Persistent leak on DIY plumbing

[jordan10]

Use PVC putty not the type

 

[lapin]

so I managed to peeled off the caulking and maybe I can use an 0-ring this time.

The seal will be formed, not by the threads, but by the o-ring. They assembled it with an o-ring because they knew threads will not seal the connection. You will need to use the o-ring or find an o-ring that has the same ID but a larger OD. Put some silicone grease, not sealant, on the o-ring to keep it from getting pinched when tighening.

 

[Seanb1]

I would look for a crack in it.
Water can seep thru any crack in a pipe, doesnt even need to be under pressure.

 

[canadianeh]

The seal will be formed, not by the threads, but by the o-ring. They assembled it with an o-ring because they knew threads will not seal the connection. You will need to use the o-ring or find an o-ring that has the same ID but a larger OD. Put some silicone grease, not sealant, on the o-ring to keep it from getting pinched when tighening.

Ok. I will try this first and if it does not work I will inspect if there is any crack. If there is not any crack, I will use PVC cement. Thanks everyone

 

[WillH]

When putting together threaded pvc, you should be using pvc thread sealant, not tape. The Tape is not meant to make a waterproof seal like this.

 

[canadianeh]

When putting together threaded pvc, you should be using pvc thread sealant, not tape. The Tape is not meant to make a waterproof seal like this.

Is red sea factory piping is different than PVC? When I read the manual, it does not say that one has to use PVC thread sealant.

I am thinking if I just use the teflon tape and o-ring, I can always convert it back to factory setting if I need to.

 

[WillH]

thread sealant is not a permanent bond...it does not set

 

[Jaebster]

From your user name, are you currently living in Canada? If so, dont you have access to metric fittings and piping? Sorry for my ignorance but couldnt you just get proper metric fittings to plumb it correctly? I believe the "other" user modified their piping from metric to US due to lack of metric fittings and pipes.

 

[canadianeh]

From your user name, are you currently living in Canada? If so, dont you have access to metric fittings and piping? Sorry for my ignorance but couldnt you just get proper metric fittings to plumb it correctly? I believe the "other" user modified their piping from metric to US due to lack of metric fittings and pipes.

Yes I live in Canada and the funny thing is our piping here uses standard US measurements. Not metric.

 

[canadianeh]

thread sealant is not a permanent bond...it does not set

ahh I see. Ok. I will look into this.

 

[Jaebster]

Yes I live in Canada and the funny thing is our piping here uses standard US measurements. Not metric.

Whaaa???? Geez at least we in the US are consistent. Lol. Learn something new everyday!

 

[xiaoxiy]

ahh I see. Ok. I will look into this.

Thread sealant is paste-like and forms a much better seal than Teflon tape. You can also easily remove it in the future by wiping it directly off!

 

[canadianeh]

thread sealant is not a permanent bond...it does not set

Thread sealant is paste-like and forms a much better seal than Teflon tape. You can also easily remove it in the future by wiping it directly off!

Are there specific ones that safe for reefing?

 

[MichaelReefer]

Yes here it is. The leak is causing the chaulking to turn white. I let the chaulk sit with no water for at 48 hours but it seems still not fully cured?!?

What in gods green earth

 

[ca1ore]

I would not permanently solvent weld these together. FWIW, if you can wait for it to cure, standard silicone sealant is an excellent thread sealer also.

 

[WillH]

I have had 0 problems with thread sealant. The biggest reason for teflon tape or sealant is to preventing galling so you can effectively tighten the connection.

I would hope someone else can chime in on reef safe, not sure on that. I know I personally have not had issue and it is safe to use on (the kind I have bought, but probably most of them) potable water connections.

 

[canadianeh]

Ok. So I got all the old Teflon tape off and put on new one. I use o-ring and applied grease on it. I can’t tighten it so much as the o-ring started get pinched and started to coming out from side. I turn on the pump and right away I saw a bead of water started to bleed out around the o-ring. *sigh*

It looks like I can try thread sealer or pvc cement. Will pvc cement seal it 100% though, if it doesn’t I have to buy new fitting and pvc and going to cost more money.

 

[NowGlazeIT]

Ok. So I got all the old Teflon tape off and put on new one. I use o-ring and applied grease on it. I can’t tighten it so much as the o-ring started get pinched and started to coming out from side. I turn on the pump and right away I saw a bead of water started to bleed out around the o-ring. *sigh*

It looks like I can try thread sealer or pvc cement. Will pvc cement seal it 100% though, if it doesn’t I have to buy new fitting and pvc and going to cost more money.

Yes it will form a watertight seal. Don’t forget to prime it first, then apply the cement while the primer is wet. Because the black piece might be abs or cpvp I recommend all purpose pipe cement for this application.

 

[canadianeh]

Yes it will form a watertight seal. Don’t forget to prime it first, then apply the cement while the primer is wet. Because the black piece might be abs or cpvp I recommend all purpose pipe cement for this application.

Yes I still have that from my DIY plumbing. However some on various forums had indicated that if there are bubbles stuck in it during the process it might not form a tight seal, and the primer will soften the threads and might not get a good seal. The gray PVC adapter and the red sea part is not a perfect fit to begin with. The red sea is metric and the PVC adapter is US and I can feel it that there is room in between them. Therefore, I now applied pink tape with 5-6 rotation and then use aquarium silicon sealant to seal the outside and inside joint between them. Theoretically, water can't get in the inside joint now which could leak to outside joint. Finger crossed. I am giving it 48 hours to dry first.

 

[homer1475]

If it's in your sump, and down near the pump, wouldn't a leak just leak back into the sump?

Why would that even be an issue? I have a small leak where the spa flex didn't quite seal to the pvc adapter. It's in my sump, near the pump and just drips back into the sump. Non issue.