so now what? [weldless kit plumbing mistake]

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ChrisS

I like cold beverages
Joined
Apr 21, 2007
Messages
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Location
Harrisburg, PA
so I got a weldless fitting kit from bargin fittings and I am all set to put this on an HD 10gal cooler. well in my rush to do it I forgot to put the tape on the threads. I get the kit together and fill the tank with water and it starts to leak, slow drip stuff, so I tighten some more and more and then I give up. Empty the tank and unscrew the locknut and got the kit off the cooler. my problem is that I can't get the coupler off of the nipple. It is stuck and I have tried everything that I can think of. I don't have a vise or anything like that. Any ideas on how I can get the two parts apart?
 
Home depot and lowes both sell a nipple extractor tool.

Funny name but it works.

Looks like this
Product-200754143534.jpg
 
Put the cooler over the sink. fill it to cover the fitting with the hottest water it can take. get the fitting as hot as the cooler can stand before melting. this will expand the metal and it should free up without using the nipple extractors (OUCH that sounds like it hurts)

When metal gets cold, i am assuming u filled it with cold water, is shrinks. warm it up and it will expand and will be easier to loosen. and still be salvageable.
 
well I don't have to worry about the cooler because I was at least able to unscrew the locknut and get the fitting out of the cooler. so I will try and run it under our very hot tap water here and it that doesn't work I can just boil it I suppose.
 
well I don't have to worry about the cooler because I was at least able to unscrew the locknut and get the fitting out of the cooler. so I will try and run it under our very hot tap water here and it that doesn't work I can just boil it I suppose.

The key to it is to be able to handle it to unscrew it. Be careful not to burn urself. Pair of pipe wrenches or channel locks when u get it out of the boiling water.
 
Ed,

The nipple is stuck on the coupler but the nipple is off of the cooler so I wort have to worry about that.

so the hot tap water did not work. does it make any sense to try to boil it to loosen it?
 
ordeal over. Wife wanted dirt for some pots so we went to HD. I got a set of the nipple extractors and got the nipple out of the coupler.

thanks for all of the help/suggestions guys.
 
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