Lifegard Aquatics 1/2-Inch Double Threaded Bulkhead

Most people who are buying these for a drain in their aquaponics grow beds are buying the larger 1", but I bought the 1/2" bulkhead because of the already on hand materials I had. Since I was going to be running a 1/2" hose for my water lines and using bus tubs for my grow beds, I didn't need anything larger than the 1/2". I have already added the bulkhead to the bus tubs and installed my bell siphon as you can see in the pictures. I have already tested the grow bed drain system in the bath tub and it worked flawlessly by being able to drain the tub faster than it was being filled. I can't wait for the rest of my materials I still need to get my aquaponics system up and running, but everything costs money and I'm doing this a little at a time as I have extra funds. My first impressions of these bulkheads were that they are a very durable plastic, the threads were nice and clean, and they come with a nice rubber seal. And during my test run of my build I was happy to have no leaks. Pros: well made and does what it's meant to do Cons: none as of now

UPDATE: Ok, so I had some issues with these bulkheads at first, as evident my my initial scathing review. The error was on my part. Normally I put the o-ring gasket inside the tank. After ordering extra gaskets to try and put a seal on both sides I started searching the internet to see if the side of the seal with the raised lines goes toward the flange or the surface to be sealed (no luck, arbitrarily decided flange side with the smooth side sealing) I read that the gasket always goes on the flange, not the nut side. Now I have inner and outer gaskets and it’s sealed. I’m not sure if it was the second gasket or having one on the flange side that fixed it, but we’re all good over here. Seals well in the bottom of a 55gal Klamata barrel being used as a hydro reservoir. Apologies for the initial review. I bought four of these to use to attach plumbing to 2 45 gallon rain barrels. They are junk. Put two fittings on the first barrel, put 30 gallons of r/o water into it and they both started dripping. One slowly and the other pretty steady. Took it apart, checked for any burs I may have missed (none), reassembled and refilled. Still leaked. Drained again and tried to get it tighter and the back nut split. Grabbed one of the fittings for the other barrel and replaced the broken one. Went hand right down then snugged with the wrench and refilled. Still leaking. This setup is indoor in my basement so leaks aren’t permitted.

Does the job!

I like this piece a lot. My only issue was the lip leaves about a quarter of an inch of water in the reservoir. The lip doesn’t allow the water to completely drain. The green ones with the flat part of the “tailpiece” or the lip that sits on the inside of the flood tray. To remedy this I heated up a spackle knife with a lighter and grooved a small trench for the water to excavate but it didn’t solve the problem 100%. However it leaves such a small amount that the water evaporates quickly.

I'm giving it 5 stars for now because I can't see any reason why this isn't going to work great for me. Most importantly, here are many of the critical dimensions that you may be wondering about. I'm a mechanical engineer, and I'm used to this type of detailed information being provided by the supplier before I buy anything, which leads me to be disappointed all too often in my personal life. The product consists of a body, a sealing washer, and a nut. The body is a total of 1.70" long, with a flange diameter of 1.80". The flange is 0.21" thick. The external thread is 1 1/8-14, meaning the widest part is about 1.125" and there are 14 threads per inch, which is an unusual thread. The body is tapped internally from each end to accept a standard male 1/2 NPT (or "MPT") thread. The internal thread does not go all the way through, but that doesn't matter because this is a tapered thread and you only ever get to use the first ~1/2" of it anyway. The nut has a flange which is 1.68" in diameter and 0.21" thick. The total thickness is 0.57". The width across flats of the hex is 1.35", I assume this is intended to be 1-5/16" nominal (1.31"). Plan to use an adjustable wrench. The sealing washer has a 1.15" inner diameter and 1.63" outer diameter. It is 0.10" thick. The thickest wall you could realistically install this through is 0.8". The hole you need to drill for it must be at least 1.15", so a 1 1/8" hole saw will probably be tight, and a 1 1/4" hole saw will give you plenty of clearance. Edit: Almost a year later and no leaks or other issues. I even readjusted a couple of them a few weeks ago and they sealed right back up. Great product, couldn't be happier.

Purchased to make a watering system for some backyard chickens. The bucket was drilled near the bottom on the side and the fitting feed through PVC pipe and fittings to the run area. With the 5 chickens I only have to fill it every 4 or 5 days. Using a black 5 gallon bucket with the screw on lid also prevents the growth of algae in the water. So if you decide to do the same type of system, be aware that a white or blue bucket allows the growth of algae in just 2 or 3 days

I drilled a 1 1/8" hole as others have stated, and this provides a nice tight fit that required me to thread the fitting through the hole of a large brute garbage can used for holding RODI water for aquariums. Gasket goes on the inside, i didnt remove it and left the textured side of the gasket facing inward on the vessel wall. Due to it spinning in place with nothing on the inside to grab onto i just tightened it as much as i could by hand and its holding with no leaks. Screwed in a 1/2" ball valve and done in 5 minutes.

Worked great. Threads on the inside are perfect for your standard PVC threaded fittings (I used threaded 90's to go to the top of my tank) Got 5 for my tanks the drill out the side. Worked great minus one that was leaking because I never tightened it past hand tight. I also used a small amount of ge 100% silicone to be 110% sure it wouldn't Leak.

Excelente