How to remove stuck Holman stormwater cap?

[Tony11]

Hi there

I have a rainwater tank connected to the house roof (new build) and whoever installed the Holman Stormwater Caps on the intake pipes put them on so tight I cannot get them off. We’re expecting our first rains in ages on the weekend and I’m after any tips on how to get them off when they are this over tightened. 

Tried by hand first then bought one of those strap levers to try and get some leverage. One of them shifted with that but the other one is completely stuck. So is there a knack for getting them loose without breaking them? 

tony 

[Jewelleryrescue · Accepted solution]

Hi @Tony11 

You have done well  shifting the first one that strap wrnch should  do the  job.

Some silicon  spray   into the  edges may lubricate it a little  but dont get any on to the outer edge  where your strap  wrench would  go.

Additonally try tapping the plastic around the  caps the idea is to try flex it a bit and pre   break a seal.

Retry your  wench get it snugged up tight and tap it  open with sharp  medium tap with a light tool of some sort  like a shifter head. In crease  blows in hardness but not to destruction.

I havnt  tried this myself but a  hair drier might expand the plastic  cap a bit and let it move.  Dont over heat as you dont want under piping to heat as well  the disimilar temperatures will cause expansion and a gap theretically to form

Your doing all the right things  good luck

Once their off a little silicon spray may stop them sticking in future.

[Tony11]

Thank you for your suggestions. I will try those tomorrow. I very much appreciate your taking the time to help. 
Tony

[EricL]

Hi @Tony11 

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's wonderful to have you join us and thanks for sharing your question about your water tank.

It's great that you've received excellent advice from @Jewelleryrescue. Possibly years of calcium deposits have anchored the PVC together. I suggest trying out all the suggestions made and see if you can get it to come loose. 

Instead of a hair dryer, I suggest borrowing a heat gun if you can, please note that excessive use can melt and soften the PVC so use with caution. I also suggest using a flat place screwdriver and just lightly lifting the sides of the cover cap to loosen it up.

Please keep us updated with your progress, we look forward to seeing the stormwater cap removed.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[Tony11]

Hi friends

Thanks very much for all your suggestions. As it turned out nothing worked so had to destroy. And guess what? The plumber that installed them but a load of silicone around the O ring for some reason (likely just not thinking) which made it glue together. 

 

[Tony11]

That was the other one btw. The really stuck one I drilled two huge holes in it, put a massive spanner in it then a crow bar for turning. That worked. 

needes two new caps as a result. 

[EricL]

Hi @Tony11 

I suspected as much, but I was hoping that the plumber did not silicone shut the cover caps. I can't even begin to imagine why they would do that when clearly it would need to be opened at some point in the future. I'm glad you got the caps off, my only suggestion is to put Kinetic 15g Tap Lubricant on the O rings of the new caps to prevent them from binding to the PVC.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[Tony11]

Thanks Eric and everyone for helping. What an excellent community. 

I’ll get some of that lubricant for sure. 

[Jewelleryrescue]

Hi @Tony11 

Great  work in  resolving that unexpected  complication. 

I cant even to begin to imagine why the silicon as they have there own seal.

Thank fully caps arnt expensive.

[Tony11]

Thanks. You are so right. And what makes this worse... it's a new build, so was installed by a plumber, not a DIY job. Unbelievable. Luckily I got it off before the first rains came, so I was able to flush the pipes.

Thanks again for your help.

Tony