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Fish Fur and Feather Articles |
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This article aims to give some information on how the plumbing items we sell fix together, what the various sizes mean and some of the ways various bits can be fixed together. This article will be updated with more ideas, hints and tips over time.
Basic Joins
The most basic join is to fix a length of pipe to a fitting, for example an elbow. A piece of 25mm pipe will have an outside diameter of 25mm. The ends of the elbow will have an inside diameter of 25mm allowing the pipe to slide into the elbow. While plumbing you may want to "dry fit" the parts together before gluing to make sure the completed part fits your requirements. Don't press them together too hard - you might not get them apart again. When it actually comes to gluing them together you will find the glue lubricates the parts allowing them to fit easily. As you slide the pipe into a fitting twist it a bit to make sure the glue is smeared throughout the join to make it waterproof.
Connecting Pipe Lengths Together
To connect two pieces of pipe together you need a socket. To connect two pieces of pipe of different sizes is a little more complicated. A reducing bush is required, which will be described as a "Plain reducing bush (25mm x 20mm)". This indicates the bush is used to fix a 25mm and 20mm pipe together. The 20mm pipe will slide into the bush, but the bush will not connect directly to the 25mm pipe. The bush has an outside diameter of 25mm (the same as the 25mm pipe) so the correct way to connect them is to glue both the bush and the pipe into a 25mm socket. Of course, you could also glue the bush into an elbow or any other fitting.
Threaded Parts and Sizes
Some items such as a hosetail have two sizes, one is metric and one is an imperial measurement. Imperial measurements always refer to a threaded part, so for example a "Hosetail (25mm x 1")" has a 25mm end which will fit a piece of hose with a 25mm inside diameter. The other end of the hosetail has a 1" (BSP) thread. This could screw into a Hexagon adapter socket x female thread (32mm x 1") which in turn can be glued to a 32mm pipe.
Glue
We sell Tangit PVC weld glue. This glue effectively melts the plastic it touches creating a very strong, waterproof join. The glue is rated for joining pipes used for potable water so should present no hazard to your fish. We have used it ourselves for many years with no problems. When gluing pipe and a fitting together make sure you spread glue all around the end of the pipe. Too much glue means you might get some squeezing out of the join on the inside of the pipe which on some smaller sizes could disrupt the water flow slightly. Too little glue will not create a watertight join. As you push the two parts together twist them a little to smear the glue around a bit more. If you get a small amount of glue squeezing out on the outside of the pipe when you have finished you've got it about right. Be certain you have the angles and lengths correct before gluing - once the glue is set there is no going back!
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