Tool Tips - June 2011

Repair Air
The Perfect Vent Hole
Clean Kitchen Drains Quickly

Repair Air

If you have ever tried to solder under a concrete slab or in a really tight place, you have probably noticed that the flame on your torch doesn’t work well, and will even die out sometimes. To prevent this, I put the end of my shop vac hose near where I’m soldering and turn it on (I put the sucking end near the flame, not the blowing end). This provides enough fresh air to the torch to keep the flame going strong enough to repair the leak.

Stuart Dennis
Peterson Plumbing
Alameda, Calif.

The Perfect Vent Hole

Recently I installed a tankless water heater to replace a tank-type water heater with a power vent. The existing hole in the wall was 3 inches and the new unit required a 4-inch hole. How do you make a larger hole in the same place with nothing for the pilot bit of a hole saw to bite into?

First, put the larger hole saw on the hole saw arbor and then screw on a hole saw the same size as the existing hole. Voila! A perfect hole centered on the existing hole. The homeowner was thrilled when I completed the installation without demolishing the siding on his house.

Phil Brennan
West Brookfield, Mass.

Clean Kitchen Drains Quickly

Kitchen drains are usually packed full of a thick, disgusting goop. To really clean them, connect a plastic lavatory supply hose to the hot water stop and put the other end into the drain with your cable. Feed hot water as needed into the drain as you cable it. The drain will open faster and be much cleaner, and your cable will come out cleaner than Grandma’s kitchen floor.

Edward R. Metzger
Assured Plumbing Co.
Belleville, Ill.