The 10 GREATEST Plumbing Tricks EVER!
by JulioC150 in Living > Life Hacks
25953 Views, 93 Favorites, 0 Comments
The 10 GREATEST Plumbing Tricks EVER!
Here's a compilation of cool DIY tricks I've learned throughout the years on the job as a plumber apprentice.
NO ACCESS
Alright so if you’ve ever been stuck trying to find a way to cut a plastic pipe with no access, here’s a sweet trick that’ll help you out. Snag yourself some masonry cord, wrap it around your pipe and use a sawing motion to cut thru it, who knew you’d be flossing on the job...!
TOOL-MADE SHELF
If ever you work in tight spots and don’t have a shelf to free up a hand? Grab your torpedo level and make one, now you could hang a screwdriver or store some driver bits on it and you’re sure not to drop them!
TRANSPORTING SHEET GOODS
As a plumber, carrying sheet goods is a possible thing in a day, here’s a neat way to do it effortlessly. Get any size pipe wrench and clinch it on tight to serve as a grip, they always said it, work smarter, not harder!
PIPE CUTTER SECRET
You were cutting a copper pipe and your cutting wheel snapped, that’s a bummer. Most pipe cutters have a spare cutting wheel in the knob, bet you didn’t know that one!
PIPE WRENCH EXTENSIONS
If your pipe wrenches aren’t cutting it and you need longer ones but don’t have any, cut yourself 2 sections of some plastic pipe and use them as levers to aid you in the process.
SAWZALL HACK
A reciprocating saw is a must on the job site but if for whatever reason you can’t find a blade for it, you can alternatively use a hacksaw blade to get you out the pit. Just make sure to start off nice and slow!
NO DRIPPING
Are you tired of this? Lemme show you an easy fix. Just when you’re about ready to apply your solder, wipe off all the excess flux and proceed to soldering, this will inhibit any dripping that might normally occur on vertical joints.
UN-KINK a PEX LINE
If for whatever reason you kinked a PEX line, here’s a cool little trick that’ll set you apart from the others. Get your plumber’s torch and heat up the kink, the plastic will slowly turn clear and take back its original shape!
SHARKBITE REMOVAL TOOL
Sharkbite fittings can be difficult to remove without the proper tool, here are two alternatives that work surprisingly well. Either use an adjustable wrench, adjust to pipe size and pull or use an appropriate size talon to get that sucker off.
COPPER PIPE SOCKET
If ever you need to tighten a nut but don’t have a ratchet extension, I gotcha…Grab some type M copper that has a long enough reach and hit the nut as straight as you can just like this, it’ll take its shape and you’ll be able to use it to in your hard to reach area.