230 Tank Build

sploke said:
If you can find an open-end wrench large enough, just get a torch and heat it to make it a crow's foot wrench. It wouldn't have the fancy pivot like the one pictured, but would probably be just as effective.
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Good Idea - even if I have to buy the wrnech just to melt it down, so to speak.

I have to admit, all the help on this board has lifted my spirits, To say the leaking took the wind from my sails would be an understatement, but I am almost ready to attack the project again. I just need to fin d the right tool.
 
You aren't having a problem tightening all of your bulkheads are you? I suspect you are really just struggling with the ones at the bottom of your overflow?

If this is the case... I'd drain the tank. Cut the couple of dollars worth of PVC out from under them. Then I'd remove them if possible and clean them squeaky clean and the inside tank surfaces. You want the maximum friction between the bulkhead flanges the bulkhead gasket and the tank. Then you reassemble the flanges and apply a very sparing amount of silicone grease or Crisco to just the nut threads and the face of the nut.

You want the nut/thread and the nut/face to have the minimum friction. This then lets the system work right. The nut will turn on the threads and on the bottom face easier than the gasket wants to turn against the flange and the glass.

Then reassemble with unions.. This should let you avoid the entire wrench down a hole issue.
 
kcress said:
How's it going Rudy?
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Hi Kcress - funny you should ask. After a couple month respite due to pure frustration, my Dad and I started re-plumbing this past week (Veterans Day). We should finish up this weekend and I will subsequently perform a water integrity check. If it leaks through the bulkheads this time I am not sure what I am going to do. I'll want to swing a sledge hammer through it, i am sure. Hopefully all will be better this time. If all goes well, I'll certainly post my good news. If you do not hear from me, it is likely because I am at my wits end.

The kicker is I dropped about $4k on the new Solaris LED light in September and it remains in its box. No sense placing it atop an empty tank, is there? Ugh!

Thanks for asking Bro.
 
Ah nice - looking forward to seeing that light over the tank. Did you get the I-5 series?
 
kcress said:
...So what exactly is your leak issue?
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All (most) of my bulkhead fittings were leaking to some extent. 2 of the 4 CL (1") bulkheads were showing a slow drip ~1 per 5 min. All of the bulkheads located within the overflow area leaked water like a city catch basin. My hand tightening ability was compromised and I could not access with any wrench regardless of the type I tried. And, I tried and or fabricated them all.

The problem - I had made the access holes in the plywood top with a 4" hole saw. With the large schedule 80 bulkhead fittings there just wasn't enough room for my hands or any tool to grip the bulkhead nut, which had very shallow knurls.

After two months of dread and pouting, this past week I disassembled all the plumbing, in several spots via saws-all. Afterward I slid the entire tank about 1’ off the far (peninsula) end of the stand. Then, I used the saws-all again to make a much larger, but not too large, opening to allow better access for bulkhead tightening. We subsequently placed each bulkhead again with a small bead of silicone and tightened hand type +1/2 turn.

Since I wanted it to set well and I had to work the remainder of the week, it is certainly fully cured now. Tomorrow I plan to place upright tubing into each bulkhead and fill the tank partially to check for bulkhead leaks. I all goes well, I’ll plumb the rest (again) over the next week.

Please wish me luck. If they leak this time I will be crushed. :crazy:
 
Sounds like you did what you should've. You will probably only have one or two drips this time. LOL

Divide and concur.
 
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