UniSeal question

[smokestack23]

Hey all...

I just did a tear-down and am switching things up a bit. Was growing trees in 5gal pails with dual 3/4" drains in top feed RDWC systems and am switching over to larger tubs with 1-1/2" ID drains.

I cut a drainhole (2.5" for the uniseal) in the first tub. The uniseal is a bit of a loose/sloppy fit in the tub's hole but I know that it will expand wuite a bit once I shove the pipe into the seal...BUT...the tube I got are pretty flimsy. The wall thickness of the tube is like a sixteenth of an inch at best...maybe more like a 32nd.

In order to test for leaks I'd have to put a whole system together but I don't want to do that cause if it leaks I'll have ruined a bunch of tubs..no biggie but I also don't want to have to put all the pipes together and everything only to have to take everything apart and start again.

SO...has anyone used uniseals with very thin walled tubs? Will they seal? should I just quit pissing around and get some proper tubs?
Perhaps I just answered my own question?

thanks in advance.

 

[smokestack23]

No one? Well then I guess I should change the title to UniSeal answers lol.

I couldn't really find any better tubs so I'm trying it out with the thin walled ones. I'll let y'all know if it works.

 

[smokestack23]

WOW!!...they work!!

 

[desertsquirrel]

gratz.

 

[mrhouston907]

Yeah, they can be tricky. I use PVC with mine, and once you get a couple buckets hooked up, they're almost impossible to connect. Good to know that you can use "softer" tubing.

 

[smokestack23]

houston...the tubing I'm using isn't soft. It's ABS..same as PVC but the black stuff.
It's my TUBS that were very thin flimsy material. They are big tubs too and they deform a bit when they have a ton of water in em. I wasn't expecting the uniseals to seal but they did NO problem.

One thing though...after cutting my pipes I realized that I didn't cut the last piece on an angle. I had always wondered why, in photos of UC systems, the pipes in the tubs were cut on an angle. I assumed it was to provide more "surface area" of an opening to help prevent root clogging but...whether that's the case or not...it SURE does facilitate stuffing the pipe into the uniseal boy. I insert the pipes into the tubs and let my (awesome) wife do all the gluing of elbows and Ts and everything.

Another good thing to do is to make a "shim" or block to mark your holes from the bottom of the tubs..if you know what I mean.
I run bottom drains. With rigid piping I want all my holes to be exactly the same height from the bottom of each tub (and res). I used rubber hose in my last systems so I didn't have to worry much. This time I wanted to be exact and couldnt just use a 2X4 cause I had to get over a wall footer so I found a few pieces that added up to the height I needed and marked all my holes like that.

I realize that's pretty simple and quite obvious but just in case someone's building a system with uniseals ...well, you already have a TON on your mind and it's easy to overlook the simple stuff sometimes.

Oh and ONE more thing...don't worry when cutting your holes with a holesaw if, after you cut and when you install the empty uniseals there seems to be a lot of clearance (very loose fit), it's fine.
Gotta say...them uniseals are pretty cool. So cheap and such a simple idea.

PEACE

 

[ScrOGer]

Glad to see it worked out for you. I just ran a test on the rubbermaid roughneck totes, and connect UC style with 2" PVC pipe. The rubbermaid tote walls are the bare minimum thickness allowed, for a proper seal. (The min is 1/8" for a 2" uniseal.)

Super stoked for you. I wish you my best for your new set-up.