need help loosening up the iron piping

Clueless

Thanks for the input Chris. I've just come to that conclusion myself. It's just frustrating because it doesn't seem like it should be a big deal and that it should be a quick and easy fix. I'm just trying to replace an air vent in a tight space where the preivous owners have finished the basement with paneling. It took me a long time just to open up the paneling to get to the correct spot and now I can't complete my project. Arrrghh!!!

Clueless

Metal lubricants? - Need help changing out a steam pipe

I'm sure this is a basic question. Is there anything out there that could help make it easier to change an iron steam pipe? I'm trying to replace an air vent. It is in a tight space so I need to change out part of the pipe it is attached to. We can't seem to get the pipe to move at all. Would a heat gun help with loosening up the pipe? Is there anything else that would work? It is in a tight space so I can't really use something with a long handle for leverage.
Thanks!!

Chris_82

Sledghammer, and call someone who has done this before...

This is why there are plumbers... seriously,... steam dosen't come apart very well and by asking the question, which is a valid question, I know you haven't done this before. Just don't want to see you hurt yourself. And in all likelyhood your going to need a number of specialty tools.

Matt Undy

An acetylene or even propane torch can work wonders on stuck pieces of steel of all sorts though they may do bad things to the surrounding structure or innards of the component in question...

If you heat a piece of metal with a hole in it, the hole will get bigger. If you are trying to remove a pipe from a taping, heating the casting rather qucikly so it is hotter than the pipe can loosen up the joint.

Of course, as mentioned above, unless you really want to do it yourself (such as I would), calling a good plumber might be a better option(you need somone who has the feel for working metal and experience patching into old stuff without breaking it rather than somone that just works with relatively modern systems) since you may need taps, dies, various extractors, or large socket/box wrenches, all of which is fairly pricey.

The only place where I have found lubricants or penetratign oils to help is where a fastener will break loose but the threads it must back off over are also corroded, it will make the fastener back over the corrosion much easier. Heat is by fare the most effective way to loosen fasteners that won't budge if space permits. An impact wrench, air hammer, or hammer and chisel can loosen things in tight spaces if used wiht experience, but can also crack castings.

Of course if the trap is a brittle enough steel and you are not tryign to salvage it, you could break it up with a sledgehammer too...

Matt