Cracked bulkhead

[USAdian]

I have a bulkhead coming out of the back of my tank (160gal). I noticed last night that it is leaking. Replacing the bulkhead, while doable, is a real pain.

My question is, can I just unscrew the 90, cover it in PVC glue and screw it back in to seal the crack? It does not look like the crack it all the way through to the front of the bulkhead.

 

[Flaring Afro]

I would expect the glued bulkhead piece to be weaker than it was originally and just crack again. I'm also not so keen on those fumes being so close to the aquarium water.

 

[duanes]

I had a couple bulkheads start to leak, after a few tremors from my 180 gal to the sump.
When they first started dripping a few months back, I tried using PVC glue to patch the leaks, but the leaks got worse.
WIth all the old glue, (even though they were threaded) they could only be removed by cutting out.

The 2 schedule 40 PVC bulkheads used previously, were replaced by new schedule 80s (below) and even with a few tremors since then, have not leaked

Below, here they are reinstalled using the schedule 80 PVC bulkheads.
Only a few dollars more, to me it was worth it.
They also came with screw in caps, that allowed for curtailing flow in the event of a power outage, or similar event.

 

[Backfromthedead]

Most schedule 40 bulkheads are ABS, not actually PVC. in this case normal pvc cement does not do a great job welding pvc to abs or patching holes in abs like youve realized by now, so you should look for "transition" cement thats formulated specifically for abs to pvc. The regular stuff works...just not as well.


But youll want a new bulkhead entirely imo. A cracked bulkhead will probably just keep cracking more.

 

[Backfromthedead]

Lol, i just realized i meant to post a pic of the transition stuff, not regular pvc cement.

 

[jjohnwm]

A bulkhead is a relatively inexpensive item, and not one I'd consider repairable on a permanent basis. Fine, you unscrew the 90...and the torque appllied by that operation will in itself quite likely make the crack worse. Then you jury-rig some kind of fix using solvent cement, and when you re-install the 90 you are again applying a bunch of torque to the thing and inviting more problems.

PITA or not, I'd definitely be replacing that bulkhead; I always keep several on hand for these types of situations. This is simply...and simple...maintenance; nothing lasts forever.