Argh! Fittings!

[Jon Baldwin]

I've been trying to find the fittings that go through the wall of the tank that you can slide a 1 inch PVC pipe through. I could get by with two of those and one for a 2 inch PVC.  You can see them in action 33-34 min into the "1st 90 days" CD.  Murray refers to them as "fish tank outlets".

 

All the local repair and hardware stores think I'm nuts because "what are you using it for again?"  I think Murray has them as part of a plumbing kit out of Australia, but really, there have to be some somewhere in the US.

 

Any suggestions will be appreciated. 

[Jon Baldwin]

Also, that spiffy black flexible PVC pipe would be handy.  I showed part of the video to the hardware store guys and they said they've never seen anything like it.

[Harold Sukhbir]

Hi Jon,

You can ask for bulkhead fittings.

[Rik Kretzinger]

I use these guys for uniseals:

http://aussieglobe.com/uniseal1.htm

 

They are fast also.

 

http://aussieglobe.com/uniseal1.htm

 

 

[Green Acre Aquaponics]

There is a company here in Florida that carries "Uniseals", Aqautic Eco Systems. You can find them online.

 

 

[Chris Smith]

You can make cheap bulkhead fitting out of ANY big box store. They all have several options that can be used for 1/2 through 3 inch for around 5 bucks. The first is male and female thread adapters in the electrical section. These fittings are designed to tighten together onto an electrical panel. They are made out of gray pvc pipe though.

The other option is to use standard schedule 40 pvc thread adapters. These thread adapters have tapered thread and will never tighten together to make a seal so what I do is use a backer nut available in the electrical isle. Cut your hole to the thread size so you have to thread the fitting through the hole and use the backer nut on the outside of the tank. Then the female is tightened to make a thread seal. I add polyurethane sealant to the inside to ensure a seal. Using this method I can make 2" and 3" fitting for less money than the shipping of an expensive bulkhead from AE and it is locally available.

 

[Wil Miles]

look in electrical fittings they are better fit for this use  and cheaper

[chuck]

people on craigslist are always giving away old hot tubs. all the jets and drains are bulkhead fitings from 1 to 3 inch is comon, however moving a hot tub then trashing what you dont want is a BUMMER. but if you ever see one one the side of the road jump in and strip it.

[chuck]

do you have any HYDROponic stores in your area? they usualy have the small sizes but never the bigger ones, i guess "that" kind of grower dosent need that big of pipe

[Eoin Ross]

If I have the gist of what you are meaning on the pipe - I think you'll find it is LDPE or HDPE pipe - Low or High Density Polyethylene Pipe, We had kilometres of the stuff for stock water plumbing on the farm in NZ. It was available over there in 100 mtr or more rolls.

HDPE is harder, less flexible and made for higher pressure than we'd ever see in our systems.

Maybe Tractor Supply or an agricultural irrigaton supply house would carry it.

[Eoin Ross]

I did find this http://www.tractorsupply.com/160-psi-polyethylene-flexible-coil-pip...

http://tsc.tractorsupply.com/search?zone=4&env=&w=polyethyl...

[Robert C. Wood]

Another place to see if they have it is to go to your local septic tank installer company. most tank that they use don't have predrilled holes so they have to connect the tank to the pipes some how.

[Shas Cho]

Even a pair of simple PVC couplers can make a fine "bulkhead" fitting:

Simply cut a short nipple of PVC pipe

such that the couplers bump together when they are joined over it.

Drill a hole in your tank such that the nipple can just slide through it.

Insert the nipple in the hole and paint it with Primer.

Run a bead of silicone sealant around it, inside and out.

Prime and cement the two couplers (or elbows, depending on your design).

Slide them firmly home and smooth the silicone with a wet finger tip.

Let the silicone cure, and you have a water-tight connection.

Total cost will be under a dollar.

. 

If you want to be able to remove your 'bulkhead fitting'.

use PVC thread adaptors with a thick gasket and silicone

rather than couplers and cement.

 .

Be sure to de-burr all of your PVC pipe cuts,

and always do a 'dry run' before applying cement or sealant.