Bulkheads/Connections leaking

[jcarson]

Hey MFK
I got an HOB overflow box for my 75g and Ive notice some leaks.
Its an eshopps box that came with slip fitting bulkheads. I didnt feel comfortable with slip fittings so I got some threaded fittings which are starting to leakage.

The leak is slow, maybe a drop or so every 2 hours but still its a drop that I do not choose to live with.

Of course I Teflon taped the male going into the threaded female bulkhead but still there is this leak, the other bulkhead is fine and after 24 hours appears to be a good connection.

My question, is this a trial and error type of thing, should I tape the leaking connection more? I dont want it to be a permanent connection to the overflows bulkhead as I feel there may be a need to disconnect in the future and do not wish to buy new bulkheads if not needed.

Im starting to think the slip to slip connection it came would be better.
Please advise.

 

[DRUKENMUNKY]

I would replace it but if you dont want to i would look closely at the location of the leak. If the leak is coming from the threaded area you can try adding a 2nd gasket on the outside. If its leaking from the slip side without changing the bulkhead i think the only option is silicone or pvc cement but i would try to avoid that.

 

[jcarson]

I would replace it but if you dont want to i would look closely at the location of the leak. If the leak is coming from the threaded area you can try adding a 2nd gasket on the outside. If its leaking from the slip side without changing the bulkhead i think the only option is silicone or pvc cement but i would try to avoid that.

So it was leaking from the threaded female connection from the bulkhead to the male pvc threaded connection. I did a another tape job and it seems to be fine.

Its weird cause I just thought that slip fittings would be more prone to leaking than threaded connections.

 

[DN328]

To clarify, the slow leak is between the male thread connector to female thread of the bulkhead, and, not the bulkhead seal to the overflow. Check to make sure the bulkhead thread doesn't have anything that doesn't look right like extra ABS burr. I would add additional Teflon or redo it again and see if that stops the leak.

When I first started using PVC, I wanted to use threaded for drains too, thinking I can cleanly remove if I needed to. In the five years with that tank I never had a need to remove the bulkhead. Now, I prefer just using a slip bulkhead and gluing PVC and use unions wherever possible. It is leak proof, but minimizes the chance of those annoying really slow leaks. Good Luck.

 

[DN328]

So it was leaking from the threaded female connection from the bulkhead to the male pvc threaded connection. I did a another tape job and it seems to be fine.

Its weird cause I just thought that slip fittings would be more prone to leaking than threaded connections.

Haha, I saw this post right after I responded. Sounds like re-fitting the job did the trick. Regarding slip; if glued properly I would say there is essentially no way to leak. The ABS/PVC transition glue (typically greenish color) chemically bonds and "Melts" the surfaces.

 

[Oughtsix]

The rubber washer ALWAYS goes on the FLANGE side ot the bulkhead!!! It doesn't matter if the flange side of the bulkhead is exposed to the water or to the air the rubber seal always goes on the flange side of the glass / acrylic.

If you put the rubber seal on the nut side of the bulkhead the water will make its way though the threads on the outside of the bulkhead between the bulkhead and the nut. The symptom of putting the seal on the wrong side of the glass is a very slow leak through the bulkhead threads at about a drop of water every hour or so. It may seem like the connection between the bulkhead and the plumbing is leaking when it is actually the water coming through the bulkheads threads.... guess how I know!!!!