need help with a bulkhead problem

[wrassefan]

put a wrench on it while having someone hold the pipe above

 

[B.rian]

so i tried all afternoon to loosen, or even budge the bulkhead, and nothing. i definitely put all of the muscel i had into it. so i came up with another idea. i have a standpipe that is capable of raising and lowering, so i just have to cut an area for it to fit up through the versa top, and then i am going to adjust the level so that it is right below the water line. i wanted to actually fix the bulkhead problem, but i gave up. thanks for all the advice though.

 

[wrassefan]

if the bulkhead seal is leaking....it will continue to leak...unless your issue was with the pipe...still don't understand

 

[joefitz]

I'm still not sure I really understand what is going on but based on what I've read so far, I think my initial guess was still right. The most important issue is the height of the standpipe. If you raise that so that it is closer to the water line then very, very little water should drain down into the sump on a power failure. The only way this is not true is if the leak is coming from the standpipe or the bulkhead the standpipe is exiting through.

The leak through the overflow wall shouldn't have anything to do with it really.

 

[B.rian]

basically that is what is going on. i am just going to have to make small adjustments to the height of the standpipe until i get it at a level that is slightly below the water in the main display. will this affect the overflow rate of that side? will it make the flow rate on the other side higher? thanks for the advice everyone.

 

[joefitz]

You do need to be carefule about the height to some extent. I think the amount of water above the standpipe opening will impact how much flow results. Generally, I've seen suggestions to ensure the water-height difference is at least an inch difference between the main tank and the overflow compartment.

The thing I'm a little confused about though is why a small difference in height would make a difference. I assume your overflow compartment is fairly small. The only water that will flow down into your sump during a power outage is the water above the standpipe opening. I would guess that isn't more than a few inches right now if you have a standpipe already...and specifically, a few inches of water contained within your overflow compartment. Unless you have a large tank that can't be much more than a gallon of water.

So, if this is the case...how small is your sump? It doesn't have enough room to support that extra gallon or two of water? Do you have more water in your sump than you really need to have normally?

I guess what I'm getting at is that maybe your problem really is a leak at the base of the standpipe plumbing...or maybe you need to modify your sump. You really shouldn't have a sump at all if it can't support an extra few gallons of water that would result during a power outage. You can minimize the amount of water that will drain by raising the standpipe height...but you can't completely eliminate it.

 

[MikeG]

If the bulkhead is leaking the entire tank will drain to the level of the top of the stand pipe. That is your problem correct? I would try what you are suggesting and raise the standpipe as high as possible with it still functioning. Have you tried using a pair of pliers to hold the threaded end of the bulkhead while turning the nut? This will most likely ruin the bulkhead, but you should be able to get it off to replace it. At that point I would put a rubber gasket on the inside and outside of the overflow if it is an AGA megaflow or any overflow with an inner and outer wall.