How to separate the twins?

I was gifted a piar of old model Norgren regulators. The two are ganged together by a brass nipple which has, over the years, siezed up tighter that a guy getting a proctal exam.

I have tried heat with a propane torch, WD-40, heat then WD-40, cleaning with vinegar, and all manner of wrenches with it mounted in a vise.

The union has now been rounded over from all the wrenching and the only thing that can get a bite on it is a vise-lock wrench but, even that spins eventually. The danged nipple won't budge.

Any suggestion on how to separate this thing?

you are turning it the right way, some have left hand threads. Just thought I'd ask

Yeah. I thought of that too. Won't budge either way.

some stuff we use out here on the strykers to free up rusted bolts is called liquid wrench and works pretty well. spray it down and let it soak in a bit, then clamp down with your vise grips as tight as you can and put a cheater pipe on em and crank the f*** out of it.

Ha. I forgot about that stuff. My father swore by it.

Worth a try I suppose. Plus, I have to swing by autoparts store on the way home for headlamps anyways.

A screw extractor might help or drill it out. If it's copper, take a pipe reamer and grind it.

david_42 said:

A screw extractor might help or drill it out. If it's copper, take a pipe reamer and grind it.

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Brass. Maybe brass coated copper. I have thought about, worst case, cutting the nipple between them and flattening it (if I can) to get a better grip. Or maybe just to get a pipe wrench on it.

Trouble is, the reg bodies are brass/copper too which means they are soft and easily mangled neyond use. Learned that from an experience in trying to remove a mangled tank stem.

When I rebuilt my reg some ass hat had put loctite in the threads I had to run a tap through it when I finally got it apart. I was lucky that it was the end that attaches to the co2 tank with the flats for a wrench. I did have to give it a few good wacks with a dead blow hammer to get it to move

jspence1 said:

When I rebuilt my reg some ass hat had put loctite in the threads I had to run a tap through it when I finally got it apart. I was lucky that it was the end that attaches to the co2 tank with the flats for a wrench. I did have to give it a few good wacks with a dead blow hammer to get it to move

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Yeah. I am thinking that ios what happened here too. which is why I tried the heat.

I know some vendors that use thread lockl when they "gang" their regulator assemblies. Even have a secondary regulator that has a thread locked plug in teh pass through port. I guess it makes sense to avoid potential leaks but, dang.

PB Blaster. Let 'er soak for an hour and reapply. It works really well. (at least for rust)

you could always try to drill through it, insert a 1/8" steel rod, and use that for leverage.

I just inherited an old Norgren regulator. I called Norgren to see if I could buy a rebuild kit for the regulator. They quoted me a price of $37.95 plus shipping. I told them no thanks. At that price I would be better off just buying a new regulator and that's excactly what I plan to do. It won't be a Norgren regulator though; that's for certain.

Catt22 said:

I just inherited an old Norgren regulator. I called Norgren to see if I could buy a rebuild kit for the regulator. They quoted me a price of $37.95 plus shipping. I told them no thanks. At that price I would be better off just buying a new regulator and that's excactly what I plan to do. It won't be a Norgren regulator though; that's for certain.

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Yeah. Of all the re-build kits teh Norgren are the more expensive. They have this encased spring valave contraption in them that drives up the cost but, I have seen them cheaper. $15.00 is the least expensive I have seen yet (wholesale).

I think you got your leg pulled because a Norgren regulator goes for $37. That is, I think they were selling you a new reg. Ha.

As for my twins. I think I have given up. PB Blaster did not work. SO, I cut the nipple in half and tried a pipe wrench. The metal just chips away. Then I tried squaring off the edges for a better grip with a wrench. No go. That nipple ain't moving lest it gets cut out.

Maybe I'll take them to a repair shop but, if it costs too much screw it. They were free so, I am not out anything but frustration.

Get an EZ-Out. I work with this type of thing at work and sometimes we break brass fittings off in the molds by accident. Tap an EZ_out into it and try turning it out. If you get the right size EZ-out, it should grab enough to turn it out.

Homercidal said:

Get an EZ-Out. I work with this type of thing at work and sometimes we break brass fittings off in the molds by accident. Tap an EZ_out into it and try turning it out. If you get the right size EZ-out, it should grab enough to turn it out.

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These stupid reg are becoming more trouble than they are worth but, at $3.00 each a scew extractor is worth a try.

What size extractor for a 1/4" nipple?

Yeah. Got the extractor. It effectively splits the nipple open and breaks it away leaving the threaded section still inside the regulator body. WTF? It's almost like these things are brazed in but, **** a propane torch doesn't even loosen it up.

Okay so, the nipples were soldered in. Not sure how cause propane didn't touch it.

Regs are swimming in the recycle bin.

WOW that's **** all that trouble just to trash them.