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Make your own bulkheads...!


Vincerama

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I couldn't find any bulkheads for a reasonable price so I went to home de(s)pot and bougt some PVC parts and made my own...

 

First, you need a male/slip or male/female connector (not sure if male/male will work.

 

Then you need a female/slip, female/male, female/female connector

 

Now you need a slip connector of any type.

 

Now having a mitre box (I used a cheap wooden one) and a hacksaw will help.

 

The reason you can't just use a male connector and a female connector as a bulkhead is because the male threading is actually gets thicker as it gets screwed in (no obvious dirty jokes please!). This is so that the threads don't leak. Well what that means is that if you took the male connector, and stuck the threaded part through a hole in your tank, then took a female part and screwed it onto the male part, it would not screw up tight against the tank and not make a good seal!

 

So what I did was I too a slip 90 degree elbow (any slip part would work) and sliced off a piece of the adapter to use as a spacer that fits perfectly over the make adapter threads!

 

What I actually did was install a bulkhead into my outer weir overflow box. I took a slip to male connector, slathered silicon sealant around the threads, then I put the spacer I made over it like a washer, then I put more sealant around the hole and put this thing into the hole, on the other side, I screwed on the female connector. Viola! bulkhead!

 

So far it has not leaked! Give it a try! (Caveat - do it at your own risk!). You could probably mess around with which side you put the spacer on. I've also heard of people cutting neoprene rings to use as washers.

 

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IN the next few days, I am going to replace my overflow drainage with a larger capacity one (two half inch dursos with a single one inch stockman) so I'll take a pic when they old "bulkhead" is out.

 

If you are really ambitious, I think that using a properly sized die could be used to make the threads fit. Though, I think the spacer thing works fine too.

 

I've not tied it, but a slice of PVC pipe that is one "size" larger might work as a spacer as well. (ie a slice of 3/4" on a 1/2" male connector)

 

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i use a pvc coupling for what ever size pipe i'm uses for the drainage. you just deremel the hole for the outside diameter of the pvc pipe then place the pipe in the the hole. cut you coupling in half, slip the coupling on the pipe with the facxtory edge next to the class, and silicone both peices of the coupling to the tank.

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The DIY bulkhead on that site is better, but only if you can find a male and female "bushing" that will screw all the way in. I've only been able to find male/female adapters in which the male threads get thicker as you screw it in (for anti-leakage), so you can't get the adapters up against the glass.

 

I need to make a new bulkhead for my overflow, so I'll take some pics and post them ...

 

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The problem is not that the threads don't fit into the hole in the tank, the threads don't go all the way into the female adapter (yes, yes, ha ha), so once the male and female adapters are screwed together, they are not snug and will not seal the hole in the tank wall.

 

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Originally posted by Vincerama

I couldn't find any bulkheads for a reasonable price so I went to home de(s)pot and bougt some PVC parts and made my own...

 

What's a 'reasonable price'?!?! I get the DIY thing and the pride one gets out of a nice end project. Canopy. Hood. Stand. Custom acrylic fuge'sump. MH lights, etc... But a bulkhead?!?!

 

Bulkheads are like $6.00 to $7.00's!!! Order up a few when you place an online order for other dry goods. Damn. Your time can't be worth less than $6-$7 an hour... Just reading your post and piecing one together takes longer than the few dollars to purchase one. Am I missing a huge part of the equation here?

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Well, I made them because I couldn't find any locally, and when I picked up PVC parts at HD, I figured that I'd just make some. I didn't want to wait for the bulkheads via mailorder, since I had all the rest of the plumbing. Why wait and buy one when you can make one? Why pay 7 bucks plus shipping when you can make one for a dollar? Heck, you can buy everything if you want and never make anything, but where's the fun in that? This IS the DIY forum right?

 

I mean, you have a point, 7 bucks is a drop in the bucket compared to the hundred or thousands dumped into the hobby. I've paid more for snails, but I guess I'm of the mindset that if I can do it, then why shouldn't I?

 

You're right, it makes only marginal financial sense, but I LIKE to make stuff and the deciding factor whether I make something or buy it is the cost vs hassle ratio and 7 bucks + shipping + waiting 4 days for delivery, in my opinion is not worth the $1 and 1 minute of hacksawing that it took to make the bulkhead...

 

 

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Sorry for the overreaction, everytime my girlfriend comes over, I have to explain why there are pvc pipe, hacksaws, dremels, acrylic bits and 4 tool boxes taking up 80% of my apartment, not to mention the motorcycle parts... She is also in the "Ummm why don't you just buy that stuff" camp...

 

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i just bought a marvel connector which is used for a drain.it it cost $1.50 and then a rubber washer for .50 i dont have a cam or id show pics but its easy to figure out .all it is is a female and male threaded pieces of pvc that screw tight together so all you have to do is slip one end in the hole of the tank then ad the rubber washer and screw the other end on.very easy and works great.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 4 months later...

I finally tried this out, but didn't want to put any effort in it.

 

This is how I did mine.

 

Goto the Electric wiring section (NOT PLUMBING) get the

 

Male Slip 3/4" piece ($.49), it's grey in color. This piece is not curved unlike the plumbing version and is slightly smaller than its plumbing counterpart.

 

Goto Plumbing and get the female slip

 

Goto Gardening and hose section and purchase a bundle of O-Ring hose washers.

 

Stretch an orange washer over the male slip. It's not easy, but I did it with no problems. Then drill the hole and wipe the drill area clean and screw the couple together and you are done!

 

No silicone, no permanent mess, in the event there are leaks.

 

The electric department has 1/2" and 3/4" male pieces. The 1" piece in the electric dept has the same problem that the plumbing section male piece has, and wont screw in all the way without mods.

 

I used the 1/2" diy bulkhead and 3/4" bulkhead in my eclipse 3 gallon for flow and drainage. No leaks, no effort. btw, I used the same orange O-ring Washers for both bulkheads.

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Originally posted by joedirt00

Save yourself the time and trackdown this guy.  These are great fittings and they are only $2.  He will sell them without Ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...item=2381972182

 

7$ for shipping?!!!

 

great thread! i was at HD weeks ago and had the problems you describe about male peice not fitting snugg aginst female peice. i will pick up some and mods them like u said.

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Ah the old Shipping and Handling trick. If you go to pricewatch.com to find computer parts, it used to rank sellers by lowest product price. So you would find CPUs for sale for $5, with $60 shipping and handling! That way the lure of the low price gets you, but they make all their profit on "handling"!

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Don't even need to waste your time at the plumbing PVC section. I use the dark gray fittings found in HD's Electrical section. They fit onto normal plumbing PVC with the exact same fit, but the threads are the same size throughout, allowing full contact to the panel you drilled. Add a gasket or O-ring and a bit of silicone and it works every bit as well as the $15 bulkheads, but for about $2 each. I use them on my 40BR tanks without any dripping, and I plan to do the same with my 180G I'm saving up for.

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Originally posted by toefu

I finally tried this out, but didn't want to put any effort in it.

 

This is how I did mine.

 

Goto the Electric wiring section (NOT PLUMBING) get the

 

Male Slip 3/4" piece ($.49), it's grey in color. This piece is not curved unlike the plumbing version and is slightly smaller than its plumbing counterpart.

 

Goto Plumbing and get the female slip

 

Goto Gardening and hose section and purchase a bundle of O-Ring hose washers.

 

Stretch an orange washer over the male slip. It's not easy, but I did it with no problems. Then drill the hole and wipe the drill area clean and screw the couple together and you are done!

 

No silicone, no permanent mess, in the event there are leaks.

 

The electric department has 1/2" and 3/4" male pieces. The 1" piece in the electric dept has the same problem that the plumbing section male piece has, and wont screw in all the way without mods.  

 

I used the 1/2" diy bulkhead and 3/4" bulkhead in my eclipse 3 gallon for flow and drainage. No leaks, no effort. btw, I used the same orange O-ring Washers for both bulkheads.

 

 

fyi, i stopped into our local OSH store, and found fittings up tp 2", both male and female, that screwed together tightly. i picked up 4 1.5" and some washers from the plumbing dept, and i was out the store under $10. i'll let you know how things go after i install them, but i don't forsee any problems as of yet.

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