Tool Kit For Plumbing

With only a few specialized tools you can be ready not only to meet most plumbing emergencies, but also to install and replace pipes and fixtures.

For unclogging drains you will need a plunger—the "plumber's helper." A cup extension makes the plunger shown effective for toilets; it can be folded inside for flat drains. A trap-and-drain auger, or snake, draws out blockages from sink drains; for toilets, use a closet auger, housed in a cylinder that positions the hooked end.

To loosen and tighten joints and fixtures several specialized wrenches are helpful. A pipe wrench bites into and holds onto pipe as you turn it. Wrenches for supply pipe should measure 12 to 14 inches from end to end, those for waste pipe 18 inches. A basin wrench tightens nuts behind sinks and in other tight spaces. The spud wrench has wide, toothless jaws for the large nuts on toilets and sinks. A torque wrench is used for securing sections of cast-iron pipe.

To fix leaks caused by worn valve seats you need a seat wrench, which has a square tip on one end and an octagonal tip on the other to grip either of the two common types of seats so that you can replace them. For older faucets with nonreplaceable seats you need a seat dresser with assorted cutting disks and guides

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to grind smooth the nicks.

For cutting and joining copper tubing, use a tube cutter with a built-in reamer for scraping off burrs around the cut edge. A coiled tube bender allows you to bend tubing without kinks. To join sections of copper tubing or pipe by sweat soldering, the materials required are emery cloth, flux and a flux applicator, a propane torch, solder and a heatproof pad to protect nearby framing members. The flame-spreader attachment helps thaw frozen pipe. A flaring tool spreads the ends of tubing for flared joints.

For cutting cast-iron pipe you may want to purchase a special tool that has steel disks to get through pipes up to 4 inches in diameter. For pipes over 4 inches, larger cutters can be rented.

Working with plastic pipe calls for appropriate kinds of glue and solvent.

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