Need Help With Plugging a Leaking Plug On Pump

[Ray]

I'm trying to hook up my pump to the river in order to water the lawns and flower beds. My pump is old, but works fine. However, I can't get it hooked up, because the threads in the holes where the drain plugs go are so rusted that the drain plugs won't thread in anymore. There are two of them. I went to the hardware store, got a 1/4" tap/reamer and reamed out one of the holes. The tap worked fine and reamed out the hole, but when I tried screwing in the new plug (the old plug was pretty rusty and the threads were worn down), the plug wouldn't tighten; instead, it just kept on moving into the newly-reamed hole. It would just keep on moving into the hole and would continue to do so until it simply fell into the inside of the pump, if I were to keep trying to tighten it.

What did I do wrong? Did I go too far with the tap/reamer tool?

How can I just plug those holes? I don't care about the pump freezing & cracking, because I always bring the pump inside during the winter anyway, so I don't really those holes and plugs, anyway. I still have a third hole & plug through which I can prime the pump, so that's not a problem. Is there are way that I can just plug those two other rusted holes? The water pressure gets up to about 60 p.s.i. before it switches off, so I need to be able to put some kind of a plug that will not leak and will withstand that much pressure.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Valveman]

Yeah you probably went too deep with the tap. Is it so loose that an extra layer of teflon tape won't make it seal? Is so, try making a plug out of dry hard wood. Whittle it down to a tight fit and screw it into the hole. Allow the water to soak into the plug for a day or so before trying pressure. I have plugged many holes in a pipe or pressure tanks this way as the wood will swell up and seal the hole.

 

[Ray]

Thanks for that tip, Valveman; I will give it a try. Will it really hold tight under 60 p.s.i. without blowing out? Yeah, I tried using even a thick layer of electrical tape, and even it blew out.

I was also thinking about maybe using something like Loctite. Do you think that would work if the wooden plug doesn't hold?

 

[Valveman]

If you make it a tight fit and let it swell, you will be surprised how much a wooden plug will hold. JB Weld instead of Teflon tape on a plug would be my next option.

 

[Ray]

Ok, well, thanks again. I'll whittle a couple of plugs tomorrow then let'em sit for a couple of days before seeing how it works. If they don't work, then I'll give the JB Weld a try.

 

[Twowaxhack]

Use epoxy as pipe dope on the plug and let it cure for a couple days.

 

[Ray]

Thanks, guys, for all the advice. I tried slathering the JB Weld, put it in, let it set for two days, and it's holding pressure just fine without any leaks.