drain valve for res.

[mrduke]

anyone have a diy link to installing a drain on the bottom of a reservior. My res sits centered between two tables and to drain it i have to leave it sticking out 4-5 inches so i can access it. with a drain at the bottom i could just open the valve and let it drain out a hose. But the seal has to be 100% tight and leak free

 

[SodaLicious]

I think what you are looking for is called a Thru-hull

 

[fishwhistle]

Use a 3m marine grade sealant like 5200 and do your best to seal it from the inside,you can check west marine for different thru hulls and they have the 5200 but ive seen it at home depot before too.Should seal up leak free 5200 is what they use under the waterline of boats.

 

[mrduke]

right on thanks guys

 

[SodaLicious]

almost every thru-full I have used has a rubber gasket to help seal. I double this seal up on the inside and never had a leak.

 

[yelodrvr]

you can get a bulk head fitting from your big box hardware stores or hydro store. basically its a threaded male and female adapter on one end with a rubber gasket. the hardware stores around me only sell a 1 1/2" fitting for $12.50. the hydro stores sell a drain and fill kit for around the same price. the ones i found are barbed ends for hoses. you get 1 bulk head fitting per kit. when you need 4 in one project both options where to expensive for me.

i tried hoses with clamps and also silicone on fittings and in my experience both leak. i tried to make my own bulk head fittings out of PVC fitting and they leak even with a gasket. then i realized PVC pipe has a tapered threads. you could wrench them on with a 24" wrench and they will never seal.

but electrical conduit fittings do not have tapered threads. any hardware store carries conduit fittings. they also sell gasket material. for about $1.50 you can make a water tight bulk head fitting that will fit any size pvc pipe.

 

[St3ve]

I've started using uniseals awhile back for and will never go back to another bulkhead. As long as the wall of your rez if thick.. at least 1/8" you'll be perfectly leak free for cheap.

On all my reservoirs I have a 3/4" pvc with a garden hose fitting (similar to the one outside of your house). I put a quick release fitting on it (with teflon tape) and it doesn't drip or leak at all. Plus I don't even have to be bothered with screwing on the hose.. just pop it in and drain. All the parts are less than $10 at HomeDepot. ('cept the uniseal which was 75cents at the hydro store)

 

[yelodrvr]

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I've started using uniseals awhile back for and will never go back to another bulkhead. As long as the wall of your rez if thick.. at least 1/8" you'll be perfectly leak free for cheap.

On all my reservoirs I have a 3/4" pvc with a garden hose fitting (similar to the one outside of your house). I put a quick release fitting on it (with teflon tape) and it doesn't drip or leak at all. Plus I don't even have to be bothered with screwing on the hose.. just pop it in and drain. All the parts are less than $10 at HomeDepot. ('cept the uniseal which was 75cents at the hydro store)

nice!! thanks for the heads up. i have never seen these before and dont understand why they are not in stock at the local hydro-store. they are designed for curved surfaces also. forget what i said about bulk head fittings, i will never use them again either.

 

[St3ve]

I asked my hydro store for them and he had all the sizes for me to look at by the next week. The online fish stores also sell them for cheap.

As I said, they work extremely well.. as long as its installed in something a little thicker than a 5 gal bucket. Those can leak on occasion. At the moment I have at least 60 installed in everything from buckets to trash cans and I even have a 3/4" pvc pipe going into a 3" PVC pipe and I've never had a leak from any of it.

 

[thebossman]

home brew tap ebay 2 dollar

 

[Jalisco Kid]

You get a marine grade thru hull fitting you are good to go. I have used some now over 6 years no leaks. I now install molded double side threaded fitting in my tanks with zero leaks now for 5 years. JK