RDWC vs Single Site RDWC

Drop That Sound

Drop That Sound

Well-Known Member
^ leak free for 5 years now on all the different systems I built using the fittings and o-rings since then. Its so much cheaper I even got lazy and didn't empty the res after a grow on an outdoor greenhouse DWC one season. It sat outside in a plastic wrapped greenhouse for an entire winter with like 30+ gallons of water and froze and re-thawed 100's of times. Still holding the same exact nasty water the next spring haha. Now.. if I paid hundreds or thousands for some alien rdwc, current culture, or other expensive kit you bet your ass I would have cleaned and winterized it.
 
Airwalker16

Airwalker16

Well-Known Member
Drop That Sound said:
Just the outside. Otherwise water could leak out through the threads, because it would would just be the plastic fitting up against the plastic container, with no seal on that side. At least I think so. Maybe it doesn't matter and my brain just wasn't working?

I drew you up a diagram to get a better idea :)


View attachment 4557457
Click to expand...
Exactly.. but I'm saying wouldn't the o-ring be better on the I side to seal the water out?
Not just moving the o-ring, but flipping the entire "bulkhead" the other way. Threads out the Hole.
 
Drop That Sound

Drop That Sound

Well-Known Member
This was my thinking behind the reason I go on the outside with the o-ring.. see the blue arrow where I think water could go past the threads and leak out of the crack between the container and the rim on the fitting...

pvcbulkheadsflipped.jpg
 
Drop That Sound

Drop That Sound

Well-Known Member
If you use the o-ring on the outside the way I do it, there is no reason to use teflon tape, which wouldn't fit anyway and make it too tight to screw the female on all the way into the male like you want. Teflon is for regular tapered fittings that don't screw in all the way anyway to seal the threads..

The outside is sealed by the o-ring, where the only crack that water could possibly escape now is. The threads don't need to be sealed at all, all they are for is to hold the flanges and the o-ring (or washer) tight to the container which does all the sealing you need... And a damn good job of it too I must say, on a flat surface of course.
 
Drop That Sound

Drop That Sound

Well-Known Member
And ya there are special circumstances in which I use the female on the outside glued to the pipe, because I need the drain to be flush to the container, like under an NFT rail or a flood tray, otherwise I couldn't drain all the way to the bottom. I've even cut off the slip section off the male so there's nothing but the threads with a flanged ring connected to them. But I still use the o-ring on the outside but against the female's rim instead. Just have to poke the male threads through the container, put the o ring on over the threads on the other side, then still be able to tighten them together with a couple of wrenches.
 
Drop That Sound

Drop That Sound

Well-Known Member
Also, you don't wanna be spinning the fitting with the o-ring and twisting on it, its better to spin the other fitting so the o-ring is just being squeezed, not having a fitting trying to spin it at the same time your tightening it all up..
 
Airwalker16

Airwalker16

Well-Known Member
Drop That Sound said:
If you use the o-ring on the outside the way I do it, there is no reason to use teflon tape, which wouldn't fit anyway and make it too tight to screw the female on all the way into the male like you want. Teflon is for regular tapered fittings that don't screw in all the way anyway to seal the threads..

The outside is sealed by the o-ring, where the only crack that water could possibly escape now is. The threads don't need to be sealed at all, all they are for is to hold the flanges and the o-ring (or washer) tight to the container which does all the sealing you need... And a damn good job of it too I must say, on a flat surface of course.
Click to expand...
You mean like a flood and drain? How can you use those fittings to get it low enough?
 
Sdh777

Sdh777

Well-Known Member
Freaking brilliant. I’m using your set-up for bulkheads for now on! Screw paying $10+ a bulkhead! Funny thing is, I’m actually already using those same exact 2 pieces on my RDWC systems, but I use them at each Tee, so I can unscrew & take my systems completely apart.[/QUOTE]
 
Drop That Sound

Drop That Sound

Well-Known Member
Oh ya, I also designed a bulkhead just for grow tents. To run plumbing lines through in a way that isn't ghetto looking, or using tape and worrying about ripping holes. That way you can have your res outside of the hot tent and do maintenence remotely without disturbing plants.

I haven't got the prototype ready yet, but I think it would be an awesome product that people would love to buy. No one wants to cut holes in there brand new gorilla tents, but with my tent bulkhead that uses a small guide needle pin to line up would make it a cinch. Then just glue the 2 halves together right into the tent fabric, before you cut the hole in it. Then run your pipe through and seal it off. You can even go through the flood liner to keep it waterproof.

1588835532624.png
 
doniboy

doniboy

Well-Known Member
GBAUTO said:
Roots tangling together, for starters

You will when running strains that finish at different times.
Chopping plants usually mandate removing the root mass from the system.
Click to expand...
Already been discussed. You can chop and leave the stem, and the roots will not die. I'll be growing all one strain.
 
Mr. Mohaskey

Mr. Mohaskey

Well-Known Member
For the return lines, how important is it to use 3" vs 2" PVC piping? Been looking and fine tuning my plan, and I could save some cash be reducing to 2" return lines. However people have 3" is the way to go to avoid root clogging the lines. How big of a problem is it?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top