Removing bath taps, how!?

[usenet]

I am replacing (well trying to replace) the taps on our bath. The side of the bath came off very easily and everything is very neat and tidy underneath. However I cant see any realistic way to remove the unions which attach the 22mm copper feeds to the taps. Although easy to see and get a hand to etc. there is little clearance between the end of the bath and the wall so a correct size open ended spanner does no good as there's no space to turn it.

I have a 'washbasin wrench' which can be persuaded to get hold of the union nuts but there's no way I can get enough purchase in the wrench's handle to actually undo the nuts.

I think the taps must have been assembled to the bath before it was put in place and then the pipes were soldered.

The only thing I can think of that might get the nuts undone would be a 'crows foot' spanner, does anyone know of any suppliers of these who would have sizes suitable for plumbing? The nut I want to undo would seem to be 1.125" across flats.

Or does anyone have any other ideas?

[Coherers]

When I have been confronted with this problem, I have usually managed to get a small bar in the other end of the washbasin wrench ( or an adjustable spanner on the body of it) in order to get enough torque to start things off. Awkward to do, but has worked for me.

[John Stumbles]

I always use a box spanner of suitable size (27 x 32mm A/F £6.98 from local ironmongers) with an adjustable spanner on the other end to turn it. Only once I had to resort to an angle grinder to cut the taps off :-|

I use a pipeslice to cut back the copper pipe and replace with Hep20 tails: usually 15mm even for gravity fed 22mm pipework - the short length of smaller pipe doesn't add much resistance to pipework overall. flexi tap connectors are similarly narrow bore internally anyway.

I insert isolation valves in the pipework, usually as soon as I've cut back the existing pipe (so I can turn the water back on) which then make a convenient place to join in the new Hep2O.

[Cicero]

================== Have a look at this:

're available from most places like Focus, B&Q etc. They're a bit easier to use than your 'duck's foot' wrench because they're about 18" long with a built-in sliding tommy bar.

Cic.

[usenet]

Yes, I guess cutting the pipe and replumbing is one approach and it may come to that.

[usenet]

I don't think that's much different from what I already have.

Maybe I'll try the 'wrench on the basin wrench' idea, and if that doesn't work I'll cut the pipe and re-plumb.

[Cicero]

============== The head swivels through 90 degrees and the spanner end is spring-loaded to grip the nut - much easier to use in a tight space.

Whatever you use it sometimes helps to get someone to turn the tap itself whilst you hold the nut with your spanner.

Cic.

[simon beer]

But then you still got to get the tap off the bath!

[bof]

In message , [e-mail] writes

If the wash basin wrench is gripping the nut OK try locking a pair of mole grips onto the shaft/tommy bar to give a bit more levereage. If that's doesn't shift it, use a stilson wrench to turn the tap itself[1] using the basin spanner and mole wrench to stop the coupling nut turning, you can often get the mole wrench to press up against the wall to stop it turning.

[1] assuming you don't want to reuse it

[usenet]

However even that is going to difficult. Where the two pipes come up through the floor they are too close together to fit anything except solder fittings to them. They have an elbow each and then a bent length of 22mm to get to the taps, no really easy place to insert a stop valve.

[usenet]

If I cut fairly close to the bath I can get a socket spanner on it, I have an infinite variety of sockets from having repaired and maintained cars from the 1960s onward.

[usenet]

Can't do that, what I need to undo is the nut on the compression fitting which is on the tap. There is a separate nut holding the tap onto the bath.

[usenet]

No, I'm not aiming to reuse it. However this does assume that I can turn the tap, there is a separate nut holding the tap onto the bath, what I need to get off first is the compression fitting connecting the

22mm copper to the tap.

[Cicero]

================ It's not clear from your posts what type of wrench you already have. Have another look at Screwfix

?_dyncharset=UTF-8&q=basin+wrench&n=&pn=1&pd=1&pi=1&cn=1&cd=1&x=9&y=10) to see the other more common type of wrench - the duck's foot wrench.

I know that the tap is held to the bath by a retaining nut but it's usually possible to turn the tap to free off both nuts at the same time. Give it a try but watch for damage to the bath and make sure you're not twisting the pipework too much.

Cic.

[bof]

IME they turn, unless it's the old type of bath with a square hole and the tap also has the matching square body.

[usenet]

That is a good point actually, I can get a good grip on the nuts and then, as you say use a wrench of some sort on the tap as I can make as much of a mess of that as I like.

Thanks for the idea(s).

[usenet]

I can actually get an ordinary spanner or mole wrench or similar onto the nut it's just that there's not space to turn it. Thus I don't need to use the basin spanner at all if I just hold the nuts and try to turn the tap.

I'm pretty sure it's round and not in a square hole as it's a mixer tap - aaargh, and there's the problem, one can't rotate the tap! :-(