fittings for new water tanks

[bill emery]

 how do i install new fittings in a new fresh water tank? i see plastic mart will install for me at $10 per fitting if i buy their tank. need a new water tank and not sure how to do the fittings. thanks bill

[Lakota Wolf]

Have you looked into the PEX fittings and adapters at Lowes or Home depot? The local Lowes hardware store here and everything I needed to assemble from scratch and tie into supply lines.

[bill emery]

will the PEX fitting stick to the water tank? the old tank has the fittings glued into it, dont know what kind of glue they used

[Lakota Wolf]

With not seeing what your working with,,, PEX has thread fittings and self tap self seal fitting for a NO GLUE application, They also have elbows and unions etc, like the old prime and glue type PVC stuff from back in the day, But Pex eliminates the glue mess.

The glue they used on your old tank is some seriously bonded stuff,, It don't come apart easily if at all.

With Pex,,, It's a NO glue application. If you could take a picture and post it, we can get a visual on what your working on a little better.

[bill emery]

my tank is smaller than this one and wont have any fittings in it. what kind of glue do they use to install fittings in these?

[bill emery]

the tank is made of polyethylene with no holes in it yet. its a blank tank

[John "T" Nordhoff]

 If its a black tank with no holes yet DISREGARD MY PREVIOUS POST. On those you have to drill holes the right size then solvent weld appropriate (such as ABS) similar material fittings. When I do those in addition to relying on solvent weld I also drill in 4 sheet metal screws around the outer perimeter and screw them down before the glue sets up.  Once all is done I cover the entire area with epoxy like JB Weld or another epoxy suitable for the tank material.

 In my previous post I was thinking a typical soft thin plastic fresh water holding tank versus the heavier black ABS black tanks. This is the problem (over the net diagnostics) of not being there seeing what you actually have, relying on incomplete information, and having to make a few guesses. I was never a fan of having to drill all your own holes and weld or epoxy fittings so good luck with it. If its for fresh water storage you will need a bottom outlet (usually 1/2 " flex hose to water pump), a top vent, and the 1 1/4 gravity filler tube fittings.

 As far as the solvent weld glue, they make it for the black ABS and they make it for the white PVC or the Gray CPVC and they also make a transition glue for like ABS to PVC. BE SURE AND GET THE RIGHT GLUE and if its all the black ABS just buy that type of solvent weld glue, solvent weld it in place, support with small sheet metal screws, cover the whole thing with epoxy GOOD TO GO

 John T

 John T

[John "T" Nordhoff]

PS Senior moment, I read it as BLACK tank but you said BLANK tank lol

 Regardless, you have to drill holes and use whatever solvent weld (or epoxy) suits the tank and id still cover it all with epoxy once finished. Id shop at an RV house versus Lowes or Home Depot as they will have the right solvent weld and/or Epoxy best suited for your tank material. They will know better then me as to what the tank is made of and which solvent or epoxy is best suited........Every after market fresh water storage tank Ive bought already had the four outlets (3 small 1 large) but I have bought black ABS tanks where I had to drill the holes myself as I described above.

 John T

 

[John "T" Nordhoff]

 Most fresh water tanks have like three 1/2 or 3/8 female pipe threaded outlet/vent fittings. You can buy plastic 1/2 or 3/8 male pipe thread to 1/2  hose barb fittings that screw into them (I use pipe thread sealer when installing) and then the 1/2 flexible tubing slips over the hose barb and hose clamps down tight. One of the bottom 1/2 flexible hoses goes to the fresh water pump input, one of the top goes to a hose vent so air can escape when water enters, the other one is plugged off. The big top 1 1/4 hose barb is for the big plastic filler hose.

 If that's NOT your setup, go to Lowes or Home Depot or any RV supply house and you can buy all the PEX tubing or gray Polybuteleyne fittings and unions and adapters out the ying yang. That's all hand tight screw on fittings or push on "shark bite" fittigns and flex hose and tubing no glue required.

 This is so easy if there and see what you have but over the net we have to guess so its hard to say, regardless, its NOT rocket science or have to be exact or the same as before.

 John T  best I can offer over the net

[Lakota Wolf]

Like Mr. John T has mentioned,, Via net can be a toughy will exact answers.

If your replacing a FRESH water tank, (heavy guage plastic). Before drilling any holes, I myself would lay out the plumbing FIRST. make yourself a VISUAL guide of how and where the lines need to go.

Put the tank in place, and just lay out your plumbing pipe where it needs to go and how it will all be routed to tie into existing plumbing lines. Do this before actually connecting the lines. This will give you a better idea of what exactly you will need. Around corners etc, Flexable lines can work wonders and saves on hard elbows and such. Hardware stores have an array of threaded fittings that you can actually thread into a predrilled hole, (Thats after you have determined where such holes need to be). Use a thread sealer when threading them in to make a good watertight seal). Fittings with Barbed ends are easy to work with and adding a mini clamp just adds more security to the connection.  The best bet is to Lay out the materials to get a good visual idea of how the lines run before going all gung ho drilling here and there and having a big mess.   

[John "T" Nordhoff]

  Glad you weighed in on this one good Wolf Man, I kept getting cornfused and read his post wrong (blank not black) grrrrrrrrrrrr. While Ive seen a lot of black ABS tanks with no pre made outlets, all the thin white plastic fresh water storage tanks Ive bought already had all the outlets installed, three female 1/2 pipe threads and the 1 1/4 fill hose barb. Id hate to install all those fittings using glue or epoxy ..........

  John T

[Lakota Wolf]

I have only come across  ONE solid plastic tank with no holes ,,once. it was for agriculture use for a water tank on back of a tractor. The replacement fresh water tanks are usually fitted with 3 to 4 *ports...Thats what makes this task a bit different. But I'm assuming he got a good deal on it, which can be a good thing.

Just have to improvise and It will work.

The only bad thing about using Glued fittings, is, you just get everything all glued together and you realize its going the wrong way or wrong angle, then you have to reconfigure and Unglue (basically hack away with a sledge hammer and chisel). And when alls said, you have glued and unglued (hacked) 45 feet of PVC line for an 18 inch run to a 45 degree bend.

[bill emery]

 thank you everyone for all the responses. i found a place pellandent,com that will install all the fittings and senors for a great price. i am soo glad i dont have to install fittings.lol thanks for the info guys