How to tighten gland nut earthing ring?

[Chris Green]

Is there any sensible way to tighten SWA gland earthing ring nuts? Even on the smallest size (20mm hole) the gland nut is 24mm or 25mm and I've never managed to find a spanner of that size that has any chance of getting at the nut.

You can't tighten from the outside because that would twist the wire - or is the correct technique to tighten the gland in the box before tightening the cone nut (if so the DIYFAQ needs to be changed or added to to indicate this is how to do it)?

I guess a short stub of a box spanner with a tommy bar welded on might do the job but I doubt if you can get a socket onto the nut, it's too thin. I don't have any box spanners this big anyway.

[ARW]

Hammer and large flat screwdriver?

[Andy Burns]

chuck it away an use a piranha earth nut?

[Chris Green]

Yes, I guess that's one answer, but they are expensive, more than doubling the cost.

E.g. Screwfix:-

Tower Rubber Exterior Gland Kit 20S 2 Pack £2.99 Earthing Nut 2020 2 Pack £5.79

[charles]

In my tool box is a spanner designed for doing up these nuts. No idea when or where I bought it. It's a seriously modified ring spanner.

[Theo]

I came across this video yesterday with a different technique using a pair of adjustable spanners - not sure if it answers the question as I've not worked with SWA:

Theo

[Chris Green]

Yes, a ring spanner would probably do it, I'm not sure I have one that big but it's almost worth buying one specially.

[Andrew]

Ah. The well known Geordie Shipwrights spanner :-)

Would one of those semi-circular spanners used many moons ago to tighten the bottom bracket nuts on a bicycle do the trick ?.

[Andrew]

"Water pump" pliers I believe.

[Andy Burns]

A bit expensive, but there's this which is for conduit bushes, but would it also suit gland nuts?

[Chris Green]

OP here. I've searched around quite a lot about this and I'm horrified by the bodges that seem to be standard electrician's methods for doing this.

The "Hammer and large flat screwdriver" approach seems quite popular and the other common approach is water pump pliers, preferably with smooth jaws so they don't mark the nuts! When you read all the quite specific, complex requirements of the wiring regulations you somehow think electricians aren't bodgers but they are!

There are a few spanners around to specifically fit the back nuts but it's near impossible to find what size the nuts are so it's quite difficult to get a 'proper' spanner.

I've measure the nuts I want to tighten, they're 25mm (why on earth aren't they the same size as the gland nuts themselves?) and I have a i" ring spanner which should fit OK eve if it's a bit loose.

Hammers and screwdrivers!! Grips, pliers and adjustable spanners, ugh!!! (Mr Royce or was it Rolls supposedly sacked someone for using an adjustable spanner)

[nothanks]

As someone else (I think) said: you could cut a section out of a ring spanner. Alternatively, grind an undersize open-ended spanner to fit or cut yourself a bespoke spanner out of some gauge plate.

[Spike]

Sounds like something in the style of a plug spanner for single-cylinder Velocettes:

The BSA plug spanner is similar. I'm sure the ones I had were shorter, but we're talking sixty years ago...

[John Rumm]

I have a small set of waterpump style pliers that can just about get onto the standard back nuts. Quite often I ditch the standard nut and use a Piranha nut instead since they are much easier to get a grip on, and also give you a handy earth tag fixing point without needing the banjo tag.

[Chris Green]

As you say, quite expensive, and you can't use it with the cable in the gland which would be the normal situation if you've assembled it as describe in the DIY FAQ.

[Thomas Prufer]

"Knipex Adjustable Wrench Pliers" (8605150) got to 27mm, and the jaws are smooth...?

Very nice, but expensive.

Thomas Prufer

[Theo]

No, the video is saying that the Bahco thin adjustable spanners are better than the water pump pliers technique. I couldn't comment.

Theo

[Chris Green]

I just don't see how these help really, they're no easier to get into the right place (more difficult in fact) than an ordinary spanner of the correct size are they? Whatever you do you'll slip sometimes and graunch the nut a bit, smooth jaws or not.

The only thing they seem to provide is a way of holding large nuts where you don't have the right size spanner. I have open ended spanners in 1mm steps up to over 30mm and many other sorts up to 24 or

25mm so I see little need for adjustable grips.

Am I missing something?

[Chris Green]

Yes, exactly! That's almost the perfect tool for the job at installation time when the cable isn't connected. Probably quite cheap too, box spanners don't have to be made of particularly hard material.

[Chris Green]

Yes, as I said above I really don't understand why the standard nuts are so thin and bigger that all the other nuts on the glands.