half turn. I checked the plastic and o-ring and there are no abnormal or uneven marks. The o-ring that came with each bulkhead seemed to have 2 different sides (one satin side and one glossy side). It didnt really work either way I flipped it.

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Everytime it leaked until about the 5th or 6th try it didnt leak right away so we left it. Now its leaking again. This is the most frustrating thing because we cant move forward with setting our tank up until the plumbing is done and I keep wasting money on crap bulkheads. The glass around the hole seems fine so that cant be it. I clean and dry everything before I try to install the bulkhead again.


Here is a pic of what our plumbing looks like (notice the slow drip around the bigger bulkhead):
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1. Do you think the problem is that both bulkheads were poor quality?

2. Can anyone recommend a better bulkhead that is better quality or more reputable?

3. Can you install a new bulkhead if the glass is a little wet (its a pain in the butt to empty it and dry it every time is leaks)?

4. Notice my plumbing setup. I would like to be able to use that T valve to turn the water off if I am working on the plumbing, but it is difficult to turn and I feel like if I used it I would break the glass or bulkhead. Any solutions or ideas for that as well?

This ...is..frustrating..

 

Try a shcedule 80 bulkhead from brs, and also, a sch80 ball valve is mush easier to turn.

 

Make sure the holes have no burrs or uneven spots on them and do the same with the bulkheads. Sand smooth if there are bad spots. You can use an o-ring on both sides to try and seal also.

 

After having similar issues I switched to these and will never go back!
1" Uniseal Bulkhead Alternative - English

 

That will not fit the hole though, they do work well.

 

I realise this probably has nothing to do with your current problem but I would remove that gate valve from the intake (larger pipe).It is unecessary and could cause stress on the glass when you are turning it.You never want to put a valve on the overflow side only the return side should have a valve. You could have a cracked bulkhead and seeing the crack is next to impossible.Also just to be sure the rubber gasket is on the inside of the tank correct?

 

Its hard to tell from your photo but is the gasket on the flange side, in your case that would be inside the overflow box? Does the bulkhead it snugly in the drilled hole with little if any side to side play or movement?
Another thing I see and have heartburn with is the bulkheads are slip not threaded so require cutting apart every time you find it leaks, plus the black material is not PVC so does not hold well with regular PVC cement. If you can get your hands on them swap them for thread x thread bulkheads and you will be much happier.

 

The holes in the glass look pretty clean for the most part. I also sanded the bulkhead in one or 2 spots due to some plastic burs or w.e. I thought you should only use one o-ring on the flange side?

I was looking at these. I think this may fit the hole in the glass:
http://www.marinedepot.com/Standard_Threaded_Bulkhead_(Schedule_80_Heavy_Duty)_1_inch_Slip_x_1_inch_FPT_Standard_Bulkheads-Plumbing_Parts-FT1121-FIFTBHSB-FT1123-vi.html

Okay. It was just kind of convenient to be able to turn the intake off when I unplug the pump for maintenance and unscrew the union. Otherwise I either have to wait 10 minutes for it to stop trickling down or it spills water all over the ground. When you say cracked bulkhead are you talking about the plastic bulkhead or the glass around the hole? The rubber o-ring is on the inside where the water is.

The gasket is on the flange side where the water is (inside). There is a little side to side play when I put the bulkhead into the hole. I tried to keep it as centered as possible when I installed it but it's hard to keep it perfectly still when you are screwing it in. I read your bulkhead thread about the slip and everything but I have done it this way before with no problems at all. The water seems to be leaking from between the nut and the glass on the outside. I guess it that means its leaking from near the gasket somewhere, not the slip joint.

I think the bulkhead from marinedepot I posted in the link above is almost 1/4" wider and might fit in the hole better but I am also worried about it being too wide and not fitting. That bulkhead is also threaded on the bottom which is your style. When you use a threaded bulkhead like that do you need to put pvc cement on it like when you are installing 2 slip pieces together or do you think that because its threaded you dont need the cement and it wont leak.

 

PVC cement would defeat the purpose. Use thread tape, also called teflon. 4-6 wrpas around the male side

 

Thread x thread bulkheads are threaded on the interior, both the flange side and the long side with the exterior nut for tightening it down. You do not use glue and as you read in my sticky post the thread lubricant sticks designed specifically for PVC are better than teflon tape or dope.
If the bulkhead has side to side movement, go to a hardware store and find an O ring that will slip over the oustide threads and take up the slop so it stays centered. If the O ring has a thick enough cross section it will also give the gasket something to seat against.
Never put tape or sealants on the exterior threads, they do not provide any sealing as they are straight cut threads not tapered pipe threads and tapes or lubricants inhibit their ability to tighten up and stay tight.
I like having a ball valve under my return bulkheads as it allows me to fine tune my return pump flow and can be shut off for maintenance without dropping the tank level an inch which is about where the returns break suction and the backsiphonage quits. A valve on the overflow doesn't serve much purpose though as the standpipe inside the overflow box should keep it from draining back more than 1 or 2 gallons.