I love bubble buckets! I live by themnow. They work wonderful But with the actual construction of the buckets I have a low success rate of perfect 0 leak. The ball valve will eventually start dripping even when I debur, primer, pvc cement,plumers tape,use o rings, and topped with a lyer of water tank epoxy its due to an inner pressure proble, I think. I should mention im using a 3/4inch valve, which nomatter what I do because is from shitty depot takes a lot of force to open... What else... I was wondering if there is a way to get the pressure off of the pvc cement and onto some sort of buffer thank you for taking thw time to read this and I appreciate any input!!!
pressures not the problem. Properly glued joints are 100% water proof for life. Tell me the steps you take in as much detail as you liek when you are glueing your joints. Ill let you know what step you may be missing etc
I understand your issues Ive made quite a few of em from the 5 gallon ones down to 1 gallon ones. I have a small veg area that uses tiny one gallon pots as of now who knows about the future though. Most of my buckets I could get to the point of having no leaks but I think alot of the issue lies in the fact that 1 your on a cylinder shape and 2 its angled as well. If you hold your bucket up after youve installed all the fittings you will notice that it typically points down. I think that as soon as you sit it flat and start putting any stress on it, it will show its flaws if it has one. I found that supporting the areas that are plumbed seems to help. My favorite was the good ole foam pool noodle. easy to cut and never gets moldy for some reason, it also puts a decent amount of cushion where you need it. Well and of course with all the other obvious things that rumple has suggested. Now moving on. There is another method that people have seemed to say is the superior connection and that is a uni seal. Aquatic Eco-Systems: Aquarium Supplies - Uniseals® I have not tried these yet but they really seem like the way to go. I think Rumple himself uses bulkhead fittings now as well. I personally have moved away from the buckets in my flowering room and have converted a cooler over to my one and only container much easier to maintain and gives me some wiggle room as well. Hope I helped out a little. Good luck.
just a few pics i got a little pissed n had a little meltdown, just know when the valve was on there. it was sealed straight and looked proper. once i saw it leaked i broke the valve lol xD
thanks! well lets see, i use a dremel to drill out the hole, then sand it to fit, and debur with a mettle cleaning wheel. i put the o ring on the male adaptor. Primer the inside of the hole i just drilled, and the pieces going together. and an 0 ring on the outside as well. plumbers tape the fittings. then come to pvc cement! i make sure to get every part, inside n out and use pliers to tighten the fittings as much as possible. i tried to get the o ring as close as possible to the bucket so i squished it in as tight as possible. i used 4 yes 4 fucking coats of pvc cement making sure it covered every possible hole. i didnt even think it was going to need more than 1 due to sucess with previous tries. but i figured i'de go the extra effort. i thought i had a seal. so i epoxied the valve in place. when the bucket gets more than half full it starts leaking drops. i mean its usable but i am a perfectionist
thanks! well lets see, i use a dremel to drill out the hole, then sand it to fit, and debur with a mettle cleaning wheel. i put the o ring on the male adaptor. plumbers tape the fittings Primer the inside of the hole i just drilled, and the pieces going together. and an 0 ring on the outside as well. . then come to pvc cement! i make sure to get every part, inside n out and use pliers to tighten the fittings as much as possible. i tried to get the o ring as close as possible to the bucket so i squished it in as tight as possible. i used 4 yes 4 fucking coats of pvc cement making sure it covered every possible hole. i didnt even think it was going to need more than 1 due to sucess with previous tries. but i figured i'de go the extra effort. i thought i had a seal. so i epoxied the valve in place. when the bucket gets more than half full it starts leaking drops. i mean its usable but i am a perfectionist
bill buy the bulkhead fittings and most important the proper size drill bit for the fitting..i used to do the diy thing with glue and o rings using what you're using..F that ! bulkhead fittings do not leak and are worth the cost in the long run
Ok so I misunderstood because you said the valve was leaking. I thought you werent glueing fittings properly but the problem is really your DIY bulkheads. Simple solution. Get the ACTUAL bulkheads you need
If where you are having your issues is just on this one bucket with the valve on it, I take it, it is the reservoir / main bucket? Have you tried using a square bucket for this? Maybe the flat sides on a square bucket would help, as you should be able to get a tighter/flusher fit due to no curve... I know that the hydrofarm buckets are square, am sure that there are others out there....
Agreed, this is why I shopped around for totes & tupperware to fit my space. You get much better compression with the fittings.