'Blind' tank connectors - are there such things?

I'm not even sure if 'blind' is the right word. What I'm after is a tank connector that one can use on a tank where one can't get to the inside. I have a number of barrels (HDPE) that I want to use to collect water but they don't have removable tops so I need a way to fix an outlet without being able to get to the inside of the barrel.

(It would also be useful in one tank where I *can* get to the inside but it's so deep that reaching down to hold the connector is an interesting exercise)

Reply to
tinnews
Loading thread data ...

Can't think of a product to do that, but what I've done in the past is thread in a normal rain-water butt tap, with a load of glue around it to seal it and provide more strength. Something like waterproof gutter / roofing adhesive sticks to the HDPE, or even araldite.

Reply to
evs2

Probably an expensive option but such things are available for hot water cylinders. Try a decent plumbing wholesaler

Reply to
cynic

They do exist as I saw one being used for a fuel tank connection on "A chopper is born" the other week. If they're good enough for aviation use I sure they'll do for your purposes! ;-) FWIW, it didn't look like a particualrly expensive fitting but I'm darned if I can find one on-line.

Tim

Reply to
Tim Downie
[snip]

Essex flange is your solution.

Reply to
Jim White

Would this work? drill a bigger hole (could be squre/oblong) Insert plate through the hole with necessary connection on place. Hold it in place and have a similar one on the outside. Use rubber washers to seal inside/outside. somehow clamp the two together to seal.

I know what I mean maybe not explained well.

Reply to
SS

Essex Flange?? Baz

Reply to
Baz

Thats the type of thing I was trying to explain in the previous post, didnt realise you could get a ready made. Google brings up loads of pics.

Reply to
SS

Yes, you have explained it well enough and it's probably a viable solution for the case in question as it hasn't got to be absolutely perfect, neither does it have to resist a lot of pressure.

Reply to
tinnews

I did this, using the normal backnut sort of tank connector.

I used an assistant holding a long spanner. The spanner was a paddle of MDF with a hex hole in it to fit the backnut, screwed to a broomhandle with a taper sawn on the end. We were working through a bung hole about 2" diameter. I did have to tighten them entirely by rotating the outside tap, but it wasn't too dificult to align them afterward.

For security, I also drilled one corner of the hex and attached a loop of fishing monofilament, in case we dropped it off the spanner.

Reply to
Andy Dingley

Yes - you use an oval plate passed narrow-end-on through a smaller oval hole, wide-side-on. Then you rotate the plate by 90 degrees.

I've done this on steel tanks and then welded the plate into place. However it does rely on a fairly large area, and that has to be flat. I doubt if you'd have enough flatness in a plastic barrel.

Reply to
Andy Dingley

Okay, with hindsight prehaps not what you're looking for but the priciple of using an expanding rubber tube must exist in other fittings.

formatting link

Reply to
Tim Downie

Yes, there are such things.

Go to

formatting link
and enter 20-54473-006-00.

It a little stopcock, with a pointy hat that one pounds through the plastic until the gasket seals against the plastic. Then the pointy bit falls off inside.

Never tried it, but you could either order from them (use the phone, someone will speak English) or print out the picture to show at counters etc.

Thomas Prufer

Reply to
Thomas Prufer

Perfect - and not as expensive as an Essex Flange either. Thank you.

(I can get my German sister-in-law to translate)

Reply to
tinnews

snipped-for-privacy@isbd.co.uk wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@chris.zbmc.eu:

If there is no opening from the outside then how do you propose to get the water into the barrel?

If you are going to make an opening in the top to take a filling opening that is even sligtly larger than the flange on a regular tank connector then it is a fairly simple job to thread down a connector from the top.

This is usually done with a piece of stiff wire, length of twin & earth cable, solder wire off the reel etc.

Thread the wire from the top, out through the hole in the bottom and slide the fitting down. A little bit of jiggling will bring the thread out, put the back nut on and tighten. Job done at low cost.

--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: snipped-for-privacy@netfront.net ---

Reply to
Heliotrope Smith

Like that! I presume when sliding down there will also be a seal/washer, so thread in the correct order.

Reply to
SS

I used a Techflange to add an outlet to my hot water tank to feed the shower pump, I couldn't use any other form of surrey/essex/warrix flanges as the threaded boss on top was only 1/2" not 3/4".

For the techflange you use a tank cutter to make about a 2" hole, then there is a 'corkscrew' arrangement where the back nut and internal rubber washer pass through the hold and seal against another nut on the outside.

It might be cheaper elsewhere, but here's a piccie, no hint of leak from it in 5 years ...

formatting link

Reply to
Andy Burns

Is the inside really truly inaccesible - or just bloody awkward?

If the original bunghole is large enough to get the flange through I'd try threading it on a cane or a wire or a string. Once you've managed to get it near the hole the rest is fairly simple. You may have to create a suitable tool to hold the fitting in place while you do up the nut.

Reply to
Skipweasel

That is a good point! There are of course already a couple of (two or three inch diameter) holes in the top. Thank you.

Reply to
tinnews

It doesn't quite have to be flat. It has to be similarly curved to the surface you're putting it into.

If you happen to have a spare barrel, or you're cutting the top off one, you may be able to simply use the 'matching' bit of the curve.

Reply to
Ian Stirling

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.