If you have a question about Uniseals and their use contact me HERE I will add it into the Uniseal FAQ's. I am also interested to hear of how our customers have used Uniseals and could add some photos to the site.

Question.
What is a Uniseal?

Answer.
Uniseals work like a bulkhead or tank connector but better. Inserted into a hole created in a vessel like a tank or barrel with a holesaw they create a simple and effective liquid tight seal through which a pipe can be inserted directly through the vessel wall into your vessel. Developed with Alcryn by DuPont to solve the problem of pipe to tank seals Uniseals are very effective at creating a liquid tight seal on vessels with complex curved surfaces and reduces costs on what would otherwise be a complex installation process.

Question.
Are Uniseals expensive?

Answer.
Compared to a bulky bulkhead connector you don't seem to get very much for the money. However a lot of time and money went into the development of Alcryn Uniseals and they are guaranteed free of manufacturing defects for 25 years. If it can last for that length of time they actually work out a whole lot cheaper. The mere facts that they are re-usable and won't split or crack makes them a winner. But lets get this even more into perspective, there are less initially expensive hydroponic grommets the difference being that Uniseals installed correctly do not leak! I certainly would not trust some of the grommets I see not to leak on my loft floor/livingroom ceiling.

Question.
Uniseals are much cheaper in the U.S.A. why?

Answer.
Uniseals are manufactured in the U.S.A. Importing them into the U.K. and the E.U. costs more than you at first realise. Costs include Product costs, Carraige, Customs Duty, Import VAT, fees for charging you the fees and any bank or credit card charges levied for working in a different currency. Prices advertised in the U.S.A. generally do not include any local purchase tax which is different from state to state.

Uniseals are also sporadically available from suppliers in the U.K. who can offer them at a higher price because of their scarcity. At Seals4u we are supplying all sizes of Uniseal up to 4" and are investing heavily to ensure that we have continuity of supply of every size of Uniseal we stock.

Question.
Uniseals on eBay and Amazon can look quite inexpensive?

Answer.
Suppliers from around the world can add items for sale on eBay and Amazon. Most often the post and packing charges are huge. There may also be some hidden (to you) charges levied when you import Uniseals as they come through U.K. customs which will amount to 20% for VAT on both the items and postage and a fee to collect the fee. You may also find that your credit card levies a fee for buying in another currency.  Here at Seals4u we supply Uniseals with no hidden costs/charges etc. What you see on our items for sale is the delivered cost and is all you will have to pay.

Question.
I ordered Uniseals from another country and didn't have to pay any import tax!

Answer.
You may sometimes "get away with it" bear in mind though that you are breaking the law if you purchased from outside of the European Union (inside which the VAT will have been paid) and don't pay VAT when your items are not a "gift". In the eyes of the law this makes you no better than those multinationals who aren't paying their fair share of taxes and people boycotted.

Question.
I have seen Uniseals in Retail Packaging, do you sell them like that?

Answer.
Yes all of our packs of Uniseals come retail packed with individual bar codes, Uniseal installation instructions etc. Two benefits in this 1 - the retail packs are re-sealable to keep your Uniseals and instructions clean and 2 - I can sell Uniseal packs into Retail outlets (they don't want hundreds of Uniseals just kicking around) and they can hang the packs on wall hooks.

Question.
I am a tool retailer selling from my own shop can you supply me with retail packs of Uniseals?

Answer.
No problem, I would of course be delighted to sell you Uniseals at wholesale prices. Partly I have got to say as I feel like a bit of a "Uniseal Evangelist" and really want to spread the word.

Question.
Can I use a holesaw on my glass aquarium. I want to create an external filter?

Answer.
Yes you can cut a good quality hole with a diamond hole cutter. A Uniseal on glass works in exactly the same way as on plastic, GRP etc. Quite an elegant and unobtrusive solution. I am beginning to see a number of Reef Tank enthusiasts using them. I hope to be able to tap into that market as well.

Question.
Someone I know said they leaked!

Answer.
The seal provided by the Alcryn in the Uniseal should ensure that "Uniseals don't leak" and tests have been conducted up to 65 P.S.I. without leakage. How it works is that the pipe inserted through the Uniseal exerts outward pressure on the Alcryn which ensures a watertight seal between pipe and Uniseal and also between the Uniseal and vessel.

Fitting a Uniseal properly is the key to a waterproof seal. The correct size of hole drilled using a sharp holesaw should be free of swarf. If drilling through plastic the holesaw should be run at a slow speed so as not to melt the plastic rather than cut it. One of the biggest mistakes people make with holesaws is to run their drill as fast as possible which simply blunts the holesaw quickly or melts any plastic coming into contact with the teeth.

If your friends Uniseal leaked then there is every chance that it is not fitted properly.

Question.
What happens when a Uniseal freezes in very cold weather?

Answer.
The seal on a Uniseal is created by pressure exerted by the inserted pipe onto the Uniseal and vessel. Undoubtedly the Uniseal will become less pliable in freezing conditions. This should not cause a leak unless there is moisture between the pipe and Uniseal or Uniseal and vessel which itself freezes. A shart tap with a medium sized screwdriver will resolve the problem. Uniseals will stand very cold weather much better than a plastic bulkhead which is apt to split completely.

Question.
A bulkhead looks much more substantial than a Uniseal. Can it do the same job?

Answer.
Uniseals and bulkheads both have their strong points. A bulkhead will provide some structural strength to a length of pipe entering a rectangular vessel. This however can lead to excessive strain on a bulkhead, particularly inexpensive ones created from second hand PVC. The bulkhead must be positioned directly in line with a pipe run and perpendicular to the vessel. I have seen installations where people have heated their round barrels around their pre-cut hole and quickly fitted the bulkhead to get rid of complex curves and attain the shape. A bit of faffing around there I think.

Uniseals can be fitted onto complex curves of say a plastic barrel or another pipe and will take on the shape of the barrel rather than the barrel having to take on the shape of the bulkhead. Technology and design ensure that Uniseals work perfectly and they look fairly elegant to boot.

Don't get me wrong a bulkhead will be just fine on a flat surfaced vessel and I do use them myself for particular applications. However I always veer towards Uniseals where I can. The overall cost is less.

Question.
Can you sell me more than one Uniseal at a time?

Answer.
Yes we sell Uniseals in singles, packs of five, packs of ten and packs of twenty. We also sell Uniseals on a wholesale basis in 50 and 100 Uniseal packs. We will sell you any number of Uniseals you desire, there is no maximum. Buying packs of Uniseals saves you money. The more you buy the more you save. Currently we have more than a thousand Uniseals in stock.

Question.
Can you sell Uniseals in Europe and the EU?

Answer.
Yes we have a section of the website devoted to selling the same Uniseal bulkheads to Europe priced in Euros. The price you see is the price you pay but of course postage into Europe comes at a little more expense than postage to the UK. However our Uniseal tank connector offerings into the EU are still very competitive from the investigations I have been able to make. Time will tell.

Question.
Are Uniseals any good for hydropnics?

Answer.
Ideal. They are similar to top hat grommets but have a better design that means you can get a waterproof seal on your system. They are particularly ideal for Dutch Bucket systems for the exit from the bucket and the entry to the drain pipe as they can be dismantled and reused again. We sell the Uniseal product under the name Hydroponic Grommets on our web site and eBay.

Question.
Can I use any size of pipe through the Uniseal?

Answer.
Uniseals were designed initially for particular standard sizes of pipe. The Inside Diameter (I.D.) of the Uniseal should match the Outside Diameter (O.D.) of the pipe to achieve a great seal. However you can use a smaller O.D. pipe through a Uniseal if you only require a light seal which would stop the water although perhaps not under pressure. In most fish pond, aquaponics and hydroponics systems the water is seldom under excess pressure unless it is pumped with a high pressure pump.

I have achieved successful seals using Hep2O/JG Speedfit water pipe (standard plumbing rigid white pipe), 6mm flexible tubing, Alfagomo 40 mm flexible water pipe (high quality pipe used in Koi ponds). When the weather gets a little warmer I a going to create a test piece using a small blue barrel and various type of pipes and hose to demonstrate the Uniseals effectiveness.

Question.
Can I join one pipe to another using a Uniseal?

Answer.
This is an ideal scenario to show how versatile uniseals are, you could easily join a 2 inch pipe into say a 4 inch pipe at 90° and tap into any water flow in the 4 inch pipe. The possibilities are endless for water and low pressure air. The Uniseal will take on the rounded shape of the larger pipe of any size something not possible with bulkhead tank connectors.

Question.
Can I get Uniseals in different colours?

Answer.
Yes Uniseals are available in different colours and can be ordered by us from the U.S.A. which will take a few weeks to arrive. Until there is a demand for them we only stock black Uniseals.

Question.
I cut holes in two plastic barrels at slightly different heights and my pipe has gone into my water barrels through the Uniseals at an angle and is not straight. Is this OK?

Answer.
Yes this is fine, your Uniseal will still work perfectly up to an angle of around 20°.

Question.
Do you need any tools to insert a Uniseal into a hole, I have heard it can be difficult?

Answer.
Yes it can be difficult particularly with the large 4" Uniseal, however if you put a 45° chamfer on the end of the pipe taking away all of the flat cut end and lubricate the Uniseal and the pipe before insertion with dish washing liquid you will find it goes in with less difficulty. Silicon pipe lubricant as used by plumbers is an even better lubricating solution. Some people use a block of wood on the end of the pipe to get more purchase when pushing. I have added some links to Uniseal Installation tips found on YouTube.

Question.
Can I cut the hole for the Uniseal without using a hole saw?

Answer.
Yes of course you can but I wouldn't. The quality of the hole plays a significant part in achieving a good seal. The hole should be the correct size and any bits of swarf should be cleaned off before insertion of the Uniseal.

Question.
Uniseals are all inch (Imperial) sizes but I can only find metric hole cutters?

Answer.
That is OK just pick the hole cutter that is closest in mm to the Imperial size you require. Good quality (and expensive unfortunately) hole saws all have metric equivalents of the Imperial size. A good hole saw manufacturer is Starrett who actually come from the U.S.A. so their hole saws though marked in metric sizes for the E.U. market are of course produced as Imperial sizes for the U.S. market. We have also introduced a range of suitable good quality Uniseal holesaws here at Seals4u to save our customers having to track them down.

Question.
I have thick sided plastic containers that I want to use a Uniseal on. What is the thickest that a Uniseal can go through?

Answer.
A Uniseal generally can be used up to a wall thickness on your containers of 3/8" which is quite a thick wall. Plastic walled vessels are normally thinner than 3/8". The Largest Uniseals can be used up to 1/2" wall thickness.

Question.
I found a hole saw set on eBay that came from China will that be any good to make my holes for my Uniseals?

Answer.
An inexpensive hole saw should be OK to create your holes in plastic or plywood. Creating a decent hole in aluminium or mild steel would probably be impossible. The main criteria in creating your hole is that it is a good clean hole with no swarf. A really cheap hole saw may do the job just fine as long as the teeth on the holesaw remain sharp. On a cost per hole basis this would really keep the price down. There is every likelihood that you will not be able to cut dozens of holes though. Please remember when using a holesaw not to run the saw too quickly, the slower the better.

Question.
Will my holesaw cut through fibre glass?

Answer.
Depends on the quality of your hole saw and the toughness of the glass fibre. The holesaws in the Uniseal Holesaw Kit that we sell from Seals4u are good quality and are up to creating holes in mild steel.

Question.
Where do you get your Uniseals?

Answer.
I import the Uniseals in bulk direct for the manufacturer in the U.S.A. with whom we have a business to business relationship. When I first started this business I imported from the Uniseal Warehouse but that was too expensive. We have over a thousand in stock. I am trying to "pile 'em high and sell 'em cheap" and I do sell them cheaper than any other UK or EU business. If you want to try importing Uniseals for yourself you could try the Uniseal Warehouse in the U.S.A., some people like to learn lessons the hard way!

Question.
Do you sell Uniseals outside of the UK for example will you sell Uniseals in Europe?

Answer.
Yes we have customers throughout the globe. Our pricing includes free postage and packing in the UK. It is not free of course but included in the Uniseal price in the UK. When we export Uniseals to Europe or other parts we deduct the cost of the UK postage and add on the cost to Europe, Asia or wherever. We do not try to make any profit on postage and packing. By doing this we keep down the overall cost of Uniseals sent around the world for our customers. So if you would like Uniseals in Europe, Uniseals in Asia, Uniseals in Africa or wherever just contact us. We have even sent Uniseals to the USA.

Questions and Answers about Uniseals.
If you have a question about Uniseals and their use contact me HERE I will add it into the Uniseal FAQ's. I am also interested to hear of how our customers have used Uniseals and could add some photos to the site.