The Wonderful Internal Pipe Wrench
By Nate Bezanson
Ever had to stop a plumbing project because you broke a threaded nipple off inside a fitting? As often is the case, there’s a very specific tool designed to save your ass in this instance: for a few bucks you can snag an internal pipe wrench, which locks into the stub with an eccentric mechanism and backs it right out.
It saves not only the cost of a new fitting, but also the time and hassle of tearing everything apart. Street pricing hovers around $5.
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon
November 7th, 2007 at 1:43 pm
Gonna go find me one of these immediately. I’ve needed one before and didn’t have it, am glad to know they exist!
November 11th, 2007 at 7:48 pm
I used one of these last year(Got it from Lowes..~$10). It saved me from havnng to tear out some drywall to remove a broken pipe. It also saved me a lot of time, money and cussing. Even if I never use it again, it was well worth the ten dollars I spent on it. The only thing better than being able to go get one of these when I needed it, would have been to already have it in my plumbing tool box when I started the job.
November 12th, 2007 at 7:51 am
If you need something like this, but for bigger pipes, then head to your local auto parts store and get a exhaust pipe expander. There are several sizes, and they run about $30 (or much less from Harbor Freight).
I abused one of these trying to get a stuck tub drain out (the flange had ripped out in the process of trying to remove it). I’m sure it would’ve worked if I had tried it FIRST. Had to Dremel the sucker out.