close bulkhead

wrasse

wrasse

Member
I have a sump that has 2 bulkhead holes on the side of the sump. The way my plumbing is set up I do not use the holes and I have a small section of 1 inch pvc with an endcap inserted in each hole. that worked fine for a long time.
Lately whenever I am doing maintenance or when i turn off the return pump, the sump fills up to and where these holes are water starts leaking out the holes. Any suggestions as to how to block the holes with out taking the system off line. I do not need the holes and the potential leak needs to be sealed.
Thanks guys.


View attachment 13513
 
Here are a few ways I can think of.
1. apply silicone on the leaks. It's easy. But silicone is not good at gluing PVC. So it will prevent leaks, not holding the PVC.
2. Use 3/4 bulkheads and glue PVC and caps on the bulkhead. Best way, but need to invest a bit more to buy stuff.
3. Take off the PVC, Cut 2 small pieces of acrylic, use silicone paste it to the holes. Make sure silicone seals all around.
 
Im with superfish! Cut a small piece of glass or acrylic and silicone it over the holes, its not permanent you can remove it as needed, and looks nice!
 
gg1111 said:
Im with superfish! Cut a small piece of glass or acrylic and silicone it over the holes, its not permanent you can remove it as needed, and looks nice!
Click to expand...

I agree with the above statements.

I would recommend using glass as silicone adheres to it much better. Acrylic will begin to leak after a while if water hits it too often.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
That looks like an acrylic sump. If that is the case you do not want to use glass/silicone at all as it will not adhere properly and will leak under pressure (even if glued on the inside and subject to outward force. You will want to use acrylic (again on the inside so only subjected to outward force from the water pressure) and WeldOn 16 cement. Just make sure to clean the adhesion area very well. I would use a very fine grit sandpaper and then rubbing alcohol. Let it evaporate completely and then glue the acrylic piece right on the face. Tape it in to hold with some painters tape and then also glue around the perimeter of the holes on the outside. This will form a 100% sealed bond that will never leak. As another word of advice, make the inside cover large enough that the flange of a 1" bulkhead will be able to seal. That way if you ever want to put bulkheads back in you can just re-drill using the old holes as a guide.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top