Need a special tool!

[JonnyG]

I opened the pool this year by myself and I have a drain plug at the bottom of a skimmer that I can not open. The skimmer is narrow (around 6" in diameter) and about 18 inches deep. The plug is at the bottom and is so tight that I can not open by hand. No tools work as they are too long to get leverage. The plug has a square knob on top about 1 1/16" wide for removal. ANyone aware of a special tool that they make to remove these plugs or do I need to fabricate something myself?

Any help is appreciated!

Thanks
John

[sammm]

Would a basin wrench work? If so, you can pick one up at your local home improvement store.

[Poconos]

I just love the response times on the forum. 1 hour, problem to solution. That basin wrench is a good call. The shaft on those wrenches isn't 18" long to get above the skimmer but if you still can't get enough torque you can use a piece of PVC pipe, cut a couple slots in one end to fit over the wrench handle, then a channel-lock plier to turn the pipe from above. Make an extension.
Al

[JonnyG]

Thanks, I will give it a try!

John

[sevver]

You can also maybe use a 12 point socket. Or if you can find one, a square socket, they make them, my Dad has some. Then you could use a ratchet. Otherwise, we used to use Valve Keys to turn undergound valves, you could have one of those made up. Basically the same principal as the basin wrench, except there is a square deal on the bottom.

Oh, and if it is like a cleanout cover or something, most plumbers would just bust it out and replace it with a new one. lol.

[waste]

Jonny, are you sure that the plug has to be pulled? Most of the skimmers I've dealt with have 2 ports and a lot of builders don't use the second port for anything, so glue the plug into the second port so thet you'll never open it. If you can get the Gizzmo, or plug out of 1 of the ports, leave the other plug alone! - unless you're MD is plumbed through the skimmer (even so, at some point the MD line may have failed ( ) and they abandoned it.

I used to have a tool for them that was a peice of square 'stock' fence pipe, the inside of the 2' peice of post fit nicely on a 1 1/2" plug - it wasn't mine, so I left it behind with the company when I moved.

[JonnyG]

Waste -

Yeah, it definitely needs to be removed. I remember during closing that the pool guys didn't have enough of those bottles that screw into the pipe so they used a plug and threw an empty container into the skimmer (the other hole in the bottom of the skimmer has a sliding cover). I bought the above tool and had to modify so I could get a socket onto the end of the tool. I will try today to open the plug although it is really stuck.

Thanks again
John

[waste]

Jonny,

any company that doesn't have the parts to correctly do a closing should get the right parts and come back to do it right!!!! I won't bore everyone with the details, but if your 'modified tool' doesn't do the trick, I'll tell you another way (s) to get the *&^&&*^% out

[PhantomAndy]

I use a cresent wrench adjusted to fit the top. I can usually get enough of an angle to get it loose.

Another tip: If there's a slot in yours (like mine) a short screwdriver laid inside the slot gives you sufficient torque to loosen it as well, but requires you get in the skimmer up to your shoulder almost to make it work.

[JonnyG]

Jonny,

any company that doesn't have the parts to correctly do a closing should get the right parts and come back to do it right!!!! I won't bore everyone with the details, but if your 'modified tool' doesn't do the trick, I'll tell you another way (s) to get the *&^&&*^% out

Well, this saga continues. I bought an extenable basin wrench which gets a good grip on the plug but it still does not extend out of the skimmer. So I attached a socket to the end of the wrench (removed the short "t" bar) and used a large ratchet to try to unloosen. No luck, I ended up turning the wrench inside the socket. I then pounded on a smaller socker (With a sledge hameer) and tried again - same thing, the wrench warps and loosens inside the socket. It is quite unbeleivable how stuck this plug is. So I ended up calling the pool company and telling them that it was their problem (for putting in the plug). The guy shows up today with a large pair of channel locks needless to say, that doesn't work. Now they will need some one to come out with the "T" wrench that they use for putting these plugs in. Hopefully that will work. Any othere suggestions would be helpful.

John