Dang it, a leak!

[SallyWho]

I just noticed this little bugger hanging off my plumbing. The floor isn't wet, but it is a bit gritty, so this is a slow leak. Since it seems to be at the joint where the pipe meets the union, and that pipe is never coming out of the union, can I just put a little super glue or silicone in there to plug it up? Being careful not to get it in the union itself, of course.

 

[tsav87]

Is it a drain line or a pressured line?

 

[SallyWho]

Is it a drain line or a pressured line?

The secondary drain on a bean animal overflow.

 

[tsav87]

Silicone should do the trick, but I would not run water through the pipe for 24 hours to let it setup and cure.

 

[SallyWho]

Silicone should do the trick, but I would not run water through the pipe for 24 hours to let it setup and cure.

Cool, thanks! I'll pick up a little tube later today. I'm leaving town Friday for 4 days, and I'd rather not leave it dripping, slow or not.

 

[tsav87]

On the safe side, make sure it's 100% silicone and does not contain any mold inhibitors. Bill Wann uses 100% silicone for all of hit pvc pipe connections.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Cool, thanks! I'll pick up a little tube later today. I'm leaving town Friday for 4 days, and I'd rather not leave it dripping, slow or not.

I had the same thing happen on one tank. I dried it off, stopped water flow down it, made sure it was dry again and super glued it. Gave it 20 minutes to dry and fired everything back up. 1 year later still not leaking. Drain side is just gravity so either way is an easy fix.

You could even use plumbers putty that is drinking water safe and roll a small bead around the entire pipe where it meets the coupler.

No pressure leaves quite a few options.

 

[Gregg @ ADP]

The leak is from the joint and not the valve, correct?

The way I do on a slow leak like that it is to shut the flow off, let the water drain out of the line (give it 1/2hr or so), wipe the pipe and joint off with warm, wet paper towel and then dry with paper towel, and then go over the connection with PVC cement.

PVC cement melts the plastic pieces together, so it’s more of a permanent fix than trying to dam it up with some sort of glue/silicone.

 

[cromag27 Verified Sponsor]

yeah cement is a much better option. that’s what it’s made for. silicone does not bond well to plastics.

 

[SallyWho]

I still have some of that orange gooey glue from when I plumbed everything together. It was paired with the purple primer. Should I wipe a bit of primer around it first, or just use the orange cement?

 

[Tom Blevins]

 

[Gregg @ ADP]

I still have some of that orange gooey glue from when I plumbed everything together. It was paired with the purple primer. Should I wipe a bit of primer around it first, or just use the orange cement?

Is it that ‘orange lava’ cement? Should work fine.

Make sure that when you apply it, you push the brush firmly into the connection. That will help the cement find the gap and go into it. If you want to double up and also dam that spot up, you can put an extra layer on after the first one dries (give it 10 min or so)

 

[Cory]

I would cut out a C shaped piece of pvc and snap it over the pipe. Apply some pvc glue and slide the C over the glue. 20 seconds later with some pressure on tbe C and its permanently glued.

 

[Cory]

I had the same thing happen on one tank. I dried it off, stopped water flow down it, made sure it was dry again and super glued it. Gave it 20 minutes to dry and fired everything back up. 1 year later still not leaking. Drain side is just gravity so either way is an easy fix.

You could even use plumbers putty that is drinking water safe and roll a small bead around the entire pipe where it meets the coupler.

No pressure leaves quite a few options.

If you put baking soda over the glue it will dry instantly

 

[Jonathan4848]

I have a small leak on the pressure side. Is it possible to stop that with silicone or super glue?

 

[Cory]

I have a small leak on the pressure side. Is it possible to stop that with silicone or super glue?

Yes but i wouldnt feel safe that the tank wont blow apart eventually. If its leaking its possible the seam is failing. Or if its just a pinhole leak it may be fine if it was just missed in manufacturing

 

[ca1ore]

Depends on how bad/frequent the drip. Slow drips almost always self seal. This is a case where patience, and a few temporary paper towels, can really pay off.

 

[Ultra Aquatics]

I have a small leak on the pressure side. Is it possible to stop that with silicone or super glue?

On a pressurized pipe I would not try to seal it, cut the fitting out and re-glue is best option.

 

[Pntbll687]

I just noticed this little bugger hanging off my plumbing. The floor isn't wet, but it is a bit gritty, so this is a slow leak. Since it seems to be at the joint where the pipe meets the union, and that pipe is never coming out of the union, can I just put a little super glue or silicone in there to plug it up? Being careful not to get it in the union itself, of course.

I would use silicone since it is a drain line. Remove the union, apply silicone to pipe, and reinsert. Let dry for 12hrs at a minimum, and then reinstall.

 

[afuel]

Is that union cracked or is that a mark leftover from a sharpie? Short of cutting it out you could undo the union put a shop vacuum up to the pipe and suck in some pvc glue into the joint. I have done this with success before when I really didn’t want to redo a section of pipe. Put your hand or a towel over the other end of that pipe to force the glue to get sucked in