DIY Plumbers

Box spanner - obviously you tighten the tap in position before connecting the pipework.

Sometimes you can use large sockets directly, but usually need deep sockets.

And you can put a socket & ratchet over the other end of the box spanner for easy tightening.

In message , the_constructor writes

Or rather because DIY actually stands for "do it yourself"

Can't really advise however, since I only had such a problem with bath taps and it was just a matter of frigging and farting about until I succeeded

However, if there is no room for that, you will need a tubular spanner - a bit like the ones used for monoblock taps or immersion heaters, but about halfway between them in size ;-)

Friends of my wife had four plumbing jobs to do - a day's chargeable work. That was change the electric shower (like for like as the old one had failed), replace bath and basin taps and sort out the piping to the outside tap.

Two plumbers quoted - neither turned up. I got volunteered and as a DIY plumber did the job well inside the working day and got payment that was good for me and probably good for the payer. The only investment I did make was a set of tap box spanners which made dealing with tap nuts so much easier.

You spend an outrageous sum of money on a set of these;

I use one of these and have yet to run into a problem:

I have one too, and I've found very little that they actually fit!

It works well enough on taps and is cheap enough to replace when I forget where I put it between plumbing jobs.

Colin Bignell

Fair enough, but I have honestly found it next to useless. It must be me!

At £50, it is easy to see where the jaw-dropper name come from ;-)

You may be able to use a regular open ended spanner but used incorrectly i.e. just off vertical (as the pipe/tap is in the way) If you need more leverage (which you have now lost due to using spanner in wrong plane) just fix an adjustable on to the spanner shaft/handle..

You may only get a fraction of a turn but reverse the spanner(s) and take another tweak. Finger-loose/tight is just a tweak away..

Sometime plain old gas pliers will get the job done too.

or tighten from the top... i.e. restrict nut movement and twist tap to tighten then adjust.

No. I found mine useless as well.

Indeed, and I use the service valves (or other appropiate compression joint) as the mechanical disconnection point as well. To access the tap stems I undo the service valves and lift off the sink.

I've just replaced the sink cabinet in the shop kitchen today and being able to disconnect the pipework just under the bowl instead of 12 inches above the back of the bowl made it a piece of cake.

JGH

You can buy tap spanner exactly for this purpose. the spanner bit is perpendicular to a long shaft so yo ucan rech right up into the basin and grip the nut. Search for "tap spanner" on ebay and you'll find many types. With these you can tighten the nut while the tap is still connected to the pipe.

Robert

My solution was a bit cheaper but probably just as effective. I turned up a couple of S/H Snap-On "crows-foot" spanners on e-bay in the US - and pushed the ratchet, extension bars and UJ from a knackered old 3/8ths socket set back into service. I now have one HELL of a tap spanner!

I think I paid about $13 for each including postage - which is a bargain really as Snap-On stuff fetches silly prices over here, even when used.

I thought that USAnians used "wrenches" rather than "spanners" ;-)

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Java Jive saying something like:

No, you just shut off the valve at the bottom of the hot cylinder that's on the feed pipe. If, of course, it isn't seized or broken.

My sincerest thanks to all who contributed to this thread and the advice.

T'was a wonderful experience.

Kindest regards,

Jim

Which if its a gate valve - is probably seized or broken - poxy things.