Todd31

Advanced Reefer
Location
Huntington, NY
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Hello all...

Looking for some plumbing/bulkhead advice

I was just about to do a plumbing test in my new build. Added some water into the center overflow and before the water level even gets high enough to enter the standpipe i noticed i already have some leakage below.

The leakage seems to be coming from the thread/slip connector thats screwed into the thread on the dry side of the bulkhead that leads to the rest of the plumbing.

Questions:

Since i havent glued the standpipe and return pipe into the slip wet side of the bulkhead, my guess is that the leak is coming from there, which from what ive read shouldnt be a big deal if all the other connections are made well. If the seal itself of the bulkhead was leaky wouldnt i see the leakage from where the nut fits up against the tank on the dry side?

Since the leakage spot looks like where im screwing in the thread/slip connector into the dry side of the bulkhead i guess im not getting a seal in the threads? I only hand tightened it, didnt use teflon tape or anything. Maybe i need to use tape or something else to get the threads sealed? I initially didnt want to glue the threads at first since when the tank is ready to go it has to be moved from its location so i have to undo the plumbing anyway.

Any thoughts would be great and much appreciated.

--todd
 

ming

LE Coral Killer
Location
Flushing, NY
Rating - 100%
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I'm not following 100%. Is the leak going down the drain or outside of the drain?
Since the standpipe is just slip and not glued (which it should be), there is definitely a possible slow leak down the drain which should lead to your sump which is OK.
If the leak is outside of the drain and to the exterior of the bulkhead, then it is not OK
 

ming

LE Coral Killer
Location
Flushing, NY
Rating - 100%
272   0   0
I'm assuming you're not talking about the threads where the nut goes to, and instead you have a Slip X Threaded bulkhead, where the slip is where the durso is going into, and the thread under the tank you have a threaded PVC going up into the bulkhead? If so, that needs to have teflon tape to prevent leaking.
 

masterswimmer

Old School Reefer
Vendor
Location
NY
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So, when I have to take it apart again to move the tank after I use the tape on the threads, do you remove the tape completely and re-tape it?

I always remove and replace the teflon tape. It's too cheap and easy to do while such a pain in the arse if it should leak again after reinstalling it without replacing it.
 

BigP81

Reefer
Location
NJ
Rating - 0%
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Also since the durso joint is not crucial if it should leak a bit, if you didn't want to glue that in, a few wraps of tape on that slip joint should snug it up nice too.
 

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