Plumbing requires knowledge, patience, and good tools that won’t let you down. There are plumbing problems that you can handle yourself without calling a professional plumber. If the task is relatively easy, using high-quality tools, even a person without years of experience in this field can achieve desirable results. You just need to know what to do and in what order.
In this article, we will explain what a basin wrench is and how to use it.
A basin wrench (also known as a sink wrench) is used to turn fasteners in hard-to-reach places, for example, the threaded nuts for the installation of a sink faucet.
A telescoping basin wrench is equipped with an extendable shaft so it is easier to reach the nuts that are located behind a deep sink.
A basin wrench consists of the following parts:
1. T-bar handle passes through the hole in the shaft; the handle is rotated for tightening/loosening a nut/fitting.
2. Shaft is located between the jaws and the handle. The shaft connects to the lower jaw via a special pivot pin at one end. The handle fits through the hole at the other end of the shaft.
3. Pivot pin joins two jaws.
4. Pivoting fixed jaw is attached to the shaft with a pivot pin so the jaw assembly can rotate around its axis perpendicular to the shaft.
5. Spring loaded curved jaw is forced downward & grips on a nut/fastener no matter what position it is in.
The jaws have teeth for better gripping the nut/fitting you need to turn.
Using a basin wrench is easy. Follow the steps below.
Step 1 (optional)
Apply lubricant to the mounting nut
If your faucet and mounting nuts have served you for a long time, then this step should not be overlooked.
Spray the threads of the mounting nut using penetrating oil. Then wait for a few minutes before trying to loosen the nut.
Step 2
Adjust the head of the wrench
The jaws should be perpendicular to the shaft.
Step 3
Fit the jaws of your basin wrench around the mounting nut
From underneath the sink, make sure that the jaws of the wrench fit tightly around the mounting nut.
As the head of the basin wrench is movable, the claw can grab the nut from any position around it.
It is important to use the right size of the basin wrench. If your wrench is too big, its jaws won’t fit snugly around the nut.
Step 4
Turn the nut
Using a T-handle, turn the shaft of your basin wrench to tighten or loosen the nut. Turning clockwise, you will tighten the nut, counterclockwise - loosen.
Additional Tips
To keep your basin wrench in good condition, it is recommended to follow a few simple steps:
Now you understand what a basin wrench is, know its elements, and have an idea about using this tool. In addition, we figured out how to maintain a basin wrench to keep it in the best condition possible.