Homemade tools, gadgets and gizmo's

[kay-jay]

Hi,

after reading many posts on here i have come across interesting bits of home made kit such as plauasne's pressure test kit, and ferret's flexi hoses connecting the mains to the open vent to blow airlocks out of heating circuit back up the cold feed into the tank.
thought it may be interesting to start a thread about the ingenious ways we have all found for getting around problems in various plumbing applications,so that the info can all be found in one place.

as a recently qualified plumber my input here will be limited.....but to get the ball rolling;-

i made a waste fixing tool out of 3/4" steel pipe about 8 inches long. across the cross section i cut with a hacksaw about 7mm down just short of the centre line. and again just beyond the centre line. the result is 2 protruding edges similar to the 'dogs' on a tank connector only more prominent(7mm). sticking this in the waste and holding it there stops it spinning when tightening the backnuts.


KJ

 

[mrlennie]

Good idea I use a screw driver which i don't think is the best way to go about it lol

 

[Dannypipe]

Not really a homemade tool, but a lesson learnt. I was fishing for a wire through ceiling joists, cursing as I couldn't reach it with my rods.

There was a security systems installer onsite. He asked me if I wanted his help. In the end, (after a long, long time. exasperated) I let him have a go, and with security cable (which is thinner) and a coat hanger, he did it in two mins. Fished his cable through, tied mine to it, and pulled my 1.5 T&E through.

I was gutted and delighted all at once.

 

[tamz]

Good idea I use a screw driver which i don't think is the best way to go about it lol

Try using 2 screwdrivers

 

[mrlennie]

Haha I can't carry two screwdrivers round with me who do you think i am a sparky or summat?!

 

[ferret]

Hi,

after reading many posts on here i have come across interesting bits of home made kit such as plauasne's pressure test kit, and ferret's flexi hoses connecting the mains to the open vent to blow airlocks out of heating circuit back up the cold feed into the tank.
thought it may be interesting to start a thread about the ingenious ways we have all found for getting around problems in various plumbing applications,so that the info can all be found in one place.

as a recently qualified plumber my input here will be limited.....but to get the ball rolling;-

i made a waste fixing tool out of 3/4" steel pipe about 8 inches long. across the cross section i cut with a hacksaw about 7mm down just short of the centre line. and again just beyond the centre line. the result is 2 protruding edges similar to the 'dogs' on a tank connector only more prominent(7mm). sticking this in the waste and holding it there stops it spinning when tightening the backnuts.


KJ

good idea although if you use plumbers mait it tends to hold itself still although some the old 2 screwdrivers are needed ( rarely)

 

[Bernie2]

Actually, I am not being funny, but you could at one time buy a waste holding tool virtually the same as that explained.

I even have a bought waste holder which is L shaped with two prongs on, it works great. I think its made by Monument. We did of course use the two screwdrivers a lot. There is also a new waste washer that holds the waste while you turn it.

One tip when working on new housing sites, is to make a staff marked with the clip heights off the floor, rad heights, washbasin heights if independently fixed, bath height and so on as well as distance from walls.

It saves hours of running backward and forward checking the heights of the appliances and pipework in the house next door. Usually if the houses are not all the same, you get loads of aggro, using a staff usually helps make sure they are near enough the same.

We often got extremely bored with doing houses and would often try to install backward for something to do. One house we would put the pipes in first, the next the sanitary first and so on. Oh by the way they don't usually like you putting the sanitary in without it being connected up, its not usually insured.

But going on a site of say 300 or so houses all the same to be Plumbed out can be very boring after a couple of months and perhaps 50 or 60 sink units and bathrooms.

 

[tamz]

Oh by the way they don't usually like you putting the sanitary in without it being connected up, its not usually insured.

And some smart alex always tries it out when its empty

 

[ferret]

And some smart alex always tries it out when its empty

yeah usually the storage tank ......why do they do that??????

 

[kay-jay]

Actually, I am not being funny, but you could at one time buy a waste holding tool virtually the same as that explained.

I even have a bought waste holder which is L shaped with two prongs on, it works great. I think its made by Monument. We did of course use the two screwdrivers a lot. There is also a new waste washer that holds the waste while you turn it.

yeah thats a fair point bernie, we can buy tools for every possible application but the idea behind this thread was ways in which we use our skills or ingenuity to create something that does the same job and saves a few quid or that makes life significantly easier.

on my waste tool described above i have now done the reverse on the opposite end e.g a 2.5mm wide hacksaw cut across the centre of the cross section. this fits well over most wing nuts and with the holes i drilled for a tommy bar it makes life easier when undoing a rusty cc kit.
and even if i say so myself its superior to the plastic type that toolstation and screwfix sell.

fantastic tip about the staff by the way bernie.

come on everyone there must be loads of little things like this that we can share! ....keep em comin.


KJ

 

[stevetheplumber]

Hi,

after reading many posts on here i have come across interesting bits of home made kit such as plauasne's pressure test kit, and ferret's flexi hoses connecting the mains to the open vent to blow airlocks out of heating circuit back up the cold feed into the tank.
thought it may be interesting to start a thread about the ingenious ways we have all found for getting around problems in various plumbing applications,so that the info can all be found in one place.

as a recently qualified plumber my input here will be limited.....but to get the ball rolling;-

i made a waste fixing tool out of 3/4" steel pipe about 8 inches long. across the cross section i cut with a hacksaw about 7mm down just short of the centre line. and again just beyond the centre line. the result is 2 protruding edges similar to the 'dogs' on a tank connector only more prominent(7mm). sticking this in the waste and holding it there stops it spinning when tightening the backnuts.


KJ

i use the long nosed pliers to hold a waste fitting in the same way as two screwdrivers although i see very few of these wastes now its all popups and center screws nowdays
handy tip for changing popup wastes in situ is to unscrew the top section out using a pair of 7 inch footprints by hooking the jaw into the overflow slot can save having to remove the basin
getting ptfe tape onto a thread thats hard to reach like a bath tap or a bebv behind the wc, wind it onto a pecil first the unwind it onto the thread usually takes two attempts as you have to work out which way you want it to unravel off the pencil

 

[dontknowitall]

I like that ptfe one!

I have a (simple) tool - piece of copper cable/wire about a handspan long which I use (with kitchen roll) to clean out the nozzles from silicone and glue tubes.