Plug in Skim Tapping Stuck!

Jim Bennett

but you have to be careful. Here's a picture of a 1" plug I took out last week after it broke off. I ground the fractured area flat and got a good center punch in it. Then used a 7/8" hole saw to core the sucker. What's left is easy to collapse and remove.

Good luck,
Jim

Eric Scheidler

I wanted to skim my boiler tonight . . .

. . . but couldn't get the 1" plug out of the tapping on the side of the boiler. I've got a Burnham IN8 boiler. No skim piping was ever attached to it.

That means that since 1997, it has not been skimmed!

But I cannot get that flipping plug out of there. My attempts to wrench it off only succeeded in tearing it up. It ain't budging.

What can I do?

Bildo

common

Very common problem with that boiler. For some reason Burnham feels that they have to tighten a plug (that needs to be removed anyway) so tight that you can't get it out with a 4 foot wrench and a 10 footer of black pipe on the wrench. I will never understand why they tighten that plug so much. But I still use them. you have to drill it a nd then chisel it out.

bob young

heat

Heat it up cherry red . it will come right out. [ providing you can get a good bite on it with a wrench ]

Unknown

Bildo and Eric

This issue came up earlier this year on this site and I looked into it. It was discovered that the plugs were being put in just prior to doing a hydrostatic test on the block assembly and that the torque settings on the tools on that line did not have adjustable torque settings. With the move to our new production facility, that problem is being addressed. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Glenn Stanton

Manager of Training

Burnham Hydronics

U.S. Boiler Co., Inc.

Eric Scheidler

Wow . . .

. . . sounds like this might work for me -- a little more do-able than heating it up.

I would think using a 7/8" hole saw would be really tricky to keep from screwing up the threads inside -- so little clearance. Do you think a 3/4" would work okay?

Eric Scheidler

How . . .

. . . should I heat it up? Torch?

bob young

rolling the dice

heat with torch. which ever method you employ be aware of risk factor in removing plug from boiler that would cost thousands to replace. i have seen more than a few boilers destroyed with hairline cracks by homeowners / amatuers trying to remove something from a cast iron boiler boiler or radiator. just takes a split second , then its over.

Jim Bennett

Stuck plug

3/4" should work, what is left after drilling can be treated like a broken nipple and carefully cut with a hacksaw blade and then collapsed inward with a small chisel. Keep in mind I was removing a 1" plug from a 2 1/2" x 1" tee. If I screwed up the threads I could still replace the tee. A tapping in the side of your boiler is another story. You might want to try threading a plug into an old fitting on your bench vice and pratice first to see what works best for you.

Be carefull and good luck,

Jim