fmueller Posted September 17, 2017 Report Share Posted September 17, 2017 OK, I am finally busy trying to get my 3m tank set up. There are a number of 4cm Hansen bulkheads in the plumbing, which I bought at Chesters, together with male threaded adapters going to PVC pipe. I glued the pipe to the male threaded adapter with PVC cement - no worries. The Hansen bulkheads themselves are also perfectly tight. It's the Hansen bulkhead to adapter threaded connection I am having trouble with. For the life of me, I don't seem to be able to get it drip free. I've spend days of reading on the Internet - make it tight, don't over-tighten, use Teflon Tape, use the good grey Teflon Tape, which is thicker... I've tried it all, but drip, drip, drip. Has anybody had any luck with these connections short of gluing them together? I would really like to be able to pull this apart for maintenance when necessary, but if nothing else works, I guess I'll just have to glue them together and make do. Maybe if I put Silicone on the threaded connection before screwing it together, I might even be able to pull it apart again. The last thing I need is my wife finding a puddle on the new laminate flooring I just put down! Thanks for any advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hovmoller Posted September 18, 2017 Report Share Posted September 18, 2017 I have successfully connected those same two fitting before using teflon tape.. Not that I'm a teflon expert but I always use lots and lots of teflon wound tight on the thread and then screwed almost as tight as I could. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaSa Posted September 18, 2017 Report Share Posted September 18, 2017 Same fittings going in my 5000ltr rainwater tank and the storage tanks in the garage. All are watertight when pumping water from one to the other. Just use enough thread tape seems to do the trick. But you won't get them to seal with silicone, tried that before with no luck... In general for your setup, connecting two drums together, I would probably stay away from a rigid PVC pipe and replace it with a short piece of high pressure hose. This will allow room for movement and expansion without compromising water tightness. Cheers, JaSa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted September 18, 2017 Report Share Posted September 18, 2017 Why not use the hansen fittings to a length of hose? Probably would seal better and would give you a little bit of flex on the fittings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fmueller Posted September 18, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2017 I wanted 50mm bulkheads, but the guy who built my tank made a mistake and made the holes too small, so I can only fit 40mm bulkheads. I think I'll be fine, but I can go no smaller or else I'd have to cut down on flow. I bought a Jebao DCT-15000, and really don't want to throttle it. I don't think anybody makes a 40mm hose, or at least I haven't seen one. I just had a look on the Hansen web site, and they make a specific recommendation for a sealing paste for these fittings - Loctite 5331. I should have checked there earlier, instead of relying on the advice from the guys at Chesters. I have ordered a tube of Loctite 5331 now. I trust that will solve the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaSa Posted September 19, 2017 Report Share Posted September 19, 2017 20 hours ago, fmueller said: I don't think anybody makes a 40mm hose, or at least I haven't seen one. Check out Farm Source, PGG or Farmlands. They sell 38mm wash down hose by the meter which fits perfectly over a 40mm hose tail... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fmueller Posted September 19, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2017 Cool. I'll check it out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fmueller Posted October 4, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2017 In case anybody ever has the same problem, I got hold of a tube of Loctite 5331. Works great, and solves the problem perfectly. Highly recommended - by Hansen and myself ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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