bulkhead

mission man · #1 09/17/2006, 08:39 AM

Im trying to plump my closed loop. It has 4 1 inch bulkheads for the returns. The part in the tank is a slip and the part under the tank is threaded with the nut on it. I cannot for the life of me find a female threaded addaptor to fit the threads. 1 1/2" is too big and a 1 1/4" seems like the right size but will not thread on there. I am using spa flex tube so I wanted to put a female addaptor on the end of the bulkhead so I could glue the hose in there. On a side note the intake to the pump uses a 1 1/2 bulkhead and a 2" sch 40 female addaptor threaded right on with no issues. Any ideas.

fat-tony · #2 09/17/2006, 08:47 AM

are you sure the inside of the threaded side is not infact 1" slip?

mission man · #3 09/17/2006, 08:55 AM

The only part that has threads is the outside where the nut goes on. I was trying to thread a female connector on those threads.

mission man · #4 09/17/2006, 08:59 AM

Do you think my only option would be to glue a piece of pvc pipe inside the bulkhead with a coupling on the end, then glue the spa flex into the coupling.

fat-tony · #5 09/17/2006, 11:46 AM

see if the 1" spaflex fits in the end. if you have a slip bulkhead, both sides will be slip (inside). The threads may only be there for the nut to hold the bulkhead to the glass. You can glue spaflex with no problem as many have dont it before.

flyyyguy · #6 09/17/2006, 11:57 AM

Those threads on the outsides serve no purpose except for the large nut that secures the bulkhead......whatever size bulkhead it is will accept a matching size in flex or hard pvc on the INSIDE : )

Although i wil add this tip......dont ever use spaflex for simple fitting to fitting connections of any kind..........thats one of the few places i DO use hard pvc. If all you need is a 2-3" nipple to make a fitting to fitting connection...use hard pipe

another trick to make bulkheads removable in the future is to glue a MPT or a FPT fitting to the bulkhead and then attach another opposite PT fitting whether it be a threaded coupling or a mpt or fpt 90, that way you can remove the bulkhead if ever need be down the line without cutting any pipe to do so. A union wont typically fit back through the hole in the tank

mission man · #7 09/17/2006, 04:16 PM

Thanks for the help. I am just going to glue so hard pvc pipe into the bulkhead and go from there. But why would it NOT be wise to use the threads on the bulkhead? (the threads that the nut uses) I decided not to go this route but just curious why.

flyyyguy · #8 09/17/2006, 04:53 PM

they are typically not standard pipe thread size, you couldnt find a fitting to fit them without some serious effort. The bulkheads are sized with the hole on the inside of the back to be the same as the hole on the inside of the front whether it be threaded or slip : )

Acrylics · #9 09/18/2006, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by mission man
Thanks for the help. I am just going to glue so hard pvc pipe into the bulkhead and go from there. But why would it NOT be wise to use the threads on the bulkhead? (the threads that the nut uses) I decided not to go this route but just curious why.

As Fly points out, because these threads are not in any way standard threads. Most are proprietary and are designed so that other female adaptors do not screw on, only the nuts from the mfr that built the bulkhead. As an example in Sch 80 fittings, the outside threads of Hayward, Spears, Banjo, and the generic Savkos are all different and many use different holes sizes as well. None of these threads will be tapered and none of them will fit NPT fittings.

HTH,
James