Manifold Making

When making up a manifold with copper tees and valves, I discovered that using a drop ear tee (all copper) as one of the tees makes for a straighter, cleaner, better supported and more uniform job.

I use the drop ears of the tee as a platform, building the rest of the manifold on a piece of wood. The valves are pointing upward, lined up and ready for soldering. One can see the solder pattern, and can clean up with flux as you go.

You can pick any one of the tees to be the drop ear tee, and can use the ears as support for mounting to a wall.

P.S. Make sure you have spaced the tees far enough apart so that the valve handles can operate.

Dennis Luftig
West Marin Plumbing
Point Reyes Station, Calif.

Faster Cleaner

A while back you had a Tool Tip on cleaning your hands with Clorox. NAPA Auto Parts stores sell a liquid called “Klean Hands.” You put a quarter-size drop in your hand and rub it in like lotion. No more cracked fingers or dry skin with this. All you need to clean up is water.

Arlen Johnson
Johnson Heating – Plumbing – AC
Underwood, Minn.

Breaking Up

Tired of having to break out the concrete around the bolt holes in toilet flanges in basement bathrooms? I simply take a chunk of bowl wax from a regular wax ring and press it up into the slot on the flange.

Not only does this keep concrete and tile grout out of the bolt slot, it also makes a nice substance to hold the bolts up straight, when you come back to set the toilet.

Jeff Zager
NMI Inc.
Seattle, Wash.

Send Us Your Tool Tips

If you have an idea that has saved you time and money, Plumbing & Mechanical would like to share your tip with our readers. You can e-mail your idea directly to PM editor Steve Smith at smiths@bnpmedia.com, or mail it to him c/o PM, 1050 IL Route 83, Suite 200, Bensenville, IL 60106.

Our first-place winner will receive the following RIDGID® Prize Package, consisting of eight professional hand tools with a retail value of $200:

• 18-inch HD RAPIDGRIP™ Self-Adjusting Wrenches for easy, one-hand operation.
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